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Apple pie may be an American icon, but peach pie can be just as delicious. Moms make some incredible homemade apple pie during the holidays, but peaches are a close second as a tasty (and potentially healthy) dessert ingredient.  Before becoming a Western favorite, the fuzzy fruit originated in the Far East but is now grown all over the world.  Peach trees are appearing more and more in residential yards instead of the traditional apple tree.

Very few ingredients are required for a wide range of delicious peach desserts.  The same basic ingredients can be used as a recipe for peach pie, a crunchy peach cobbler recipe, and a fresh peach cobbler recipe.  A crust or “cobbler” crumble simply requires cold water, butter, flower, and some sugar while sliced peaches, cinnamon, and sugar make an easy filling.  For greater ease, trade fresh peaches for a good canned brand to create a canned peach cobbler recipe.  While the standard peaches and cream recipe is a classic treat, some recipes add a twist with fresh berries or unexpected spices.  In place of cream, a dollop of plain Greek yogurt on any fresh fruit can be a nutritious substitute for cream.

For folks who are crazy about peaches, consider a recipe for peach salsa and one for peach jelly.  Peach orchards have grown in popularity for those who like to pick the fruit straight from the tree, or fresh peaches can be purchased at local farmers’ markets.

Reference: http://www.natural-homeremedies.org/blog/goodness-of-peaches/

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GoodBelly TOGO Mango

I decided to try the Mango GoodBelly ToGo product today.  It was quite tasty. 

GoodBelly’s ToGo product has 20 Billion probiotics, clinically proven to improve core digestive health and strengthen immunity, and 500mg of Vitamin C!  Probiotics: Lactobacillus Plantarum 299v; Bifidobacteriaum Lactis Bi-07; Lactobaccilus Acidophilus.

GoodBelly TOGO Mango in Water Bottle - Not Shaken Up

As with the Blueberry Acai Flavor, it comes in a convenient package. Since it is a probiotic, it’s goal is to improve core digestive health and to strengthen immunity.  No doubt that doesn’t happen overnight, therefore I cannot comment on the effectiveness of my immunity or digestive health.

The directions on the package state, “Add contents of packet to 6 ounces of water or juice and enjoy.”  As with the Blueberry Acai Flavor, I added it to 16.9 ounces of water.  You’ll notice how it sinks to the bottom (see the photo to the right).  Once you have shaken it up, then it evenly distributes throughout the bottle.  If you do not drink it somewhat quickly, then it will re-settle to the bottom of the bottle.  So we do recommend having a screw top bottle to use when drinking the GoodBelly ToGo packets, so that you don’t have to chug it, if you don’t want to.

GoodBelly TOGO Mango in Water Bottle - Shaken Up

The taste of the Mango flavor  is more favorable than that of the Blueberry Acai.  The point of these probiotics, however, is not that they taste good but that they help your digestive system! 

So if you are looking for an alternative to past methods and drugs you’ve taken for your immunity and digestive health, then you might be interested in trying GoodBelly Probiotics – there are links to purchase it below.

The GoodBelly To Go is dairy-free, gluten-free and vegan.

Buy GoodBelly ToGo:

Case Quantity is $67.50 (there are 6 boxes in a case, each box contains 8 individual packets, or about $1.41/packet)

Box Quantity is $12.50 (each box contains 8 individual packets, or about $1.56/packet)

Suggested Use: One Packet per Day

GoodBelly is a division of NextFoods out of Boulder, CO.

Have you tried this product?  Do you want to try this product?  If so, please tell us about it by leaving a comment below!

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The raspberry is pretty well-known across the world.  They are grown for local grocery stores and fresh food markets as well as for processing for frozen fruit, dried, pureed fruit and juice.

Because raspberries need an ample amount of sun and water to develop, they are usually a mid-summer crop, depending on where you are located in the world. 

In addition to their great taste and fun texture, raspberries as with all antioxidant fruits, have numerous health benefits.

• Polyphenol antioxidants
• Anthocyanin pigments
• Dietary fiber
• Vitamic C
• Manganese
• Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin)
• Vitamin B3 (Niacin)
• Folic Acid
• Magnesium
• Potassium
• Omega 3 Fatty Acids
• Copper
• Iron

Because of their deeper color, raspberries are near the top when compared to other fruits based on their antioxidants when it comes to their dense amounts of ellagic acid, quercetin, gallic acid, anthocyanins, cyanidins, pelargonidins, catechins, kaempferol and salicyclic. 

Raspberries have an ORAC Value of about 4900 per 100 grams, which falls under blueberries (they’re 9000 ORAC units) and above apples at 2800.

The health benefits that some have experienced with raspberries are listed below.  Please be aware that this isn’t proof that they work, but that they are known to help.

• Reduces Inflamation
• Helps to Eliminate Age-Related Cognitvie Decline
• Prevents Cardiovascular Disease
• Reduces Allergies
• Helps to Prevent Degeneration of Eye Sight with Aging
• Reduces Pain
• Prevents Cancer

Reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raspberry

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If you have been a loyal Antioxidant-fruits.com reader, then you might have noticed that the site was re-launched in January with a bit of a facelift.

After much debate, we decided to move the site from SBI to Wordpress and used Ninja Blog Setup to do it.

We wanted the site to be more interactive and engaging for our readers.  We also quite enjoy this platform as it allows for us to include a lot more options than we were able to do with SBI.

So with that said, we would love for our readers to start contributing.  If you like fruit, have a fruit company or just want to learn about fruit, we are accepting guest posts.  Please do contact us and clear your topic idea for the site before you submit it.

We are also accepting fruit recipes, fruit pictures, fruit farm directory listings, travel to fruit ideas, where to buy fruit ideas and much more.

The purpose of antioxidant-fruits.com is to share information about fruit – it’s uses, availability and benefits.  Fruit is an amazing food – it looks cool, tastes great and supplies our bodies with fabulous nutrients and minerals.

Please contribute to this site in any way that you see fit!  We welcome all comments and suggestions!

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Post by Jenny Dean

We know you’re out there and reading antioxidant-fruits.com, so there must be a reason for it!  We want to know if you have a favorite fruit!

I certainly do, but it took me awhile to know that it was my favorite fruit.  I am 30 years old and never seemed to be much a fan of fruit. 

I think watermelon was my favorite fruit.  How lame is that?

But in my mid-20s I discovered raspberries.  Although raspberries are pretty common place, I really was sort of grossed out by them.  However, now I love their texture.

Picking raspberries outside of Middlebury, VT

I got my Masters in Spanish from Middleburry College, so in the summers, when we weren’t in class, we would go and pick raspberries.  There are small raspberry growers all over Vermont.  Usually, they will have a plywood sign that they have painted.  Something along the lines of, “Pick Raspberries Here.” 

They hand you a little basket and everything you can fit into the basket is yours for $3-$4.  The best thing is when they tell you that you can go ahead and taste test while you are picking out your raspberries. 

There is nothing like a warm, ripe Vermont raspberry!  YUM!  However, you can eat too many and then pay the price in the bathroom later!  However, it is a price I am willing to pay to over endulge in raspberries.

So, we want to know what is your favorite fruit?  Why?  How did it become your favorite fruit?  Comment below and let us know.  If it’s an unusal fruit, let us know where it comes from, what the health benefits are (if you know of any) and where to find it.

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We all have heard for years that eating your fruits and veggies is a necessity.  Certainly, you are aware of that necessity if you have ever been constipated from eating too much bad food.  A little fiber from fruits and veggies will set you straight!  And your digestive system isn’t the only thing that is aided when you eat a proper diet.  Here are a couple of fruits that if you eat a few times a week, just might save your life.

Grapes:  Need a healthy dose of vitamin C and potassium?  No problem.  Grapes to the rescue.  If you know anything about antioxidants then you know the darker the skin of a fruit, the more dense it is in antioxidants.  The polyphenols found in the skin of a grape have tremendous health benefits and the carotenoid hycopene of red grapes helps to fight breast and prostate cancer.

Fruit that Ends with “berry”:  Surely, you know a lot of fruit that ends in”berry”.  In fact, usually fruits are paired with berries, “fruits and berries” is often how you see it.  Some examples are: the blueberry, the elderberry, the strawberry, etc.  Berries, because they are so rich in color, are loaded with antioxidants.

Fruit, because of the fiber and antioxidants that they offer, are excellent for detoxifying the system.

Learn more about Ten Foods that Could Save Your Life, like chocolate, coffee, pumpkin, avocados, oats, soy, cinnamon and nuts.  Or read a more extensive list of 101 foods that could save your life.

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Written by Cosmetic Chemist Amanda Foxon-Hill from www.realizebeauty.com

Every year we spend hundreds if not thousands of our hard-earned dollars on beauty creams, lotions, treatments and serums in the hope of putting the breaks on the ageing process. We do this with gusto, pouring over our purchases with  friends while sipping our latte’s and  chowing down on muffins and banana bread. After all why not indulge a little, we just invested in designer skin!  However, it is becoming increasingly clear that the products that we put onto our skin are only half the story.  Ever heard that anoying saying “you are what you eat”……..

……. and there is nothing better for the skin than some antioxidant-packed berries!

As far as skin-health goes free-radicals can be public enemy number one. Free-radicals are little charged particles that have an attitude problem! They like nothing better than to provoke other cells into action, sending them on a journey that ends in distruction and dis-repair. Free-radicals are created when oxidation takes place in cells and while this process is not un-natural, the status-quo  of the cells can be affected negatively through too many late nights, the consumption of nutritionally poor food, drugs and alcohol, too much sun exposure and disease.  On top of that, as we age the bodies ability to clean-up free-radicals deminishes and the effects of a life lived to excess start to show.

Luckily for us, nature provides the perfect high tech anti-oxidant package in the form of those beautiful red, blue and purple things we call fresh berries – pass the fruit bowl!

• Blueberries are one of natures super-foods. These little gems are packed full of Vitamin C which helps the skin to produce high-quality collagen (collagen along with elastin helps to give our skin its structure. Good quality collagen keeps the wrinkles at bay) and vitamin E which helps to maintain the skins barrier function.
• Cherries contain some very interesting natural antioxidants in the form of the flavanols cyanidin and quercetin which act as anti-inflamatories for the skin-cells.
• Blackberries are a great source of essential fatty acids – essential because you have to EaT them, your body can’t make them! Blackberries are a great source of Alpha Linolenic Acid which helps regulate sebum production and reduce inflammation.  They are also rich in Vitamin A which is great for acne-prone skin.

These, along with many other fresh fruits are a great way to ensure that you are giving your skin the best possible tools for which to tackle premature ageing.  There is no short-cut to healthy looking, youthful skin and for some of us, our genetics make for an up-hill battle. However, adding some of these super-fruits into your diet can stack the odds in your favour.

So, next time you’re about to spend up big time at the cosmetics counter spare a thought for your insides and make sure you leave a couple of dollars over to treat yourself to a tub of something yummy.  Enjoy!

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Columbia Phyto Technology and Kerry Ringer, a Washington State University assistant professor, recently published the results of their study in the Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry. 

The team looked into preserving the health-promoting compounds in dried blueberry powder.  The reason for the interest in the study was because of consumers needs for highly nutritious foods as well as concerns about costs.  Also, because blueberries are a seasonal crop they end up having a short life as a fresh product.  Because of their popularity, they end up being frozen or processed.  However, keeping food frozen can end up being a financial burden on the industry as well as the consumer. 

The technology was the radiant zone dryer.  It ended up preserving as many antioxidants and anthocyanins as their liquid counterparts.  Ringer noted, “We focused our study on drying of blueberry puree, blueberry juice and blueberry extract supplied by Washington fruit processing companies.”

This is excellent news because dried blueberry powder allows for minimal degradation of anthocyanins and therefore makes the preservation of blueberries more cost effective. 

Ringer added, “This project demonstrated the development of value-added products that potentially bolster profit margins and the types and numbers of jobs in agriculture.”

Source: http://mobile.westernfarmerstockman.com/index.aspx?ascxid=cmsNewsStory&rmid=0&rascxid=&args=&rargs=9&dt=633982152662968750&lid=a8yebu2d9qxnz7lo&adms=633982152661250000X3bf6e7e6e4&cmsSid=34358&cmsScid=9

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Although it seems silly to talk about fruits for 2010, it is also appropriate as everyone seems to be covering what the top foods are for 2010.  As a fruit website, we thought we’d cover the top fruits for 2010!

Whether you are dieting or just trying to eat more healthy in 2010, then there is no doubt that you want to include a  number of different fruits in your diet.  Antioxidant fruits provide vitamins, minerals and fiber.  In addition to these essential nutrients, they also have disease fighting compounds. 

Disease Fighting Compounds in Fruit:

• Lycopene (a chemical that gives fruit a red color)
• Reservatrol (Found in red grapes)
• Anthocyanin (Found in blueberries, blackberries, kiwis and cherries)

When you choose fruits for 2010, you have a reduced risk of diabetes, chronic medical conditions, like diabetes, high cholestrol and high blood pressure.  Also, regular consumption of fruit reduces your risk for heart disease, strokes and certain types of cancer.

Fruits are easy to come by in your grocery store.  If they aren’t in season, sometimes you can find them in your freezer section.  Or you can always wait until they are in season and them freeze them so that you can have them when they are not in season.

Since fruit is easy to prepare, it shouldn’t be terribly difficult to incorporate it into your diet.  You can serve it raw, blended, baked or grilled.  It is the perfect compliment to a yogurt snack or for a topping on your favorite ice cream or cereal. 

Tell us how you will incorporate fruit in your diet for 2010 by leaving a comment below.

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With the New Year in full effect, there is little doubt that you have run into articles talking about the latest list of superfoods.  It seems like in recent years that this list of superfoods has become more exotic and impossible to attain.

So, we thought we’d remind you on a superfood that is easily attainable and available all year around either fresh or in your grocery’s freezer – the blueberry.  Dr. Ronald Prior said in a 1998 research study conducted at Tufts University that “[b]lueberries are one of the richest sources of antioxidant phytonutrients of the fresh fruits and vegetables we have studied.”  (Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, vol. 46, no. 7).

The Blueberry’s Benefits Include:

• Clears/Cleans arteries
• Improves vision
• Rich in iron
• Helps to clear the digestive track
• Reverses the aging process
• Protects against disease because of the concentration of antioxidants
• Promotes weight control
• Stops urinary tract infections
• Enhances memory

As with other superfoods, adding the blueberry to your diet is always a tasty treat.  However, because of the availability of the blueberry, it is much easier to add to your daily diet. 

You can use the blueberry to compliment many snacks and desserts. 

How to Use the Blueberry in Your Diet:

• Freeze blueberries and use them in a smoothie or add them to your favorite drink to add texture to your drink
• Heat blueberries with your syrup and then eat them with waffles, pancakes or french toast
• Scoop some blueberries into your yogurt with granola
• Drop some blueberries on your morning oatmeal or cereal
• Add dried blueberries to trail mix, chicken salad or in protein bars

If you are looking for additional blueberry recipes, you might check out the Oregon Blueberry site.

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