A Lifestylye Blog

Monday, January 13, 2014

Recipe of the Week- Fruit!

Winter Fruit Salad


Click for a fun Vitamin Highlight of the Week!



I wanted to highlight some fruit that are either in season this Winter or still tasting sweet this time of year. I made this fruit salad for a baby shower today and as I was prepping to buy the components of this salad, I wanted to make sure that this salad would be sweet (full flavor) and affordable. Produce can be expensive to buy if not purchased at the right time of year. I was able to make 1 1/2 large punch-sized bowls of this mixture for about $15. I was pleasantly surprised when the clerk finished ringing them up at the checkout counter. I can be a bit picky about my fruit; I mentioned in my smoothie recipe post that I have a hard time eating bananas because they give me really bad stomach aches and I'm also not a huge fan of super sour/ tart fruits. But this fruit salad was a perfect balance of sweetness and tartness- and I'm sure creaminess too for those who ate the bananas. 

Fruit Salad Components
  • Blackberries- usually in season in Summer- early fall, but were still delicious this time of year! 
    • 1 cup= 50% of daily Vit C needs
  • Bananas- fresh year round
    • 1 medium =12% daily potassium and 22% Vit B6
  • Mandarins- also called tangerines; in season from mid October to late December
    • 1 medium= 12% Vit A and 39% Vit C
  • Honeydew Melon- usually in season from August-late October
    • 1 cup= 12% daily potassium and 53% Vit C
  • Apples-  check out this link for seasonal variations among different apple breeds:
    • http://www.pickyourown.org/apples.htm
    • 1 medium= 14% of daily Vit C and 4.4 grams of fiber! 
  • Pears- in season year round
    • 1 medium= 10% daily Vit C and 4.6g fiber!


Vitamin Highlight: Vit B6
Functions: Helps to make hemoglobin for red blood cells, part of a coenzyme needed in amino acid and fatty acid metabolism. Helps convert tryptophan to niacin to make serotonin. Serotonin is used to regulate appetite, temperature, sleep, memory, learning, mood, depression and more!




References:
http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/fruits-and-fruit-juices/1848/2
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/232248.php




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