Food & Lifestyle Health & Fitness

Fruity Friday – Let’s Talk Fruits, their Benefits and some Recipes!

By Renu Valke
Fruity Friday – Let’s Talk Fruits, their Benefits and some Recipes!
Fruity Friday
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We have all heard of how important Fruits are in our diet plans and its human tendency to forget Important Stuff! Eating fruit provides health benefits — people who eat more fruits as part of a complete healthy diet are likely to have a lesser risk of some chronic diseases. Fruits provide nutrients vital for health and maintenance of your body.

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has recently given out details of a few Fruits that are going to help us preserve our taste for sweets as well as help maintain our health. Let us have a look at them one by one along with some Quick Consumable Recipes!

POMELO

The hybrid of Oranges and Mandarin, POMELO is a fruit that is high on proteins and fibers and low on calories!

Recipe –

Pomelo Juice!

Mix some flavoured Soda with some Pomelo Juice that you just squeezed out of the Giant Citrus fruit and add some crushed ice into it! Ah! Delicious!

GUAVA

A commonly grown tropical fruit that consists of a lot of potassium, calcium and fibers, the GUAVA is also a diabetes friendly fruit says FSSAI.

Recipe –

The Peru Pyaala!

Why stick to sweet? Make that tongue burn a lil!

Blend the Guava with some cold water. Add some red chili powder into the medium thick juice and some ice and blend it again.

Take a glass, wet the rim, dip it into some salt and chili powder mixture. Pour in the ‘Peru’ juice and tadaa! The Peru Pyaala is ready.

JACKFRUIT

A Giant Fruit with a strong odour that helps in digestion of the food, JACKFRUIT also maintains the Blood Glucose in the body.

Recipe –

Jackfruit Appam

  1. Chop the edible flesh of the jackfruit.
  2. Wash and soak idli rice for 3 hrs minimum. Drain water completely and grind it in a mixer, with jaggery, jack fruit and cardamom, to a smooth batter.
  3. Add cooking soda, salt and grated coconut, dry ginger powder (if needed) and mix well.
  4. Heat paniyaram pan (Appe pan) and grease with few drops of ghee and pour the batter. Cook covered in medium or low flame. After 2 mins, flip and cook with more ghee drizzled over. When both sides are golden and cooked from inside, transfer to the serving bowl.

STARFRUIT

A fruit that fights diabetes and cholesterol, the STARFRUIT also acts as an antioxidant in the body and encourages metabolism.

Recipe –

The Starfruit Mojito!

Boil some Lemongrass in water along with some sugar. Chop the Starfruit into pieces and blend it. Make a Mint leaves and lemon juice mixture by muddling. Take a Glass and dip the rim into the mixture of honey, red chili powder and chat masala. Add some ice cubes. Pour the Starfruit puree and then the cooled down lemongrass tea along with the muddled mint leaves and lemon juice and here it is, a glass full of freshness ready to dance down your throat!

RAMBUTAN

The creamier version of the Lychee that is good for a beautiful refreshing skin, the RAMBUTAN is a fruit that helps in preventing constipation and is also a cure for diarrhoea Two in One!!

Recipe –

Rambutan Smoothie!

Peel some Rambutans and blend it with double its number of Grapes. A cup full of fruit yoghurt into it with a half cleaned and peeled cucumber. Blend it all well and top it up with some Vanilla Ice-cream and yumm! A Stomach filler is ready!

PERSIMMON

Quite unheard a name, right? PERSIMMON is a subtropical grown fruit in the northern states of the country with a tangy-sweet taste. It helps in reducing Blood Pressure, Blood Sugar Levels and Weight too!

Recipe –

Persimmon Salsa!

The name sounds very ‘Dance-like’ and that’s what the taste of the Salsa would do to you. Dice some persimmons in little squares. Chop equal amount of onion and jalapeno (green chilly works too) and marinate them with salt and lime. Mix them all together and sprinkle some coriander over and add a few pomegranate seeds just to add a color pop and the Persimmon Salsa is ready to take over your tastebuds in that house party!

PAPAYA

A commonly eaten fruit that helps in digestion. PAPAYA also helps reduce the acne on the face due to its papain and chymopapain enzyme content.

Recipe –

Paw-Pi-Ya drink!

Cut the ripe Papaya and half its amount of Pineapple. Blend the two together with some ice cubes and some water. Pour it in a glass and add some red chili powder and chat masala for garnishing and your Paw-Pi-Ya Drink is ready to be drunk!

BANANA

Did you read it the way the Minions call it? Ba-Ba-Baa Ba-Ba-NaNa! A go to fruit that helps in boosting the energy levels, the BANANA also acts as an antioxidant and benefits making a bad mood good!

Recipe –

Breakfast Smoothie!

Add the Banana chunks along with a few pieces of Papaya in a blender. Add a cup full of yoghurt, half cup muesli and peanuts, 2-3 tablespoons of Honey and blend the mixture together. Crush walnuts, cashews, almonds and pistachios into bitable pieces. Take a glass and add half the dry-fruits at the bottom, fill the glass with the blended smoothie and top it up with the rest of the dry-fruits and your wholesome Breakfast Smoothie is ready.

CUSTARD APPLE

A fiber, mineral and vitamin rich fruit that lowers the risk of arthritis, the CUSTARD APPLE is useful is preventing anemia and keeps the skin youthful and fresh.

Recipe –

Sithaphal Basundi!

My mouth is already watering while I write down the recipe of the most delicious sweet ever. Step 1 Prepare whey protein milk

To make this enticing recipe, boil milk in a heavy-bottomed pot. Let it simmer and keep stirring continuously, to make sure that it doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan. Once the milk is boiled and reduced to half its volume, add sugar, whey protein powder, cardamom powder and stir to prepare a thick mixture.

Step 2 Add custard apple pulp and boil again

Cook the mixture for 15-20 minutes. Once done, remove from flame and add the pulp of custard apple. Mix well to combine all ingredients. Garnish with chopped peanuts and serve chilled.

And last but not the least

CUCUMBER

A botanically proven Fruit but used as a vegetable in the culinary world, the CUCUMBER keeps the body hydrated that in turn aids digestion and also helps control Blood Pressure.

Recipe –

Let’s keep this a simple one. Spice Cucumber Sticks!

Cut the Cucumber into long pieces. Sprinkle some red chili powder, salt and chat masala and then, what are you waiting for? Binge on that healthy snack!

And here, we come to an end of the Fruity article! Hope it all tastes good!

Renu Valke

Renu Valke

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