Category Archive: Fruits

Hubby bought some miniature honey dews from the fruit stall. When we saw it, we had no idea what it was. It didn’t look like the regular honey dew with smooth pale green skin. Instead, there were yellow and pale yellow stripes, which made it look like a pumpkin.  The size of the miniature honey dew is around the size of a huge guava with seeds.

This is how it looks like inside. It tastes exactly like honey dew but ain’t very sweet. Nothing special about the taste of this special miniature honey dew and it’s expensive too.

Honeydew Melon Nutritional And Health Benefits
Honeydew melons have similar nutritional benefits of summer and winter squash.
Honeydew melons are low in calories and high in their water content. They provide an
excellent source of vitamin C and are also a very good source of potassium, copper,
and B vitamins (including thiamine, niacin, B6, and pantothenic acid).

Due to their high water content and combination with potassium, honeydew melons
are helpful in maintaining healthy blood pressure levels. They also provide several key
nutrients that are particularly beneficial for healthy skin.

Honeydew melon is low on calories and has no fat or cholesterols, so it is recommended to consume it instead of desserts if you want to lose weight in natural way. However it contains 14 grams of natural sugar per cup so it should not be eaten too much.

Another substance that honeydew melon is rich in is folate and therefore it improves cardiovascular system and prevents heart diseases. Folate is essential for proper brain function. If one is low in folate they have more chances to develop Alzheimer’s disease. Folate is especially important vitamin for pregnant women. Having enough of folate will keep your baby healthy and will help your baby develop well.

New researches show that honeydew melon can help in prevention of diabetes and also some types of cancer.

I saw some pomegranates at the fruit stall the other day and since it’s been aeons (I think more than a decade) I last ate them, I bought one. Pomegranates ain’t cheap, costing over RM4 each.  I had almost forgotten how pomegranates tasted like and when I ate it, I didn’t quite like it.  The entire fruit is made up of seeds.  The seeds are covered by a thin layer of aril or flesh.  The arils are sweet but the seeds are a tad bitter.  Some people only eat the flesh but I ate everything!  The seeds are edible and are a good source of fibre.

Pomegranates have very high content of punicalagins, a potent anti-oxidant component found to be responsible for its superior health benefits.

High in Anti-Oxidant
Researches indicate that the capacity of anti-oxidant in this fruit is two or three times higher than that of red wine and green tea. The level of anti-oxidant is even higher than those of other fruits known to have high-levels of anti-oxidant, including blueberries, cranberries and oranges. This was attributed to the very high polyphenol content in the fruit.

They are also a good source of vitamin B (riboflavin, thiamin and niacin), vitamin C, calcium and phosphorus. These combination and other minerals in pomegranates cause a powerful synergy that prevents and reverses many diseases.

Good For The Heart
A new study has shown that drinking pomegranate juice frequently is extremely beneficial in fighting the hardening of arteries (atherosclerosis). It reduces the oxidation of bad LDL cholesterol which contributes to artery clogging and hardening.

Not only does the juice significantly reduce the blood vessel damage, it is found to actually reverse the progression of this disease.

Anti-Cancer
Another study positively proved that pomegranates contain a powerful agent against cancer, particularly prostate cancer.

Here are some common ailments that are known to react positively with the use of pomegranate or its juice:

Anemia: Add a teaspoon of ground cinnamon with a little honey to a cup of pomegranate juice. Especially beneficial for women after monthly loss of blood due to menstruation.

Anal Itch: Itching in the anal region is often caused by parasites in the intestines that go to the anal area to lay their eggs. Roast some pomegranate skin until it is brown and brittle. Then crush it to a fine powder form and mix with a little olive oil. Apply this concoction to the anus to kill the worms.

Asthma: The high content of ascorbic acid (vitamin C) in this fruit is a powerful anti-inflammatory agent. It can greatly reduce wheezing in young children with asthma.

Bleeding Piles: Pound the (clean) skin of one fruit from the sour variety. Boil the pound pulp in about two cups of water. Sweeten with honey and drink twice a day until healed.

Dysentery: Drinking fresh pomegranate juice is an excellent remedy to soothe the pain and inflammation caused by severe diarrhea with blood and mucus in stools.

Loss of Appetite: If you can’t eat, at least you can drink! Pomegranate juice can help increase your appetite.

Morning Sickness: Mix and drink an equal amount of honey with pomegranate juice for relief.

Sore Throat: The anti-inflammatory agent in pomegranate juice significantly reduces the soreness and redness in the throat.

Info extracted from www.juicing-for-health.com/pomegranate.html

Many people have never seen, eaten or heard of the umbra fruit. This fruit is called ‘sar lei’ in Cantonese or buah kedondong in Malay.  Umbra is sometimes used in fruit rojak, where the fruit will be dipped with thick rojak sauce (made of shrimp paste).   These days, some restaurants and coffee shops sell freshly blended umbra juice.  A steamboat restaurant where we regularly patronize sells freshly blended umbra juice with ‘suen mui’ (dried sour plums).  The thirst quencher is sugar-free and is really refreshing especially when you are having a hot steamboat meal or on a sizzling day.  It costs a whopping RM3.50 a glass and a glass is usually not enough to satiate you.  According to the restaurant owner, the umbra juice is good for lowering blood pressure and cholesterol.

My mil bought a big bag of umbra from the wet market the other day. She had intended to bring them overseas but had forgotten all about them when she left. No one else in the family liked this sour fruit so I had to force myself to eat them – so much that my teeth felt sensitive after days of munching them, as a result of the high acid from the fruit corroding my teeth enamel! In the end, the remaining fruits turned black and all went into the bin!

The hubs bought a packet of yellow color fresh dates the other day.  They didn’t taste as good as the brownish-greenish fresh dates which are round in shape.

The yellow color, oblong shaped fresh dates are sweet but have a slight bitter taste and sappy texture, as if you are eating bananas that are not ripened yet.  I was told later that I should not have refrigerated the fresh dates.  I should have left the fresh dates in room temperature and let the dates ripened, turn dry and wrinkly before eating them.  Well, after refrigerating the dates for almost a week, we left them in room temperature but bummer, the dates turned mouldy and we threw them away!

Food For Thought:
A 100 gram portion of fresh dates is a premium source of vitamin C and supplies 230 kcal (960 kJ) of energy. They are fat free, cholesterol free, and are a good source of fiber. Every 100 gram portion includes Vitamin A — 5 mcg beta-carotene and 75 mcg lutein + zeaxanthin and Vitamin B-complex total folate – 13 mcg. A single date contains Vitamin B6. Dates also contain Vitamin A1, B1, B2, B3, B5, C and more than 20 different amino acids, helping us digest and assimilate carbohydrates easier and control blood sugar levels and fatty acids content in our bodies. The selenium (a powerful antioxidant) lowers the risk of cancer and heart diseases, as well as helps us keep our immune systems healthy. As a single date contains around 23 calories, this very low calorie count and the huge amount of healthy substances in dates make them one of the best nutrition sources for a diet plan menu.

Dates are high in iron and potassium. They are useful in treating anemia, constipation and fatigue. Dates that are immersed in water overnight and then pureed with the remaining water before consuming in the morning can be used to counter constipation.

Dates are believed to prevent certain types of cancer, especially pancreatic cancer.

Dates soaked in fresh goat’s milk and eaten with honey and a pinch of cardamom is believed to increase sexual stamina!  Anyone gamed to try that?

Caution : Dates contain compounds that may cause headaches in certain individuals. Dates are also very high in sugar content and you should go easy on them or not eat them if you have diabetes.

Traditional Medicinal Uses:
Dates have a high tannin content and are used medicinally as a detersive (having cleansing power) and astringent in intestinal troubles. As an infusion, decoction, syrup, or paste, dates may be administered for sore throat, colds, bronchial catarrh, and taken to relieve fever and number of other complaints. One traditional belief is that it can counteract alcohol intoxication. The seed powder is also used in some traditional medicines. The roots are used against toothache.

There used to be a very fertile custard apple (hoong mo lai cee in Cantonese) tree that my late maternal grandma planted decades ago that bore us lots of fruits for many years. We had so much that my brothers and I got fed-up of eating them. There was also a huge guava tree that also bore loads of guavas and my brothers and I used to climb that tree to pluck ripe guavas.

The other day, hubby bought a huge custard apple that cost RM5 each. It tasted a tad different from the ones bore by the custard apple tree that my grandma planted. It was more fleshy, did not have a ‘sandy’ texture and there were not as many seeds as the ones that I used to eat when I was little. It was really sweet and really tasted like custard (well of course, that’s why it’s called custard apple).

I did a google search and found out that the custard apple has many nutritional and health benefits.

Given below is nutritional value per 100 gm of custard apple:

* Thiamine (B1) – 0.05 to 0.08 mg
* Vitamin A -1 mg
* Riboflavin (B2) – 0.08 to 0.1 mg
* Natural Sugar – 14 to 18 gm
* Niacin (B3) – 0.5 to 0.8 mg
* Carbohydrate – 23.71 gm
* Iron – 0.7mg
* Total Acidity – 0.4 mg
* Energy – 76 to 96 cal (310 to 420 kJ)
* Protein – 1 to 4.3 gm
* Zinc – 0.2 to 2.7mg
* Magnesium – 32 to 88 mg
* Copper – 2.4mg
* Potassium – 250 to 578 mg
* Sodium – 4 to 14 mg
* Calcium – 17 to 22 mg
* Vitamin C – 22 to 43 mg
* Fibre – 1 to 3.2 g
* Total Soluble Solids (Brix) – 22.3%

Health & Nutritional Benefits of Eating Custard Apple

* Custard apple is a storehouse of Vitamin C, which is an anti-oxidant and helps in neutralizing free radicals.
* Vitamin A present in the fruit is good for hair, eyes and healthy skin.
* Custard apple contains magnesium, which plays vital role in relaxing muscles and protecting heart against diseases.
* Potassium and Vitamin B6 are also present in custard apple.
* Copper is yet another useful ingredient of custard apple.
* It is a rich source of dietary fiber, which helps in digestion.
* As it contains low fat levels, it is good for maintaining optimum health.
* The paste of the flesh of the fruit can be used for local application on ulcers, abscesses and boils.
* The fruit, in its unripe form, can be dried, crushed and used for treating diarrhea and dysentery.
* Custard apple serves as an expectorant, stimulant, coolant and haematinic and is even useful in treating anemia.
* The seeds of the fruit have insecticidal and abortifacient properties.