Spring into SPRING!

It's official: Spring has sprung!  We're so excited about the warmer weather, longer days and blossoms on the trees…but the thing that makes us want to jump for joy is SPRING PRODUCE!

The bounties of this season are not only tasty, they're full of nutrients and many seasonal fruits and veggies are detoxifying too.  So if you're like us and feeling the need to cleanse and detoxify but want to continue on life as usual, just incorporate some of the below spring produce into your diets.

Without any further adieu, the following is our Spring into Spring produce recommendations:

Cruciferous veggies (aka broccoli, kale, cauliflower, collards, etc)

These delicious veggies are not only jam packed with cancer-fighting nutrients they help clear up the liver’s detoxification pathways and can even support the body in eliminating fat.

Garlic

Green garlic (looks a lot like large green onions) is not only a gourmet treat; it’s an antibiotic that can reduce toxins in the body.  Similarly to cruciferous veggies, it’s a powerhouse at detoxifying the liver.

Artichokes

These beautiful flowers are not only fun to eat-they’re incredibly healthy.  Artichokes support the body in digesting fats and purifying the liver.  If you’re feeling extra daring you can drink the left over artichoke water (the water that you used to cook the artichokes in) as this water is incredibly high in antioxidants and very cleansing for the digestive tract.

Beets

These sweet and earthy roots are loaded with B vitamins, beta carotene, calcium and iron, all of which help with detoxification of the digestive tract and gallbladder.

Strawberries

Representing dessert in our top five is the perfectly delicious STRAWBERRY! We all know that they’re loaded with anti-oxidants but did you know that they’re an incredible source of vitamin C? Vitamin C is an important part of detoxifying the body as it removes fat deposits from the arteries.

So next time you’re at the market, don’t forget to load up your cart with these seasonal gems, your taste buds and your health will thank you!

How to Choose Perfectly Ripe Produce

When facing baskets of fresh figs or a bin full of onions, how do you make your selection? What are the marks of quality produce?

'Compact' and 'heavy for its size' are universal qualities to look for when selecting produce.

Below are more specific traits

Vegetables:

• artichoke: compact, with firm, fleshy, tightly closed leaves.
• asparagus: tight, dark green or deep purple tips with firm slender stalks, preferably less than 1/2" in diameter.
• eggplant: tight, smooth skin. small or medium-sized ones have fewer seeds (examining the scar on the blossom end to select 'male eggplants' is bunk! They possess both male and female parts and can self-reproduce.)
• garlic: plump and compact with tight skin
• onion: tightly-closed neck, firm and dry all over with crackly skin. all varieties should have a mild smell; a strong scent indicates rotting.
• peppers: firm, tight glossy skin. heavy ones have thicker walls and therefore more juicy flesh.

Fruits:

• passion fruit: large and heavy. ripe when deeply wrinkled.
• persimmon: deep color; more red than yellow.
• fig: deep color. white cracks and a slight leathering effect indicate extreme sweetness!
• lychee: redder the fresher/better. with stems attached.
• citrus: firm and round with smooth skin.

1. pomelo: heavy, fragrant.
2. grapefruit: flattened ends, skin that is not puffy.
3. lemon: bright yellow, not greenish.
4. lime: dark green ones taste freshest; yellowing indicates the degradation of tartness and overall flavor.

• melon: slight softness and fruity aroma. look for a 'ground-spot' (slightly flattened, side where the skin is lighter in color where the melon once rested on the ground.) The more distinct the ground-spot is, the more time the melon spent ripening on the vine.

1. cantalope: golden under the netting, not dull green.
2. honeydew: freckles on the skin indicate sweetness.
3. watermelon: ground-spot should be yellow, not white.
   

* The Wellness Encyclopedia of Food and Nutrition by Sheldon Margen, M.D., University of California, Berkeley, Random House Inc., 1992.