BENICIA, Calif. – Pesto is a versatile summer sauce known for its delectable flavor, but did you know the simple ingredients used to make this delicious condiment can also help to protect your heart and lower your risk of chronic disease? Today, Three Bridges—makers of an inspired line of fresh, refrigerated chef-crafted meals, natural filled and cut pastas and sauces—shares the hidden health benefits of this herbaceous green sauce, and why it has won its way into our hearts and onto this season's lunch and dinner plates.
According to Karen Ansel, a nationally recognized Registered Dietitian Nutritionist and author, "pesto is a delicious way to pack extra nutrition into any meal, from pasta to Paninis. Made with good-for-you ingredients like basil, and kale in its Superfood offering, a serving of Three Bridges Pesto is filled with disease-preventing antioxidants such as vitamins A and C, plus it's rich in heart friendly mono and polyunsaturated fats thanks to pinenuts plus olive oil."
Pesto is a mouth-watering, multipurpose sauce that offers a punch of flavor that many other sauces lack. Here's more insight into the health benefits of the key ingredients used to make pesto:
- Basil—Phytochemical nutrients in basil, which is the fundamental component in most pestos, act like antioxidants to your diet by neutralizing damaging free radicals that destroy normally healthy cells. Free radicals increase your risk of cancer, heart disease and other chronic conditions
- Olive Oil—Replacing unhealthy saturated and trans fats in your diet with heart-healthy fats called monounsaturated fats (MUFAs) like those found in olive oil can help lower blood cholesterol, stabilize blood sugar levels and aid in blood clotting in case of injury
- Garlic—Garlic protects your heart by stabilizing blood pressure levels and slowing the development of atherosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries
- Parmesan cheese—This cheese is easily digested and an excellent source of calcium. In addition, parmesan cheese contains small amounts of vitamin D, which is known to enhance intestinal absorption of calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphate and zinc.
"At Three Bridges, we embrace the simplicity of fresh, premium natural and organic ingredients that you can see and recognize," said Chef Craig Schuffel, Three Bridges vice president of research & culinary innovation. "The taste of our high quality ingredients comes through with every bite of our pesto, whether you're enjoying it as a pasta topping, dip for French bread or fresh veggies, or mixing it into salads, salmon or pizza. Pesto is a truly versatile ingredient."
Three Bridges pesto sauces, including Basil Pesto and Superfood Pesto Sauce, awaken the palate and excite the senses with flavors that make mealtime an unexpectedly tasty and delightful experience. In addition to the traditional ingredients often found in pesto, the company incorporates unexpected ingredients like lemon juice, kale and a variety of spices to provide extra vitamins and minerals.
Bottom line? There are countless ways to enjoy this fresh, good-for-you condiment as part of your favorite summertime dishes. To access tasty recipes or more information about Three Bridges foods, please visit www.ThreeBridges.com.
About Three Bridges
Founded in 2014, Three Bridges is a company comprised of chefs, food scientists and food lovers on a mission to innovate the refrigerated foods aisle with an inspired line of fresh, deliciously accessible line of chef-crafted meals, natural filled and cut pastas and sauces, made from premium natural and organic ingredients. Providing a welcome break from boring menus, Three Bridges foods take people on a culinary adventure to explore a world of unexpected tastes and flavors, while simultaneously delivering what people most enjoy about a homemade meal—real, quality ingredients and incredible taste—without all the fuss. Three Bridges is made and manufactured proudly in California and North Carolina, where its commitment to good living is reflected in the company's use of green energy and growing line of certified organic offerings. Its chef-inspired foods are available at specialty retailers and grocery retailers nationwide including Safeway and Target.
For additional information, please visit us online www.ThreeBridges.com.
Source: Three Bridges
