Serve up dazzling dishes that delight the taste buds and promote happy, healthy hearts.

Bright, colorful fresh fruits bursting with delicious juicy flavors are sweet treats you can offer your family right now. Thanks to an abundant supply of fresh fruit from Chile, where it's summer, you can enjoy all your favorite fruits all winter long.

Fresh fruits sliced as toppings for a very yummy dessert pizza or fresh blueberries scattered like sparkling jewels in a main course salad turn a meal into a true celebration of the heart.

“In addition to providing a healthy bounty of antioxidants - which are proven to prevent cellular aging and offer protection against memory loss, stroke and several types of cancer - blueberries also lower the risk of heart disease,” says Dr. Steven Pratt, a noted nutrition expert and author of the book SuperFoodsRx.

Numerous studies have shown that the fiber in fruits can lower cholesterol and reduce the risk of heart disease and obesity. More recent evidence has found that special nutritional compounds present in fruits provide additional protection from heart disease. Plus, they may also help prevent cancer, Alzheimer's disease and age-related loss of vision.

Ironically, even with all the new scientific evidence available, the vast majority of Americans still haven’t been getting enough fruit and vegetables to eat, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That’s probably because in the past there wasn’t much variety to choose from during the long winter months. But now with the availability of fresh fruits all year round, it’s easier than ever to enrich your family’s diet with natural healthfulness found in fruit.

Plus, with fresh ripe fruit at the ready, these dishes go together in a snap. No thawing or cooking needed. Just rinse and slice the tasty fruit, toss in those delectable blueberries and go.

Fresh Fruit Pizza

Serves 4

Ingredients:

2 8- to 9-inch tortillas, preferably whole wheat

1 tablespoon sugar

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

3/4 cup mascarpone or cream cheese

2 1/2 cups thinly sliced fresh Chilean fruit including nectarines, plums, kiwi and blueberries

1/4 cup apricot jam, melted

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 F. Sprinkle tortillas with sugar and cinnamon; place on baking sheet and bake until crisp, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from oven; cool. Spread with cheese, leaving a 1-inch border around the edge. Arrange fruit on the cheese. Brush with jam to create a glossy finish. To serve, use a large knife to cut pizzas into quarters and serve immediately.

Salmon, Fresh Blueberries and Lemon Salad with Chive Vinaigrette

Serves 4

Ingredients:

8 cups salad greens in small pieces

1 pound salmon fillet, poached

1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries

Lemon zest to garnish

Vinaigrette:

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1/2 cup olive oil

2 tablespoons white wine

Vinegar

Salt and pepper to taste

1 tablespoon fresh chives

Directions:

Divide salad greens on four salad plates. Divide salmon and arrange on greens. Sprinkle on blueberries. Top with lemon zest. In a jar with a lid, add all the vinaigrette ingredients. Shake well. Serve salads chilled with the dressing alongside. Courtesy of ARAcontent

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New look, new ambience, same hospitality

If you drive south on State Road 7, just below Sunrise Blvd. and look to your right, there is a property that might catch your eye. Bold colors and an imposing presence, beckon you to look and you might even think it is new… but it’s not. It’s the result of a massive makeover – both structurally and aesthetically – to the Plantation Inn Hotel.

The hotel, which opened in the 1970s as a Holiday Inn and became the property of a famous tennis player Bobby Riggs (and renamed the Bobby Riggs Plantation Inn) sits at 375 N. State Road 7, Plantation and is today the newly renovated Plantation Inn hotel.

Acquired by Davis Pulikken in 1998, the property was in desperate need of repairs and a facelift. “It was a run down property,” Pulikken told the National Weekly, adding that once the property was acquired, improvements began and continued each year.

But in 2008, after some years of planning and obtaining the relevant permits, they began major renovations – repainting the exterior, refurbishing some 70 bedrooms – adding new artwork, flat screen televisions and other amenities and refinishing the parking lots.

The renovations, which took approximately two years and $1.5 million so far, are a great investment even in these turbulent economic times.

According to General Manager, Bennet Davis the renovations are part of the general rejuvenation of the 441 Corridor. He said since the overhaul, there has been a marked change in clientele and return business has increased tremendously. In fact, the hotel boasts a 70-75 percent year-round occupancy and 100 percent on Valentine’s Day this year.

The inspiration behind the renovations

General Manager Davis said the inspiration behind the renovations was to fill the void in the current market. He said while the area had a large number of Caribbean people, it is difficult to find hotels that cater to the Caribbean market. “We get people who pick up their families from the airport and here is where they bring them.”

Davis said the décor takes on a Caribbean boutique style, which is evident in the bedrooms and the newly renovated poolside.

With competitive prices, the hotel provides a sort of retreat, where guests can shut out the bustle of the city, while being close to many attractions and facilities the city has to offer.

“The vision we have for the property is to keep it [improvements] going,” said Davis, adding that he wants the property to be set apart from the others in the area, and provide an “in-town vacation destination”.

Nightlife – Poolside & Lounge

In addition to hotel facilities, the Plantation Inn offers a fun-filled and relaxing atmosphere at nights.

With its newly redecorated poolside and lounge (which with be completely renovated by yearend), Plantation Inn hotel offers facilities for birthday parties, company parties and other such events. In addition, daily happy hour begins each day from 4 – 8 pm.

The poolside and lounge area, which can comfortably accommodate 250-300 patrons, is where the night comes alive with events like Easy Negril Thursdays – which has been running successfully for 6 years. Partnerships with Carib, Guinness, Red Stripe and Appleton keep things interesting with several promotional events.

Now that the Plantation Inn hotel has made vast improvements and business is increasing, it is just up to people to take advantage of the wonderful amenities the hotel has to offer.

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While those tried-and-true gifts are certainly nice, think of them as an accompaniment to the main event – a gift that reflects the personality of the recipient, and which shows that you put thought and creativity into your gift.

Before you set out on a shopping trip, take a moment to think about your gift recipient's favorite things, whether it's a charitable cause, an author or a hobby. If you can, try to plan an afternoon with your loved one and, over lunch or an excursion, see if you can pick up some ideas. Make mental notes, write them down when you have a moment, and then hit the shops. But if you aren't able to connect for some time together, consider using these ideas and adapting them to your fit your Valentine.

Give the gift that gives back

Valentine’s Day, when focus is on the feelings of your heart, is appropriately celebrated in the month February – American Heart Month – so why not let that lead you to think of heart health? According to the American Heart Association (AHA), heart disease kills one person every minute, and it is the No. 1 killer of women of all ages. To raise awareness of the risks of heart disease and also to raise critical funds for the AHA, Yankee Candle Company has continued its annual "Light a Candle for Your Heart" program which coincides with the AHA's Heart Health month and "Go Red" movement each year.

"By giving selected red Yankee candles to your loved one this Valentine's Day, you not only are giving America's best loved candle, you also will be giving a gift which directly benefits heart research," says Yankee Candle's Rick Ruffolo. "A dollar is donated to the AHA with every purchase."

Make it an experience

Going out to dinner is a Valentine's Day tradition - that much is clear to anyone who tries to get a reservation at a nice restaurant on Feb.14. To avoid the crush of diners and the often inflated menu prices, opt for something a little different. If you're spending time with your sweetheart, try something that requires you to work together - maybe try out a climbing wall at a local gym - or something that will make you want to cuddle up together, like ice skating or sledding. If your Valentine is more platonic, opt for going to see a movie - or plan a game night at home. No matter what you do, spending time together is a gift that always warms the heart. Courtesy of ARAcontent

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At the recent grand opening of the Berhane Selassie Art Gallery at Tuff Gong International, Minister of Tourism, Edmund Bartlett, expressed his deep respect for the record company founded by Robert Nesta Marley.

Before cutting of the ribbon with Marley’s daughter, Stephanie, Minister Bartlett gave a moving speech during which he regarded Tuff Gong as “a jewel in the gilded trunk of Jamaica’s tourism treasures.”

“The official opening of the Berhane Selassie Art Gallery is also an important step in bringing people together,” he said. “Our visitors are coming, not just to enjoy the hotels and the beauty spots, but the historical and cultural arenas such as Tuff Gong International.”

Artists who are featured in the gallery include 17-year-old Jamaican, Laura-Anne Fung, who did a splendid interpretation of Bob Marley as well as other abstract pieces. Joavan Puran’s half Haile Selassie I, half lion face profile was a crowd favorite at the opening as well as the 10-piece black history series done by Tennyson ‘Jimmy’ Smith; both those artists are also Jamaican. Works by Switzerland-born Djamila Liniger-Strauss are also on display.

The Berhane Selassie Art Gallery is located at Tuff Gong International (220 Marcus Garvey Drive, Kingston) and has been included in the Making of Music Tour, a half-hour journey through Tuff Gong’s facilities allowing visitors to witness the process of making music from start to finish.

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