Ah, garlic. You either love it or you don’t. Garlic has been reported to have enormous health benefits such as lowering blood pressure, helping lower LDL cholesterol levels, acting as a natural antibiotic, helping to prevent cancer, acting as powerful anti-oxidant and source of selenium and more. So what do you do with it? Peel it and eat it raw? Sure, if you want your eyes to water and people to run away from your breath! Here are some ways to get garlic into your diet, without overpowering your family.
Roasted Garlic
When you roast garlic you actually take away the peppery bitterness taste. What you end up with is a sweet, smoky garlic flavor that everyone loves! Simply peel away as much of the loose papery skin from a whole head of garlic. Slice off the top of the garlic, about ½ an inch down, so that the tops of the cloves can be seen. Drizzle a little olive oil over the top of the cloves, sprinkle with a little black pepper and wrap the entire head in tinfoil. You can wrap two or three heads of garlic at once if you want. Place on a pan and bake at 350 F for one hour. If you buy a little terra-cotta garlic baker you may find you will have to cook your garlic longer. Remove the garlic from the oven at the end of the hour and unwrap. The cloves will be a dark honey brown and soft. Remove the individual cloves by using a fork to gently pop the cloves out or squeeze the clove out with your fingers.
This makes an amazing appetizer when spread on French bread with soft cheese.
Fat-Free Roasted Garlic Caesar Dressing
Looking for a way to perk up a salad without adding calories? Check this out!
- 1 cup fat-free yogurt
- 3 roasted garlic cloves
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- ¼ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
Mix together in a blender until smooth. This is great on Romaine lettuce and served as your own special secret dressing!
Garlic Butter
It is a good idea to limit the amount of butter you eat, but when you do have to have a little butter with your dinner, why not make it worth it! Try adding three or more cloves of fresh garlic, minced very very fine, into half a cup of butter. Add in one teaspoon of fresh parsley and mix well. With a spoon dump the garlic onto a sheet of plastic wrap and roll to form a log and then refrigerate. This will make the garlic butter easy to cut and serve with your next meal. You can freeze garlic butter logs for future entertaining as well. This is excellent on broiled steak, or on vegetables. Try it on mashed potatoes! Remember, a little butter goes a long way!
Whatever you end up making, remember that garlic may have a smelly reputation, but its reputation for good health is worth it!
