August 13, 2008
Add Some Exotic Fruit to Your Training Table Today
By Cynthia Sass
If you’re like most of the athletes I counsel, you probably eat the same few, familiar fruits over and over. But one of my #1 recommendations for using the power of nutrition to sharpen your competitive edge is to expand your fruit horizons. Eating a wider variety of fruits exposes your body to a broader spectrum of nutrients and antioxidants. Think of antioxidants like little bodyguards that fend off the substances that trigger injuries, premature aging and disease. Research shows that having smaller amounts of a wider variety of bodyguards is more protective than having a larger number of fewer types. So, consider picking up a few newbies the next time you’re food shopping. Here’s a description of over a dozen “exotic” fruits, including what they look like and how they taste:
Carambola – also called Star Fruit, named for the 5 pointed star shaped slices it yields. This delicious gem has a pale yellow, juicy flesh and a distinctly tropical flavor.
Casaba – look like golden yellow melons with a greenish tint on their wrinkled skins. The inside is creamy-green, juicy and lightly sweet.
Cherimoya - a heart-shaped sub-tropical fruit tastes like a blend of pineapple, mango and strawberry.
Feijoa - sometimes called pineapple guava. It’s a lime-green, egg-shaped fruit with soft flesh similar in texture to a pear.
Guava – this fruit has an edible light green skin and creamy white flesh. It tastes like a cross between an Asian pear and a crab apple.
Jackfruit - the outside is covered with spiny, knobby green bumps. As it ripens, the skin turns yellowish. The pink or yellow fruit on the inside tastes a little like mango and melon.
Kiwano melon – this fruit has a spiky, orange shell. Inside you’ll find a soft, bright green flesh that’s similar in taste to juicy, seed-filled cucumbers.
Kumquat - slightly larger than an olive, a kumquat kinda looks like a tiny orange. It’s entirely edible with orange flesh that’s juicy and sweet and an acidic, tart skin.
Loquat – also called the Japanese Plum. Loquats have a sweetly tart, cherry-like flavor.
Lychee - very sweet and juicy! This delicious fruit native to China is 1 to 2 inches in diameter. The outside is covered within a thin, protective bumpy skin. The inner fruit is translucent white (kinda looks like an eyeball) with a single, non-edible seed.
Monstera – this fruit has hexagonal "tiles" that split away from each other when it’s ripe to expose a creamy, banana-like pulp.
Passion Fruit – this egg-shaped tropical fruit has a distinctive sweet-tart flavor. Under its dimpled shell there’s a jelly-like golden flesh, filled with soft edible seeds.
Persimmon – this orange tomatoish-looking fruit has a brilliant amber-like color. The flesh is sweet with subtle exotic flavor.
Pomegranate - this member of the berry family has a thick, leathery, crimson-to-brown shell with a gorgeous pinkish pulp and edible seeds. It’s tender, sweet, and tart.
Prickly Pear - also called cactus pear or Indian fig. It’s a vibrant purple with a sweet-tart taste.
Quince – this golden fruit a symbol of love and happiness. It’s about the size of a large apple and typically round or pear shaped. When it’s ripe, the skin will turn from green to yellow and the inner flesh turns from light pink to purple, becoming softer and sweeter after cooking (it’s usually made into jellies, jams and pies).
Sapote – it’s about the size of an apple with sour greenish skin. When ripe the yellow-green fruit becomes sweeter and more yellow.
Which of the above fruits have you tried?