The Incredible Kiwi

After my post here where I talked a little bit about my calorie counting and weight loss, I figured it was a good idea to start peppering in some posts about healthy eating…just to have a little bit more balance to the food portion of the blog.  (It’s not like I never post about healthy food…check out these posts here, here, and here for just a few. ;))

Today I want to talk about a super food that I personally love, kiwi!

First of all, this post is about kiwi the fruit, not kiwi the bird.  I was recently on a flight home from California back to DC and had the pleasure of sitting next to my new found Kiwi friend, Eva.  It is quite amazing how much I DID NOT know about New Zealanders (aka, kiwis)!  I think we ended up spending most of the flight exchanging information on both of our countries (no, Eva, Red Lobster is not THE place to go for good crab and lobster in America)…(no, Karen, New Zealand is not the same country as Australia…no, Karen, we aren’t called Kiwis because of the little delicious brown fuzzy fruit).  I actually consider myself rather well traveled and worldly…humbled, party of one!  Did you know that you can ski in New Zealand?  In July (their winter season), you can surf in the morning on the coast, and then hit the slopes in the afternoon.  And we discussed how she’s never had a “white Christmas” like she’s always seen in the movies.  I told her that was fine, since I never have either (remember, I from SoCal…75 degrees and sunny is a normal Christmas day for us)!  She was pretty shocked to hear that not ALL of America is covered in snow for Christmas morning.  Needless to say, their was plenty of learning between the two of us in that 5 hour flight.

Anyway, back to kiwi the fruit.  I love kiwi, especially when it is just perfectly ripe and so, so sweet.  The other thing that’s great about kiwi besides the flavor?  It is packed with nutrients!  Many people believe that when they get a cold, a glass of orange juice is the way to go to blast your body with vitamin C.  You may be shocked to learn that kiwi contains TWICE the amount of vitamin C than an orange does!  (apparently, I’m really excited about kiwi…hence all the exclamation points. ;))  Kiwi also contains a bit of protein, vitamin E and folic acid, which are important in a well rounded diet.  Also, one peeled kiwi will only set you back around 50 calories…well worth it for all the nutrients packed inside.

Kiwi is also considered to have a high level of antioxidants because of the level of vitamin C and lutein it contains (lutein is similar to beta carotene, which is most notably found in carrots and provides them with their orange color and helps with vision disorders).  Lastly, kiwi has a good amount of dietary fiber…and who doesn’t need a little extra fiber, right?

{ Read more about kiwi at http://www.livestrong.com/article/41054-kiwi-nutrition-information/#ixzz21C4UotHe }

So, if you are bored of the same ol’ fruit that you’ve been eating, next time you’re at the store be sure to pick up some of these little delights and feel confident that you are treating your body to quite the super food.

If you aren’t sure how to eat them, I’ll tell you my method.  Give the little guy a quick rinse, cut off the ends and then, with a paring knife, carefully peel all the fuzzy skin off.  From that point, you can eat it just like and apple or cut it into slices like I did above in the photo.  If you are brave enough, the skin is actually also edible!

Happy kiwi eating!