Fruit – Juice Health Benefits & Recipes

22 Jan

Goji Berries – Luxury Model Fruits

Imagine going to a car dealership today and buying a luxury car with every optional upgrade and only paying about 15% more than a today’s typical $20,000 car. The luxury model has temperature controlled seats, on-board cameras, a premium sound system, premium tires, a fully stocked entertainment system and a fuel efficiency of 50 miles per gallon. The interior is made from the finest materials. The warranty is impeccable. The level of detail is downright artistic. It’s unfortunate that we don’t live in this imaginary world of inexpensive luxury. What if I told you, though, that evidence suggests goji berries are to regular fruits as our imaginary luxury car is to a standard model vehicle?

Goji berries are like luxury model fruits. While they’ve been labeled as a superfood, the word “superfood” doesn’t do the berry justice. It’s one of the most nutrient-dense foods on the planet. If you’re not sure what that means, imagine two jewelry boxes. One is filled with cheap jewelry and a few expensive pieces while the other is completely full of jewelry that has real gold, real precious gems and excellent craftsmanship. While the difference between goji berries and typical fruit isn’t quite as drastic, goji berries are much more like the latter jewelry box. The density of the nutrients that the body uses from a handful of goji berries is simply greater than that of inexpensive staple fruits like apples and oranges.

Goji berries are about five times as potent as prunes and over 25 times as broccoli. Also – fresh goji berries are 5 times more potent than dried ones.

The Benefits of the Goji Berry

Also known as the wolfberry, the goji berry’s key claim to fame is in its antioxidant content. The ORAC value of a food, or the oxygen radical absorbance capacity, is the value that foods with antioxidants are given to compare how well they can absorb free radicals in various tests. In these studies, goji berries has ranked astonishingly well. They’ve been shown to be about five times as potent as prunes and over 25 times as broccoli. That’s pretty significant, considering that broccoli is one of the most widely acclaimed superfoods.

Goji berries are also estimated to have a blend of over 30 essential nutrients in varying densities. They also contains 18 different types of amino acids, which are the building blocks of protein. Many of the berry’s other effects are still being researched, such as increases in mental performance, improved quality of sleep, anti-aging effects and positive effects on the mood. These do not come from any single part of the berry; they are believed to come from the unique blend of nutrients in their natural form.

Superoxide Dimutase

Superoxide Dimutase (SOD) are a group of enzymes that protect virtually every cell in the body that is exposed to oxygen. As an antioxidant, SOD levels in the body are crucial for continued function. However, the levels of SOD in the body decline with age, and studies have been inconclusive when it comes to raising them. The superoxide free radical is one of the most damaging known to date, and the inability to raise SOD will result in the inevitable, accelerated breakdown of the human body. The goji berry, however, has shown promise in actually raising these levels after consumption. It’s important to realize that everything from aging skin to Alzheimer’s has been at least partially linked to the reduction in SOD levels in the body. It isn’t the whole story, but the link is strong enough to suggest that anything that can raise these levels, like the goji berry, is fantastic. Even if the berry didn’t have a high nutrient density, the ability to lower SOD levels would still make it an excellent food.

Goji berries are best in their natural form.

Eating Goji Berries

Goji berries are best in their natural form. A handful of berries is usually close to a serving of fruit, so it already fits perfectly into the diet. Supplements are acceptable to an extent, but only when it’s difficult or impractical to get raw fruit. Goji berries can be used as a healthy desert topper or in fruit smoothies. They complement the flavors of other berries and citrus fruits very nicely. While it’s important to get a diverse range of foods, eating goji berries a few times per week is recommended.

Here is a cool video in which David Wolfe picks fresh goji berries in Arizona and explains a few more things about them:

Next, if you want to put your goji berries into a smoothie then check out this hoji berry smoothie recipe that includes bananas, goji berries, oranges and lucuma powder:

Enjoy!

16 Jan

Noni, Can This Snake Oil Be Trusted At All?

General Information

Noni is one of those natural remedies that was hyped up as a miracle cure for everything to cancer. Together with MLM type sales it got a really bad reputations. But this is not fruits fault. Here are a few facts that you should know about noni. The official name for this plant is Morinda citrofolia. It has also been called Indian Mulberry. Noni is a plant that is native to the Pacific Islands, Australia and Asia. The plant grows well in the volcanic ash and rock found on many of the islands. It grows as a flowering shrub and reaches up to ten feet in height. The small white flowers grow into a yellow fruit that has a pungent odor. Because of its odor, it is sometimes called vomit fruit. The fruit grows to about the size of a potato and has been used for hundreds of years in traditional Polynesian medicine.

The islanders used the fruit for conditions such as diarrhea, constipation, infections, joint pain, menstrual disorders, urinary pain, and mouth sores. The leaves were used for wound healing and skin conditions. When heated, the leaves were used as a poultice for coughs and colic.

Because of its odor, it is sometimes called vomit fruit.

Superfood Attributes

A superfood is a food that is rich in components that can fight disease. Noni is a great source of antioxidants, vitamins and minerals. Antioxidants are known to help slow the effects of aging and to help avert the development of certain diseases. It also contains all nine essential amino acids. Noni fruit is also rich in anthraquinones and polysaccharides that have specific health benefits. It contains xeronine which the body uses to activate enzymes and build proteins.

Health Benefits

In more recent years, Noni has been touted to help numerous health conditions. These claimed health benefits include arthritis, chronic fatigue syndrome, atherosclerosis, menstrual disorders, constipation, bowel problems, hypertension, cancers, indigestion, stroke, gastric ulcers, heart disease, diabetes, kidney disease, and immune disorders.

Laboratory research indicates that noni has tumor-fighting, immune-stimulating, and antioxidant properties. Other research shows that it inhibits the growth of cancer cells due to its antioxidant value. Another study in Germany determined that noni fruit juice can relieve joint pain and arthritic inflammation.

Noni is also shown to have anti-ulcer benefits by limiting the acid in the stomach and increasing the amount of mucous to protect the lining of the stomach. When used topically, noni can help heal burns and skin disorders.

The plant also contains a component that activates the serotonin brain receptors. Serotonin plays a role in mental health, regulating body temperature, hunger, sleep, and sexual behavior. When the body does not have enough serotonin it can develop depression, Alzheimer’s, migraines, obesity, and other diseases.

Noni is a great source of antioxidants, vitamins and minerals.

How to Use It?

The noni fruit has a strong odor and taste, so it is generally combined with other juices such as orange or grape to make it more palatable. To juice the fruit, remove the peel and place the flesh into a blender. Puree until it becomes liquid. Pour the liquid through a sieve and push the juice through with a spoon. You can drink the liquid as is, or mix with another juice to help improve the taste.

Many islanders eat the fruit either raw, or cooked. It is often used in a curry. To make a curry, chop the unripe noni fruit into stir-fry sized pieces and cook it with broccoli and/or cauliflower. Add curry paste and coconut milk and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and allow it to simmer for ten minutes or until the noni fruit is softened.

Noni fruit is also available in tablets or capsules.

07 May

Best Lychees For Lychee Juice And How To Choose Them

Lychees are members of the soapberry family and are native to southeast Asia and southern China. These delicate sweet fruits used to be hard to find in Western markets. Now it’s available occasionally in specialty stores. Not every lychee you see is in good condition, though. The best lychees for juicing or eating fresh are plump, ripe and unspoiled, but many supermarket fruits haven’t fared well on their trip from Asia. Choosing good quality lychees can help you get great tasting juices.

Appearance

Fresh lychee fruits should have a rosy blush to their shells. This kind of fruit doesn’t get any riper after it’s picked, so green lychees will always taste sour and under-ripe. Avoid lychees that have soft areas or brown spots on their shells, since this indicates spoilage. The fruit should feel heavy for its size. Ideally, the shell will be relatively soft and pliable, with a little spring to it. Hard, brittle shells indicate that the fruit has dried out. Shells that are too malleable or that feel mushy can indicate a spoiled lychee inside.

Lychee Fruit Quality

Inside the shell, the best lychees for juicing are moist and large. The fruit should be white to cream in color and slightly translucent. Fresh lychee pulp fills out its shell well. Any lychee that seems to rattle when shaken or that has a lot of air under the shell is old and may be dried out. Avoid these fruits. If you encounter a lychee that seems brownish or that has opaque flesh, discard it. Discolored lychees are often spoiled and will affect the flavor of your juices.

Fruits Similar To Lychee

Lychees are often mistaken for the similar longan fruit. Longans are often sold on the branch just like lychees. They also have a pale, sweet pulp inside a flexible shell. Longans are smooth-skinned with a brownish shell, however, where lychees tend to be pebbled and reddish. Longans also often have a musky flavor that’s considered an acquired flavor. They can change the taste of a batch of lychee juice and could be an unpleasant surprise for people who expected the fresh, sweet taste of lychees.

How To Store Lychees

Storing lychees incorrectly can affect their suitability for use in your juicer. Ideally, fresh lychee fruit should be placed in a plastic bag and kept in the refrigerator. You can store lychees for up to about ten days, but any fruit more than about a week old starts to decrease in quality.

If you purchase lychees, make sure to juice them quickly. When that’s not possible, consider freezing the fruit for later use in the juicer. You can freeze these fruits by washing them and placing them in individual containers or by removing the shells and packing the pulp in a sugar syrup at about 50 percent solution. Frozen lychees will store for up to a year and can be juiced immediately after thawing.

04 May

Best Bananas for Banana Juice and How to Choose Them

By choosing the best bananas for juicing, a smoothie made fresh in your kitchen from any combination of other additional fruits can be a refreshing and nutritious treat, especially on a warm day.

Banana Varieties

Usually harvested and shipped while green, the potassium-rich tropical fruit is one of the few in which better flavor develops when ripened off of the bush. There are hundreds of varieties of bananas, the Cavendish being the ever-popular yellow specimen on display in our supermarkets. Other bananas that have made their appearance in some United States markets include the red banana, which is shorter and sweeter than the Cavendish, and the large, firm plantain, favored for cooking in Latin American cuisine.

How To Pick A Ripe Banana

When browsing the produce aisle, look for plump bananas and consider how soon you will be using them. Peak ripeness is evidenced by yellow skin flecked with brown specks. If you do not intend to use the bananas in the next couple of days, opt for those that still bear green tints at the ends and along the edges. These still require further ripening to yield optimum flavor and texture. While ripening, keep bananas stored at room temperature, uncovered. Once ripening is complete, bananas may be stored in the refrigerator. Cool temperatures will cause the peel to turn dark brown, however the flesh will remain unchanged for several days.

Avoid any fruits with dark, soft blemishes that are indicative of bruising. Once bananas are cut and exposed to air, they will begin to brown immediately. You can retard this process by brushing the exposed banana with lemon juice.

Making Banana Juice?

Bananas actually do not yield any significant amount of juice; attempts to juice one will likely result in a blob of mush which can clog some juicers. This makes bananas ideal thickening agents for combination fruit juices or smoothies, and they provide enough sweetness that adding sugar becomes unnecessary. Juice other fruits in along with the banana and you will be rewarded with a smooth, refreshing and flavorful beverage. Pineapples, oranges, strawberries, melons, grapes, blueberries, papaya and kiwi all marry well with bananas, use any combination that your creativity conjures up. You can add a little zip by throwing a lime into the mix.

If you have an abundance of ripened bananas, you can freeze them to try another trick. Place frozen bananas into a juicer that has a blank plate or a homogenizing function. The pulp tube will present the purest, smoothest and healthiest banana ice cream that is free of added fat and sugar.

Choosing the best bananas for juicing and combining them with other fruits in your juicer is the perfect way to enjoy the luscious flavors, bright colors and healthy benefits of fruit.

02 May

Best Passion Fruits for Juicing and How to Choose Them

Passion fruit can be used in many different ways when cooking or canning. One of the most popular is juicing. For veteran juicers, the answers to common questions regarding passion fruits either spring to mind or else already have answers. But for someone looking to just enter the realm of juicing at home with this fruit type, it can be more difficult. Look no farther for answers regarding the best passion fruits for juicing.

Passion Fruit Varieties

Not every passion fruit is the same. Originally, there were two types: the purple and the yellow granadilla, named such due to having been cultivated in South America. Typically, the yellow fruit has a very tart taste that could be termed “acidic.” The purple form can be much sweeter and “subacidic.” Crosses (called hybrids) between the two have been ongoing for quite a number of years and have resulted in some fine varieties, such as the Frederick, Kahuna, Red Rover, Pratt Hybrid, Sevcik Selection, and several others. When it comes down to it, however, the two best passions fruits for juicing are the purple Frederick and the Kahuna. The Frederick tends toward a tart, borderline sour taste that can be citrusy while the Kahuna’s flavor is quite sweet. The final choice is up to the juicer’s taste.

Finding the Perfect Fruit

Now that you have a choice between the best fruits for juicing, it’s time to actually find and buy them. Thankfully, some standard grocery stores will have them for sale, as well as specialty stores. They can be ordered online for shipping from producers in the U.S. as well. These fruits can grow year-round in some parts of the world, so finding them is not the issue. Peak harvesting periods come twice a year: once between August and December, and the second time between March and May. The fruit should be round or possibly egg-shaped, 1.5 to 3 inches wide, with a smooth, waxy rind. There should be no weak places or discolored spots in the rind (it can have white spots naturally), as it should remain tough even after it has wrinkled. Because they are the best for juicers to use, they can be expensive. Often spending more for a better product will yield better results.

When Is It Ready?

No matter what type you choose or how much you spend, both purple and yellow granadilla types start out green when they’re first growing. They mature to take on their purple or yellow (or in some cases maroon or mixed) coloration. When the skin darkens and wrinkles, the fruit is ripe and ready to use. It will last in the refrigerator for up to a week once ripened.

30 Apr

Best Pears For Pear Juice And How To Choose Them

Pears are rich in vitamins and antioxidants, but most people aren’t aware that they are also a diuretic, which can be beneficial to those with digestive problems. Pears also contain pectin, which reduces levels of bad cholesterol in the blood. For those who own a juicer, fresh pear juice is an excellent way to enjoy newly harvested pears, and it can also be frozen for later use.

How to Choose Pears for Juicing

The best pears for juicing will be those that are fully ripe. Pears that haven’t yet ripened won’t yield much juice at all. If you’re going to be making juice from fruit from the grocery store, select pears that are soft but not squishy. If you’re fortunate enough to have a home orchard that includes a pear tree, pick the pears for juicing while they are still slightly immature. To ripen them quickly, place them in a paper bag with an apple or a ripe banana. These fruits give off a substance called ethylene that aids in the ripening process of fruits and vegetables.

Most people consider bartlett pears or bosc pears varieties to be the best pears for juicing. Asian types don’t seem to taste as well.

Making Fresh Juice From Your Pears

It isn’t at all difficult to make pear juice using a juicer. Wash the pears thoroughly and cut into small pieces, leaving out the stems and seeds. Put the pieces through the juicer, discard the pulp, and strain the juice through cheesecloth if you want it to be a bit thinner. Many people include a bit of apple juice when making pear juice to give it a slightly sweeter and full-bodied flavor.

24 Apr

Best Pomegranates for Pomegranate Juice and How to Choose Them

Pomegranates are a tree fruit that originated in the Middle East, but is now cultivated all over the world, anywhere where the climate is conducive to their growth. The seeds and the membrane that surrounds it, called arils, are the edible part of the fruit, though the membrane is where the juice is extracted from. Depending on the type of pomegranate, the flavor ranges from very sweet to quite tart. The best pomegranates for juicing are the sweeter variety and using them in a juicer is a great way to incorporate this so-called “superfood” into your diet.

Pomegranates are called a superfood because of how densely packed with vitamins and nutrients – especially phytonutrients – they are. They are also packed with Vitamin C, Vitamin B5 and potassium, as well as a lot more.

Pomegranate Types And Varieties

There are four main types of pomegranates grown for use in culinary applications. These are grown in various places around the world and are sought after for their subtle differences in flavor.

Wonderful Pomegranate: This is the post popular type of pomegranate grown for culinary purposes and is the largest of the commercially available types of pomegranate. Large and deep red, this is a sweet variety full of tasty arils.

Granada Pomegranate: This type has a very similar look and taste to the Wonderful, but it is smaller and deeper in color.

Sweet Pomegranate: As the name implies, this is the sweetest type of pomegranate cultivated commonly. Smaller than Wonderful pomegranates, this is the preferred variety for eating plain.

Angel Red Pomegranate : This pomegranate is large in size and is very deep red. It has soft seeds and produces the most juice out of all the varieties described. The Sweet Pomegranate is amongst the top choice for best pomegranates for juicing.

How to Choose the Best Juicing Pomegranate

Using a juicer is a great way to quickly and easily extract this tasty and healthy juice, but knowing how to pick out the ripest, best fruit can be a bit tricky since the good stuff we are after is inside the fruit. The following rules of thumb will help you pick out the perfect pomegranate.

Pomegranate season is from late fall to early winter, this is when the fruit will be at its prime.
Look for fruits that are bright and richly red.
Select fruits that are heavy for their size.
Avoid fruits with squishy spots, bruises or puckering.

21 Apr

Best Papayas For Papaya Juice And How To Choose Them

How Many Kinds Of Papayas Are There

If you are making papaya juice with or without a juicer, then your choices may be limited. The best papayas for juicing are the Mexican and Hawaiian. The Mexican red papaya is the kind that you would normally see in grocery stores. They are light red in color and do not have as sweet of a taste as the Hawaiian papayas. Hawaiian papayas are very sweet and yellow in color. However, not many grocery stores sell them. You would need to search farmer’s markets and specialty stores to find them. If you like a juice that is sweet, then the Hawaiian fruits are the best papayas for juicing.

Picking the Right Fruit

When you are looking for a papaya, you need to pay attention to the color. Avoid getting fruits that are green because these have been freshly picked and are not ripe yet. Choose a fruit that is bright with little to no brown spots. Make sure the outside of the fruit is hard and smooth. You can use the papayas to make juice by hand or in a juicer.

19 Apr

Best Oranges For Orange Juice And How To Choose Them

Say what you will about Florida, it has continued through hurricanes and even the Great Recession to provide Americans with our delicious breakfast juice of choice; orange juice. Sticky sweet, brightly acidic, and full of vitamin-packed pulp, fresh squeezed OJ is about the closest thing to waking up on the right side of the bed that you can get to on a typical weekday morning. Of course, pre-packaged, commercialized juices like Florida’s Natural and Tropicana will always be easier to make, but will also never be tastier than juicer made fresh squeezed OJ. But what are the best oranges for juicing at home? Thankfully, there are several easily identifiable varieties of oranges that come as close to making ambrosia as humans can get.

The Best Oranges for Juicing

Valencia oranges, also known as juicing oranges, are one of the most widely consumed oranges in the world. Mostly grown in Florida and Mexico, Valencia oranges usually come with several seeds, but have also been cultivated in a juicer-friendly seedless variety. Known and prized for their very sweet, yet smooth, juice, Valencia oranges are easy to find year-round in grocery stores around the US. The easiest way to identify a Valencia orange is to look for a nice light orange exterior rind, a full circular shape and little or no indentation marking where the core of the orange is.

Much like other oranges, Valencia oranges are best juiced when ripe to slightly over-ripe, as this stage of the fruit’s life provides the most juice. The easiest way to tell if a Valencia orange is ripe is to look at and feel the skin and smell the core of the fruit. If the orange’s skin has a uniform, light-golden orange color devoid of dark spots, and the rind feels smooth to the touch, it is most likely a good fruit. If the core then also smells sweet with a slight burst of acid at the end of your prolonged sniff, it is a ripe fruit.

Outside of the commercial United States, blood oranges are the most popular type of orange. Grown mostly in Spain and Italy, these slightly “discolored” fruits and even sweeter than Valencia oranges, and provide similar amounts of juice. Blood oranges are named and noted for their red-orange interior flesh, and their highly sweet and acidic taste. Blood oranges are easily identifiable, as their smaller shape and very rough and pitted exterior stand out among a crowd.

Of course, these characteristics make ripe blood oranges tougher to tell when they become ripe. The best way to see if your blood orange is ripe is to squeeze it first, as a ripe orange should give some, yet bounce back after being squeezed. Then, scratch the core and smell it. If it has a nice sweet smell with little bitterness to it, the blood orange is ripe and ready to put into your juicer.

18 Apr

Best Mangosteen For Mangosteen Juice And How To Choose Them

A tropical evergreen, the mangosteen comes in several varieties but purple mangosteens are the most common for eating and juicing. These fruits have a very thick outer skin that cannot be eaten; this must be removed before you run the fruit through your juicer. Mangosteens are popular with juicers due to their anti-inflammatory properties and have been used in Chinese medicine for years. They may be difficult to find in American supermarkets, but should be available in an Asian market in most areas.

What are the Best Mangosteen for Juicing?

Mangosteens are extremely sweet and juicy, and are the only fruits where glucose can be readily harvested from the raw fruit. They grow throughout the tropics of Asia and are most popular in Vietnam and Malaysia. There are very few sub-types or varieties of mangosteen as the plant is asexual, making it very difficult to hybridize. The purple mangosteen available today is essentially the same fruit that has been eaten since they were first cultivated.

It may be difficult to find a mangosteen in America due to laws against its importation from Asia. Domestic-grown fruits are cultivated only in some areas of Florida and California as most of America is not tropical enough to sustain them. They are also becoming more popular throughout the Caribbean and Puerto Rico, so they will become easier to obtain in the US.

How to Choose a Mangosteen at Market

Mangosteens will be roughly the size of a billiard ball and have a hard dark purple skin. Once the skin has been opened, the actual flesh of the mangosteen is bright white in color and is divided into segments somewhat like garlic cloves.

The best mangosteen for juicing will be somewhat soft to the touch without feeling squishy. Fruit that is very hard is not yet ripe and will not have a full flavor. The bottom of the fruit will have the impression of leaves where the stem was removed; the number of leaves will correspond to the number of white segments inside.

You can cut open a mangosteen along its equator or simply squeeze it until the skin bursts open. The fruit can then be peeled and eaten as-is or run through the juicer.

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