Guest Blog Post from Zara Blake: 7 Must-Have Winter Fruits and Vegetables

This Guest post is contributed by Zara Blake, a nutritionist blogger from UK. With her background in nutrition and finance, she has written many articles on health, wellness and finance.  At present she is focusing on ppi claims.

In winter season, you find lots of fresh fruits and vegetables in the market. They are rich in vitamins and nutrients that help in increasing immunity. To stay healthy and fit, it is always necessary to have a balanced diet. Fill your plate with the fruits and vegetables rich in all kinds of vitamins and fibre.

Here are 7 must-have winter fruits and vegetables:

Fruits:

·         Grapes: - This fruit is rich in vitamin C, B6, magnesium, pantothenic acid, thiamine and potassium. You can eat it or can make a milkshake or add it to any kind of salads. You could even make jams and spread the same on bread, instead of cheese or butter.

·         Pomegranate: -Pomegranate contains vitamins B and C, and moderate amounts of fibre, as well as healthy fats, protein, and potassium found in the seeds. One fruit contains around 105 calories and is low in sodium. The interior of the fruit is filled with the seeds called arils. The name comes from two French words, “prome” and “granate” means literally “apple with many seeds”. Recipes like Mizuna (Japanese Mustard Greens), melon and pomegranate salad, and celery, bulgur, and pomegranate salad would take a minimal time to prepare and tastes good too.

·         Kiwi: - This fruit is rich in vitamins like K, E and C, copper and magnesium and folate, which is a mix of many in one. It has to be peeled and can be served directly or a fruit punch any time. 

      *Kelly specifically recommends kiwis to many of her clients because one medium kiwi contains less than 50 calories and more than 100% of your daily value of Vitamin C.

·         Avocado: -Along with being rich in healthy fats, vitamins C and K, folate is also present in this fruit. Spread it like a guacamole on the sandwich, instead of mayonnaise, even add to salads. It can be served by cutting it into two halves and adding lemon, kosher salt, olive oil and pepper to give a great taste.

·         Kushus, Oranges, Clementine, and Tangerines: -These are the varieties of Oranges available in the market mostly in winter season. . These fruits are rich in vitamins A, E and C. Apart from these; they even contain potassium, copper and niacin. They look like normal oranges from outside. These are found in North America in the month of November till March.

* Kelly recommends blood oranges because they are also rich in an antioxidant called anthocyanin due to their dark purple color and are available currently in specialty produce stores like Gentiles Market.

Vegetables:

·         Broccoli: - Broccoli is rich in potassium, magnesium and contains vitamins K, C and A. If you are dieting, the best way to take it is to make a wonderful soup and serve it hot. Here is a recipe I recommend:

                 Ingredients :

o   1 garlic clove- sliced,

o   1 onion – sliced,

o   1 celery stalk- chopped,

o   2 cans of chicken broth

o   broccoli- 4cups,

o   3 teaspoons butter

o   3 tablespoons of flour 

o   2 cups of fat free or low-fat milk

o   pepper,

o   ½ cup of reduced-fat cheese

                 Procedure:

Heat the pan and add butter, onion, garlic, celery until it turns little brown and then add broccoli, chicken soup and simmer it for 10 mins. Later, blend the soup and stir it with flour, milk until it turns thick and foamy. Add cheese until it gets melted. Serve it hot garnishing with pepper.

·     

       Sweet potatoes: - Sweet potatoes are rich in vitamin B6, A and C, iron, phosphorous and fiber. View Kelly’s blog post on sweet potatoes for more information: http://kellyspantry.blogspot.com/2010/12/sweet-potatoes.html  

This post was quickly edited by Kelly, but left in tact for European spellings for authenticity ;-)

For questions or to get in touch with Zara, email her at: zara.blake22@gmail.com