Edible Bugs
Word of the Week
Dehydrate (dee-hi-drate): Removing water from food to store or preserve it. It stems from the Latin prefix de meaning "to not do something" and the French word hydrate meaning "to combine chemically with water."
Hello!
As the weather warms up, I hope you are being careful and keeping yourself hydrated! Drink plenty of water. . .I suspect we are in for a hot summer. So, what does our word of the week have to do with this week's blog?
Saturday, April 30th is National Raisin Day! Are you surprised that something so tiny gets its own, special day? A raisin isn't its own fruit. It's a fruit that has been dried out or dehydrated. If you're unfamiliar, do you have any guesses what fruit raisins come from?
Grapes! Can you think of any other fruits that are commonly dehydrated? What about prunes? People often turn up their noses when they think of prunes, but they are actually just dried plums. Apricots, cherries, and cranberries are also popular!
So. . .what do we know about raisins?
Most of the world's best raisins come from California.
Raisins have probably existed as long as humans have. How? Over time, the sun naturally dries grapes out that have been left on the vine. They say that this was first observed in ancient Egypt.
National Raisin Day dates back to 1909, when California began advertising the health benefits of this tiny snack.
Though raisins are sweet, they do have a number of health benefits, as no sugar is added to them.
They are high in fiber and help with digestion.
They actually help fight gum disease and help prevent cavities!
Their rich in potassium which can help lower blood pressure.
They are a great source of iron!
How to celebrate? Here comes the fun! I mentioned edible bugs at the very beginning of this post. That's exactly what you can do! When I think of raisins, I think of the traditional snack, ants on a log. This snack can be made a number of ways, but I usually think of it as using celery, peanut butter, and raisins! Why stop there? I found some cream cheese, strawberries, grapes, apples, and peppers to create these other critters. Have some fun in the kitchen and see what other bug related snack masterpieces you can create. If you look closely, I was able to make a caterpillar, a snail, a winged creature (let's call it a moth). I think you get the idea! Have some fun with this!
Until next time. . .
Gram