Fruit Of Choice For Monday – GRAPES
Grapes
Grapes are a key healthy fruit to add into your diet if you haven’t already. Grapes offer key benefits like: antioxidants, anti-inflammatory, cardiovascular, help with our blood sugar levels, anti-aging / longevity and anti-cancer. In addition to providing us with conventional antioxidant nutrient like vitamin C and manganese, grapes are filled with antioxidant phytonutrients that range from common carotenoids like beta-carotene to unusual stilbenes like resveratrol. Grapes contain large amounts of ellagic and caffeic acids, which deactivate carcinogens, and are a good source of potassium. The flavonoids in grapes help protect the heart, and the resveratrol found in red wine and red grapes have a protective effect on the cardiovascular system. Grapes also contain boron, which helps maintain estrogen levels, this helps prevent calcium loss and may be instrumental in preventing osteoporosis.
When buying grapes and looking for the best tasting go with the ones that have high concentrations of antioxidants and select those that are fully ripe. Fully ripened grapes are plump and free from wrinkles. They should be intact, firmly attached to a healthy looking stem, and not leaking juice. The area around the attachment should have the same color as the rest of the grape. One way to help predict the sweetness of grapes is by their color. Green grapes should have a slight yellowish hue, red grapes should be mostly red, while purple and blue-black grapes should be deep and rich in color.
Juice Recipe:
4 oranges
3 cups red grapes
5 fresh mint leaves
1 lemon
Smoothie Recipe:
1 cup coconut water
1 cup aloe vera juice
handful of spinach
1 cup grapes ( green or red )
