Soup and Lemon Gems

This was a totally yummy coconut red curry soup from La Dolce Vegan. This soup has its nutritional high and low points. First off, the thing that makes the soup so yummy is a whole can of coconut milk, which is very high in saturated fat. Saturated fats trigger off an increase in low-density lipoprotein, which is also known as the "bad cholesterol." High total and saturated fat diets have been linked conclusively to heart disease. Research also shows that high saturated fat intakes are pro-inflammatory, and numerous studies implicate a high total-fat diet in cancers of the breast, prostate and lung. Adults and children four or more years of age should not consume more than 20 grams of saturated fat per day. 1/4 cup of coconut milk contains a whopping 13 g of saturated fat! Good thing you can buy light coconut milk. On the plus side coconut milk contains no cholesterol and is very low in sodium. Another nutritional power point is this soup was made with 1/2 cup of red lentils. I think this is a great idea when making orange soups - throw in a half a cup of red lentils and increase the fiber and protein count for the recipe. A 1/4 cup of red lentils will give you 7 g of fiber and 13 g of protein. Also included in this soup are sweet potatoes. Sweet potatoes are a rich antioxidant food. Why are antioxidants important? Research suggests that consumption of antioxidant-rich foods reduces damage to cells and biochemicals from free radicals. This may slow down, prevent, or even reverse certain diseases that result from cellular damage, and perhaps even slow down the natural aging process.

My daughter has been begging to bake lemon gems. Here are one of the best batches we have ever made. There really aren't any nutritionally redeeming qualities to these cupcakes, but they sure are a nice treat - and fun to make!

Does it get any better than this?