Grapefruit Should Be Avoided with Some Medications

Grapefruit is a wonderful fruit and has many positive features. It has been linked to helping people lose weight. It is abundant in vitamins and antioxidants and is rather tasty to many pallets.

However, it has also been a common belief that drinking a glass of grapefruit juice with medicine can help the body absorb it. Unfortunately, that is not true with all medications, and because of this fact, grapefruit and it’s juice should be avoided when taking medication unless approved by your doctor.

Recently, when reading an article on AOL Health, I saw a question from a reader about how their statin prescription told them to avoid grapefruit. The writer of the question was rather disappointed, since they enjoy grapefruit. Thankfully, their are options, one I am quoting from aol; “switch to a statin or other cholesterol-lowering agent that isn’t affected by grapefruit juice.” It is VITAL that if you are taking ANY prescription drugs that you check with your doctor on what is and what is not OK for you to eat and drink.

Also, according to CBS News, some of the drugs that interact with grapefruit are; Xanax, Buspar, Versed, Halcion, Luvox, Zoloft, Allegra, Cordarone, quinidine, Coumadin, Tegretol, Cyclophosphamide, etoposide, ifosfamide, tamoxifen, vinblastine, vincristine, Dextromethorphan (found in many over-the-counter cold medicines), Agenerase, Crixivan, Viracept, Norvir, Fortovase, Proscar, Coreg, Cardizem, Plendil, Cardene, Adalat, Procardia, Nimotop, Sular, Covera, Calan, Verelan, Viagra, Cialis, Theophylline, Lipitor, Lescol, Mevacor, Zocor, Alfenta, Duragesic, Actiq, Sufenta, Biaxin, Sporanox, erythromycin and troleandomycin. You will need to check with your doctor to be certain if your prescription is among those that should avoid grapefruit.

Bottom line: be safe and always stay informed.

             

A Great Find: The English Tea Store

I am a huge lover of tea...from Darjeeling to chamomile to good old southern sweet iced tea and everything in between. So, you can imagine how excited I was to find this adorable little site, The English Tea Store. They offer teas and tea pots for sale. So many to choose from and tea lover will be ecstatic at the delights this wonderful store has to offer.

As I browsed their glorious site (which by the way is very well done and extremely user friendly and easy to navigate!), I discovered certain to be delicious fruit and Christmas cakes, countless teas and a great gift idea for the holiday season…or at the very least, a wish list for me…Christmas gift baskets and simply fabulous gift sets!

OK, back to the teas this place offers…I mean WOW! They have many tea brands, loose teas, tea pots, tea mugs and many tea accessories you may not have even though to use. A few that stood out for me were; well, being southern the iced tea items, tea sacks for loose tea, adorable honey pots, heirloom type items, and SO much more.

I also discovered the most adorable tea pots from houses to classic to oriental in motif. The skies the limit with this place. Happy happy am I and a soon to be customer for sure!

If you are a tea lover or even an occassional tea drinker, the English Tea Store is a MUST see.

Copyright © Lara Velez, The Recipe Finder, All Rights Reserved

             

Back to School Recipe: Healthy oasted and Spicy Pumpkin Seeds Snack

1 1/3 cup fresh pumpkin seeds, cleaned and rinsed
1 tsp salt
1 tsp crushed red pepper
½ tsp black pepper
2 tsp garlic powder
2tsp of another spice you enjoy

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In a bowl, combine the pumpkin seeds with the spices. Place the pumpkin seeds on a baking tray, sprayed with non-stick cooking spray, and bake for approximately 15 minutes. The seeds should be slightly golden brown and crispy. Remove from the oven and let them cool completely.

Place in mini plastic (snack size) baggies and put in your kids lunch box for a healthy snack.

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Beefy BBQ Stew

2 lbs stew meat
3 tbsp olive oil
1 cup onion, sliced
1/2 cup yellow pepper, chopped
1 large clove garlic, finely minced
2 cup stock (preferably beef)
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1 can (8 oz.) chopped tomatoes
1 can (4 oz.) mushrooms
1/3 cup barbecue sauce
3 tbsp cornstarch
1/4 cup cold water

In frying pan sauté sliced onion, pepper, garlic and meat in olive oil. Add stock, salt and pepper, tomatoes, mushrooms and barbecue sauce and cook for a few minutes. Place in slow cooker and cook on low heat for about 8-10 hours. Just before serving, mix cold water and cornstarch in a little bowl and add to the stew to thicken. Serve over rice.

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Corn and Sweet Potato Soup

1 large yellow onion, chopped
2 cups water
2 lbs sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
1 ½ tbsp olive oil
4 cups vegetable stock
3 cups corn, tinned
1 red bell pepper, minced
1 fresh jalapeno, minced
1 cup milk
Juice of ½ lemon
Salt
2 -3 tbsp heavy cream
garnish with parsley (optional)

Place diced sweet potatoes, water and vegetable stock in a pot and simmer for about 20 minutes or until tender.

In the meantime, heat olive oil in a skillet, add onion and a pinch of salt, and fry until nice and brown.

Add the onions to the potatoes. Mix well. Purée the soup with a blender. Once smooth, add corn, peppers and milk and simmer until tender. Then mix in lemon juice and salt. Stir in cream and serve immediately.

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Zucchini Pasta Bake

2 zucchini, sliced
12 oz. tomato sauce
3 cups Rigatoni
6 oz. Mozzarella cheese, sliced
1 tsp olive oil
Handful of shredded cheese

Preheat oven to 350F.

Cook pasta according to package instruction, then set aside.

In a small saucepan, boil a small amount of water. Add zucchini and cook until tender. Grease a baking dish and layer 1/3 of the Rigatoni, tomato sauce, cheese and zucchini. Continue layering until you have three of each. Cover with shredded cheese and add a sprinkle of olive oil.

Bake in the oven for about 30 minutes or until cheese is melted.

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Nutty Roasted Pears

4 tbsp pure butter
4 pears, halved and cored
½ cup sour cream
¼ cup pecans or walnuts, coarsely chopped and toasted
1 cup brown sugar

Preheat oven to 400 degrees with oven rack in center position..

Place the butter on a baking pan and put into the heated oven. Once butter has melted, sprinkle with brown sugar. Add the pear halves with the cut side down on top of the butter/sugar (caramel) mixture and bake for about 30 minutes.

Once the pear halves are tender, turn them over and baste with the caramel sauce. Bake for a further 10 minutes until nice and golden. Serve the pear halves in bowls and top with sour cream, caramel and the nuts.

This dessert should be served hot and fresh.

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