Here is the recipe:
½ cup of fresh pressed pomegranate juice
1 cup fresh pressed Valencia orange juice
2 medium bananas, peels removed
3 cups chopped kale, loosely packed
1 cup chopped mangoes, peels removed
½ cup blueberries
½ cup blackberries
Here is a nutrient analysis of the ingredients in this smoothie:
| Adult Daily Values | ||
| Protein | 15 grams | |
| Calcium | 361 | 1000 – 1200 mg |
| Iron | 5.7 | 8 – 18 mg |
| Zinc | 2.2 | 8 – 11 mg |
| Magnesium | 203 | 310 – 420 mg |
| Potassium | 2876 | 4700 mg |
| Vitamin C | 462 | 75 – 90 mg |
| Vitamin E | 4.0 | 15 mg |
| Vitamin B1 | 0.7 | 1.1 – 1.2 mg |
| Vitamin B2 | 0.7 | 1.1 – 1.3 mg |
| Vitamin B3 | 6.6 | 14 – 16 mg |
| Vitamin B5 | 2.3 | 5 mg |
| Vitamin B6 | 1.9 | 1.3 – 1.7 mg |
| Folate | 258 | 400 mcg |
| Beta carotene | 19538 mcg |
This is one of my post-workout green smoothies. On days that I do not have a big workout, my smoothies are usually smaller.
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Video on Jerusalem artichokes: nutrient content, gardening experience, and an easy recipe
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Video for My Simple Green Juice Recipe
I have shared this recipe on my blog in the past and now I have a short video explaining how I make this juice:
This juice has been one of my favorites for years because of its simplicity, nutrient content, and versatility. I find it to be a great introductory juice recipe for people new to juicing, since it has a lighter taste than green juice that contains darker leafy greens. I personally love the taste of dark leafy greens, but for some, the taste may need some “getting used to”. I can certainly appreciate this, given that when I became interested in health years ago, I did not even know that dandelion greens were edible. Now, they are one of my favorite leafy greens!
Here is the recipe:
5 stalks of celery (12” long)
1 lemon, peeled
2 medium cucumber, 8” long
This recipe makes about 32 ounces of juice. Here are some of the nutrients found in these ingredients:
| Light Green Juice ingredients | Adult Daily Values | |
| Calories | 165.9 | |
| Calcium | 246.2 | 1000 – 1200 mg |
| Iron | 2.83 | 8 – 18 mg |
| Zinc | 1.67 | 8 – 11 mg |
| Magnesium | 120.2 | 310 – 420 mg |
| Potassium | 1832.9 | 4700 mg |
The mineral content of such simple ingredients is amazing to me, especially calcium and iron. The sodium content of these ingredients is 270 mg, most of which is found in the celery. Cheers!
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Vitamin E in raw versus roasted almonds
I am often asked by my students about the difference, if any, in nutrient content between raw and cooked foods. I recently found an interesting research article that considered the difference in vitamin E content between raw and roasted almonds. Vitamin E, often referred to as alpha tocopherol, is an antioxidant and an essential nutrient for humans. Antioxidants are well known for their ability to neutralize free radicals before they can cause damage to our cells.
Almonds are known as a rich source of vitamin E:
| Nutrient | Raw Almonds (2 Tbsp., 17.9 g, 0.63 oz.) | Adult Daily Values |
| Calories | 103 | |
| Vitamin E (alpha tocopherol specifically) | 4.69 | 15 mg |
This very recent study noted that subject blood levels of alpha tocopherol were 33% greater after the consumption of raw almonds versus roasted almonds. The researchers of this study speculated that the reason for this was that the alpha tocopherol content of the raw almonds was likely higher than in the roasted almonds. This makes sense, given that antioxidants are broken down in food by cooking in varying amounts depending on the type of food, cooking method, cooking time, and cooking temperature.
Could this outcome also have to do with vitamin E bioavailability differences between the raw and the roasted almonds? This potential was not mentioned in the study, but I think this is entirely possible. One would have to do another study or two to test these individual options. The bottom line here is that roasting did appear to have some type of effect on vitamin E, either directly through its breakdown, by changing its bioavailability, or maybe even through some other means that has yet to be considered.
References:
USDA Nutrient Database
Bornhorst GM, Roman MJ, Rutherfurd SM, Burri BJ, Moughan PJ, Singh RP. Gastric digestion of raw and roasted almonds in vivo. J Food Sci. 2013 Nov;78(11):H1807-13.
Interested in taking your raw food nutrition knowledge to the next level? We cover this topic and so much more in our online Mastering Raw Food Nutrition and Educator Course. For more class details, click here.
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My Top 5 Favorite Leafy Greens
1. Lettuce
From the beginning of my raw food journey in 1990, lettuce has been one of my go-to leafy greens. I love the mild taste and versatility of lettuce, which often forms the basis for my salad recipes. Before my interest in raw food developed, I knew of one type of lettuce: iceberg. This changed quickly as I learned of the many varied types of lettuce including grocery store mainstays such as Romaine, green leaf, red leaf, and Boston. When I started shopping at farmers markets and growing my own food several years ago, I became familiar with lesser known and heirloom varieties of lettuce that expanded my lettuce repertoire further. Right now, Rick and I have 8 varieties of lettuce growing in our backyard garden. Lettuce is a member of the sunflower plant family.
2. Dandelion Greens
Dandelion greens are popularly consumed as an early spring green, but I personally love dandelion greens year round, and enjoy them in my salads, smoothies, and juices. The mineral content of dandelion greens is notable and rivals kale in calcium content. Dandelion greens are in the sunflower plant family (Asteraceae), along with lettuce, endive, escarole, frisée greens, sunflower seeds, and Jerusalem artichokes.
3. Tree Collard Greens
Rick and I planted several collard plants in our garden when moved into our house a few years ago, and they are still going strong and producing beautiful large deep green leaves, year round in northern California. What we love about our tree collards is that they are relatively low maintenance and are a reliable source of greens for us. We enjoy greens from our tree collard plants mostly in smoothies, but occasionally put them in juice or a salad. These tree collard greens are tender and easily digestible for us in comparison to collard greens we find in the grocery store that generally have a tougher consistency. Our tree collards are now about 12 feet tall and still growing, with numerous leaves that can measure up to 8 inches in diameter or more. Collard greens, like other members of the cabbage family (Brassicaceae) contain noteworthy amounts of certain minerals.
4. Kale
Kale is most certainly one of our many favorite leafy greens and a backyard garden staple. I first became interested in kale when I discovered its impressive calcium and iron content, which is not surprising, given that kale is a member of the cabbage family. Members of the cabbage plant family are also called “cruciferous”, in reference to the cross-like appearance of their flowers, or “brassica” vegetables, reflecting their plant family name Brassicaceae. Rick and I enjoy kale in smoothies, juices, soups, and many other recipes. Since we like to have a variety of foods in our diet, we rotate our leafy greens to enjoy the diversity of flavors, textures, and nutrients offered by different leafy greens. For example, we might have kale as our main leafy green on one day, dandelion greens the next, frisée greens the next, and so forth.
5. Escarole
Rick and I recently returned home from traveling, visiting, and teaching on the east coast to find that the tiny escarole starts we planted in September had grown into huge plants, with 9-inch diameter leaves, at the largest. Given the size of the leaves, this escarole would make great wraps. We have found that escarole grows well in cooler weather, so the size of our plants is not a surprise, given that it is mid-November.
Escarole is in the sunflower plant family, so its strong resemblance to some lettuce varieties is justified. I have found that the taste of escarole can vary, for example, the escarole growing in our yard has a more mild taste than the more bitter versions I have found in grocery stores and farmers markets.
Here are some of the nutrient highlights of escarole:
| 3 cups chopped escarole (150 g) | Adult Daily Values | |
| Calories | 25.5 | |
| Calcium | 78 mg | 1000 – 1200 mg |
| Iron | 1.24 mg | 8 – 18 mg |
| Zinc | 1.18 mg | 8 – 11 mg |
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Collard Greens and Tree Collard Greens
April 1st is upon us and here in northern California, Rick and I have been preparing our backyard raised beds for planting. This year, we are planting many of our garden staples such as heirloom tomatoes, squash, bell peppers, basil, and some plants we have not grown before, such as mizuna and stinging nettle. One plant that grows year round in our garden is tree collard greens. We have several tree collard plants that have been in our garden since we moved into our house a few years ago, and they are still going strong and producing beautiful large deep green leaves.
What we love about our tree collards is that they are relatively low maintenance and are a reliable source of greens for us. Of course, we rotate our greens for variety so we are planting a variety of other greens in our garden this year, which we will cover in another blog post or video. We enjoy greens from our tree collard plants mostly in smoothies, but occasionally may put them in juice or a salad. These collard greens are tender and easily digestible for us in comparison to collard greens we find in the store that have a tougher consistency. We have observed over the years, that the greens that we grow in our garden tend to be softer and more tender than commercially available greens. Although this may not be true across the board, this is just an observation from our own personal experience.
Here is a sampling of the nutrients found in regular collard greens:
| 3 cups chopped collard greens (108 g) | Adult Daily Values | |
| Calories | 32.4 | |
| Calcium | 156.60 | 1000 – 1200 mg |
| Potassium | 182.52 | 4700 mg |
| Folate | 179.28 | 400 mcg |
| Beta carotene | 4149.36 mcg |
How do these numbers compare to the nutrients found in actual tree collard greens? We have yet to know, given that I have not yet been able to find neutral information on the nutrients measured in actual tree collard leaves. I would not be surprised if they are similar. This is the beauty of science and research, there is much that is known and much that has yet to be known. Happy spring!
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Raw food kitchen appliances do not have to be a major financial investment :)
And - Introducing unfamiliar raw food kitchen appliances to loved ones
And - Nutrient analysis of the ingredients in celery, cucumber, carrot juice
Rick and I gave my dad a juicer for Christmas, so today we set it up and made a couple of juice recipes. He was very excited to use the juicer, since he loves fresh vegetable juice and finds the operation of the juicer to be relatively simple. Last Christmas, we gave dad a high powered blender, which he does not really use all that much, except when Rick or I make him smoothies or salad dressings with it. Today, he told me that the blender is a little challenging to clean, and he would prefer a smaller machine. This illustrates some notable points for introducing unfamiliar appliances to loved ones:
1. Operation of the machine has to be simple in the eyes of the beholder – this means set-up, clean-up, and everything in between. Different machines may be easier for some people versus others. For example, I find the operation of the high powered blender to be easier than the juicer, but my dad finds the opposite to be true for himself.
2. The person has to be really interested in actually using the machine or the final product has to be tasty or otherwise inspiring enough for the person to spend time making the recipe :). My dad loves fresh vegetable juice – celery, cucumber, carrot. Great recipes that showcase the flavor of healthy foods can make all of the difference in how much motivation someone has to use the appliance, but dad and I have found simplicity of operation to be just as important.
3. Used machines in good working order can be a good option to see if the person is interested in the machine. Last year, Rick and I purchased a used high powered blender for sale locally at a great price, rather than buying a new one. This way, dad was able to try out the blender without a large financial layout. We may end up purchasing him a smaller blender, but since we were able to find such a good deal on the used high power blender, we could actually sell it for more than the purchase price. However, we have no plans to sell this blender because even though dad may not use it, Rick and I certainly will when we are visiting him.
Additionally, it is our opinion that one cannot put a price on personal health, and we have found that kitchen equipment that we have purchased over the years, new and second-hand, has been well worth the investment.
Here is the simple juice recipe my dad made today:
Two carrots
Three stalks of celery
One cucumber
Here is a nutrient analysis of the ingredients in the juice:
| Carrots, celery, cucumber | Adult Daily Values | |
| Calories | 136 | |
| Calcium | 165 | 1000 – 1200 mg |
| Iron | 1.95 | 8 – 18 mg |
| Zinc | 0.85 | 8 – 11 mg |
| Magnesium | 6.25 | 310 – 420 mg |
| Potassium | 1442 | 4700 mg |
| Vitamin C | 26.4 | 75 – 90 mg |
| Vitamin E | 0.61 | 15 mg |
| Vitamin B1 | 0.12 | 1.1 – 1.2 mg |
| Vitamin B2 | 0.21 | 1.1 – 1.3 mg |
| Vitamin B3 | 0.91 | 14 – 16 mg |
| Vitamin B5 | 1.25 | 5 mg |
| Vitamin B6 | 0.26 | 1.3 – 1.7 mg |
| Folate | 90.2 | 400 mcg |
| Beta carotene | 654 mcg | |
| Protein | 5.3 mg |
This nutrient content is notable for 136 calories. Where are the dark leafy greens in this recipe? Well, dad is not a huge fan of dark leafy greens in juice, yet. The good news is that he does like them in green smoothies.
Best wishes for a healthy and happy 2013! Cheers!
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Nutrient Analysis of Kale
Kale is most certainly one of our many favorite leafy greens. When I first started enjoying the raw food approach to eating, I was not all that familiar with kale as a leafy green choice. At that time, I had only tried kale on handful of occasions and was not impressed with its (ahem) perceived bitter flavor 🙂
However, as I began my nutrition education, I found kale to be a fascinating leafy green that is packed with positive nutritional qualities:
| Nutrient | Kale (3 cups chopped, raw) | Adult Daily Values |
| Calories | 101 | |
| Protein | 6.6 | |
| Thiamin (Vitamin B1) | 0.22 | 1.1 – 1.2 mg |
| Riboflavin (Vitamin B2) | 0.26 | 1.1 – 1.3 mg |
| Niacin (Vitamin B3) | 2.01 | 14 – 16 mg |
| Pyridoxine (Vitamin B6) | 0.54 | 1.3-1.7 mg |
| Calcium | 271.4 | 1000 – 1200 mg |
| Iron | 3.42 | 8 – 18 mg |
| Magnesium | 68.3 | 310 – 420 mg |
| Potassium | 898.5 | 4700 mg |
| Zinc | 0.88 | 8 – 11 mg |
I found the vitamins B1, B2, B6, calcium, iron, magnesium, and potassium content of kale to be impressive. Nowadays, Rick and I enjoy kale in smoothies, juices, soups, and many other recipes. Since we like to have a variety of foods in our diet, we rotate our leafy greens to enjoy the diversity of flavors, textures, and nutrients offered by different leafy greens. For example, we might have kale as our main leafy green on one day, dandelion greens the next, frisée greens the next, and so forth.
On a side note, the kale that we grow in our garden is generally more tender and easier for us to digest than the kale we find in supermarkets. When the kale that we purchase has a “tougher” consistency we tend to blend it in a smoothie or even sometimes lightly steam it. We find that more tender kale from our garden is easily consumed raw in salads or other recipes.
There are so many leafy greens from which to choose when designing one’s diet. Do you have favorite leafy green?
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Pomegranate Green Smoothie
One of the many things we love about this time of year is pomegranates and while visiting some friends this weekend, we enjoyed ripe, backyard-grown pomegranates. I do not believe that I have ever seen pomegranates this red and ripe – so ripe that the outer skins were splitting to reveal deep red colored arils in the inside. Pomegranate arils are delicate, red fluid-filled pouches that surround individual pomegranate seeds. The juice we made with these pomegranates had a rich and smooth flavor with no trace of bitterness at all. We used some of the juice to create some recipes including this green smoothie:
½ cup of fresh pressed pomegranate juice
Juice of three medium Valencia oranges
3 medium bananas
3 cups chopped collard greens
Here is a nutrient analysis of the ingredients in this smoothie:
| Adult Daily Values | ||
| Calories | 597 | |
| Calcium | 328 | 1000 – 1200 mg |
| Iron | 1.71 | 8 – 18 mg |
| Zinc | 1.20 | 8 – 11 mg |
| Magnesium | 152.0 | 310 – 420 mg |
| Potassium | 2304.9 | 4700 mg |
| Vitamin C | 253.9 | 75 – 90 mg |
| Vitamin E | 3.32 | 15 mg |
| Vitamin B1 | 0.54 | 1.1 – 1.2 mg |
| Vitamin B2 | 0.59 | 1.1 – 1.3 mg |
| Vitamin B3 | 4.40 | 14 – 16 mg |
| Vitamin B5 | 2.71 | 5 mg |
| Vitamin B6 | 1.77 | 1.3 – 1.7 mg |
| Folate | 424.7 | 400 mcg |
| Beta carotene | 4241.4 | |
| Protein | 11.7 |
I found the calcium, potassium, magnesium, vitamin C, vitamins B1, B2, B3, B5, and B6, folate, beta carotene, and protein content of this smoothie to be impressive! Especially for almost 600 calories (kcal), which is a little more than one quarter of my calorie intake for a day when I am exercising. FYI, I am not one to count calories, but I find that I naturally consume more calories on days when I exercise than not. Since this is a high fruit smoothie, I really appreciate it pre- or post-workout. For example, late last week, I had this smoothie a couple of hours before running, and found that I had a tremendous amount of energy during my run, so much that I actually ran a couple of extra miles longer than my original plan. I felt great the next morning with almost non-existent muscle soreness, despite my longer than usual run.
For those who do not prefer such a high fruit smoothie, there are a variety of substitutions that one can make for the bananas and OJ. If you have any suggestions, we would love to hear from you. We wish you an enjoyable thanksgiving or thanksliving 🙂
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Persimmon Season Is Upon Us
One of my favorite things about the month of November is visiting local farmers markets to find a beautiful, sweet, orange-colored fruit called the persimmon. Truth be told, I was not aware of the existence of the persimmon until I moved to the left coast in the late 90s. I quickly learned that there are several different types of persimmons, one of which needs to be soft and almost to the point of liquefying to be consumed without having a mouth-puckering astringent taste (I learned this the hard way), namely the Hachiya persimmon. For me, patience is definitely key to the successful consumption of this type of persimmon, which involves patiently waiting for full ripeness.
Two other types of persimmons that I have enjoyed are Fuyu and Amagaki, both of which I eat while they are still hard, with very little to no astringency, depending on the degree of ripeness. These three types of persimmons grow here in northern California and are relatively easy to find in local stores and farmers markets during the months of November and December.
Of course, since I love to know the nutrient content of foods, I did a nutrient analysis of persimmons. The type of persimmon used to determine this information was not specified:
| Persimmon, 3 fruits (75 g) | Adult Daily Values | |
| Calories | 95 | |
| Calcium | 20.3 | 1000 – 1200 mg |
| Iron | 1.87 | 8 – 18 mg |
| Potassium | 232.5 | 4700 mg |
| Vitamin C | 49.5 | 70 – 90 mg |
| Protein | 0.6 g |
I was a little disappointed to find that many of the nutrients of interest to me were not reported, such as the B vitamins, zinc, and magnesium. However, I was surprised to see the notable iron, vitamin C, and potassium content of persimmons. For a fruit, I find this to be worthy of consideration.
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Nutrient Analysis of Jackfruit
Last week, a friend dropped by with a rare treat for Rick and me: jackfruit. What is jackfruit? It is a large tropical fruit that has a taste somewhere between bananas and pineapple. I love, love, love the flavor of jackfruit! Our jackfruit pictured below is 15 inches long and 8 inches wide:
Here is a photo of our jackfruit cut in half, revealing the edible yellow sections that surround the seeds:
To eat this jackfruit, I removed the yellow sections from the surrounding husk, removed the seeds from the yellow sections, and enjoyed eating the yellow sections. Here is a photo of the yellow sections with the seeds removed:
Of course, I just had to research the nutrient content of jackfruit, and found this information on my nutrient analysis program:
| Jackfruit – one cup of edible sections | Adult Daily Values | |
| Calories | 155 | |
| Calcium | 56.1 | 1000 – 1200 mg |
| Iron | 0.99 | 8 – 18 mg |
| Zinc | 0.69 | 8 – 11 mg |
| Magnesium | 61.1 | 310 – 420 mg |
| Potassium | 500.0 | 4700 mg |
| Protein | 2.43 g |
Per calorie, I found jackfruit to be a surprising source of calcium, iron, and potassium for a fruit. I love good news about foods that I enjoy. ♥
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Cup of Sun, Anyone?
Wow, what a busy summer it has been for us. We spent a good part of the summer traveling and teaching and now we are getting ready to head out on the road again for our fall Science of Raw Food Nutrition I tour. Next weekend (September 29th and 30th, 2012), we will be teaching in Portland and the Seattle area and in October we will be teaching in Connecticut and Washington, D.C. This coming Wednesday, September 26th, 2012, we will be doing an evening talk at the Chaco Canyon Café in Seattle. More information on our fall tour, please click here. We hope to meet you at a future event!
Now on to our blog post: One of the highlights of our summer was the Woodstock Fruit Festival. This event was incredibly enjoyable with great food, fun activities, and a warm community of people. I was amazed with the amount of fruit available for the participants, as well as a variety of fruits that I rarely see in stores, such as longan and lychee. Of course, the festival provided plenty of common fruits such as watermelon, apples, and oranges. In fact, on many of the mornings I found numerous people making fresh squeezed orange juice, which was not unusual, except for the amount that some people were making: 32 ounces, 48 ounces, etc…
In the 22+ years that I have been eating a mostly raw, plant based diet, I have not consumed this much orange juice in one sitting, however it is not unusual for me to make 32 – 48+ ounces of green juice at once. I thought it would be fun to do a nutrient comparison between the ingredients used to make 32 ounces of fresh squeezed orange juice and the ingredients in 32 ounces of a favorite green juice recipe of mine.
Here are the ingredients in my juice recipe:
5 stalks of celery (12” long)
1 lemon, peeled
2.5 medium cucumber, 8” long
1 cup dandelion greens, loosely packed
This recipe made a little more than 32 ounces of green juice. Please note that there is definitely some variation in the amount of juice that one can make from whole foods due to variability in natural products. Here are some of the nutrients found in these ingredients:
| Green juice ingredients | Adult Daily Values | |
| Calories | 213 | |
| Calcium | 373.1 | 1000 – 1200 mg |
| Iron | 4.96 | 8 – 18 mg |
| Zinc | 2.20 | 8 – 11 mg |
| Magnesium | 159.5 | 310 – 420 mg |
| Potassium | 2272.4 | 4700 mg |
| Vitamin C | 94.8 | 75 – 90 mg |
| Folate | 192 | 400 mcg |
| Beta carotene | 4424.8 mcg | |
| Protein | 9.51 g |
This is a very strong nutrient profile, particularly notable is the calcium, iron, zinc, potassium, and protein content of these ingredients.
Here are the ingredients for the freshly squeezed orange juice:
8 medium Valencia oranges, cut in half and juiced with a manual citrus press.
This recipe made a little less than 32 ounces of orange juice. Once again, natural variation in ingredients may yield different amounts of juice. I got as close as possible to 32 ounces by using whole ingredients for ease of replication.
Here are some of the nutrients found in these 8 oranges:
| 8 medium Valencia oranges | Adult Daily Values | |
| Calories | 474 | |
| Calcium | 387.2 | 1000 – 1200 mg |
| Iron | 0.87 | 8 – 18 mg |
| Zinc | 0.58 | 8 – 11 mg |
| Magnesium | 96.8 | 310 – 420 mg |
| Potassium | 1732.7 | 4700 mg |
| Vitamin C | 469.5 | 75 – 90 mg |
| Folate | 377.5 | 400 mcg |
| Beta carotene | Not reported | |
| Protein | 10.1 g |
I have heard many people over the years talking about fruit being low in minerals. In all of the research I have done on the nutrient content of foods, I have seen numerous exceptions to this notion. Oranges are a great example. As one can see, per serving oranges contain more calcium, vitamin C, folate, and protein than the green juice ingredients. The green juice ingredients are superior in iron, zinc, magnesium, and potassium content. Imagine that - more protein in oranges than greens??? Hmmm……
It is important to note that this comparison is per serving, if I were to make this an isocaloric comparison, which is a comparison where both samples have an equal number of calories, the green juice would be superior in most nutrients. It is important to consider how much juice one is willing to consume, which is why I did this comparison with equal volumes. Per calorie, green juice ingredients are richer in most nutrients, whereas per serving the green juice and orange juice ingredients are each superior in certain nutrients.
Let us look at an isocaloric comparison between oranges and the green juice ingredients. To get close to 474 calories, we will have to add more ingredients to our green juice formula:
8 stalks of celery (12” long)
2 lemons, peeled
6 medium cucumber, 8” long
3 cup dandelion greens, loosely packed
This recipe (version 2) contains more than double the ingredients as the previously discussed green juice recipe. This is a great example of the fact that greens contain fewer calories, by volume, relative to fruit. Fruits are in general more calorie rich than greens. Simply stated, one would have to eat a much greater volume of greens to get the same number of calories as the original volume of fruit.
Here are some of the nutrients found in the ingredients of version 2 of our green juice recipe:
| Green juice version 2 ingredients | Adult Daily Values | |
| Calories | 476 | |
| Calcium | 846 | 1000 – 1200 mg |
| Iron | 12.2 | 8 – 18 mg |
| Zinc | 5.05 | 8 – 11 mg |
| Magnesium | 363.9 | 310 – 420 mg |
| Potassium | 4872.9 | 4700 mg |
| Vitamin C | 213.2 | 75 – 90 mg |
| Folate | 374 | 400 mcg |
| Beta carotene | 11859.4 mcg | |
| Protein | 21.6 g |
It is important to note that the nutrients reported in these nutrient analyses are based on the ingredients used to make these juices. Information on the actual nutrient content of fresh vegetable and fruit juices is very limited at this time, and I look forward to research being more complete in this area in the future.
Overall, I was AMAZED with the nutrient content of oranges, since they contained greater amounts of important nutrients than I had anticipated. Not surprisingly, an almost isocaloric comparison of 474 calories of oranges and 476 calories of green juice ingredients showed that the green juice ingredients were superior in all nutrients reported with the exception of vitamin C and folate, which were higher in the oranges.
The green juice ingredients were more nutrient dense than the oranges and the oranges were more calorie dense than the green juice ingredients. Each of these foods has their nutritional strengths and weaknesses, which is good information to know when making food choices.
Additionally, these juices were so beautiful and literally glowed when Rick and I placed them in the sun for photographing. There is something to be said for the appearance of foods and their appeal – needless to say these juices did not last long in our house. Cheers!
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Nutrient Analysis of Durian
Durian, what’s that? It is a fascinating fruit that grows in southeast Asia and other tropical areas that has painful spines on its skin (ouch!) and tastes like…..onion pudding (huh?). I have also heard people characterize the taste as garlic custard, vanilla almond pudding, etc. The smell is, well, one of the most unusual smells that I have ever experienced from a fruit. Rick is so repelled by the smell that he has asked me to keep durian on our back porch and not in the house.
It is very rare that I eat durian. In fact, I have not had durian since Rick and I presented at a retreat in Hawaii in 2005. I consider durian to be a fun treat whenever I have it and actually enjoy the unusual taste. Here at the Woodstock Fruit Festival, there is lots of durian :):
It is tricky to open this fruit and before I opened my first durian years ago, I had to educate myself well on how to do so to avoid hurting myself with the spines on the skin. Here is a photo of durian pulp on the inside of the spiny husk:
Here is a photo of durian pulp removed from the husk:
Here is a nutrient analysis of two cups of durian pulp:
| Nutrient | Durian, two cups of edible pulp, seeds & husk removed (486 g) | Adult Daily Values |
| Calories | 714.4 | |
| Protein | 7.14 g | |
| Fat | 25.9 g | |
| Carbohydrate | 131.7 g | |
| Beta-carotene | 111.8 mcg | |
| Thiamin (Vitamin B1) | 1.82 | 1.1 – 1.2 mg |
| Riboflavin (Vitamin B2) | 0.97 | 1.1 – 1.3 mg |
| Niacin (Vitamin B3) | 5.22 | 14 – 16 mg |
| Calcium | 29.2 | 1000 – 1200 mg |
| Iron | 2.09 | 8 – 18 mg |
| Magnesium | 145.8 | 310 – 420 mg |
| Potassium | 2119.0 | 4700 mg |
| Zinc | 1.36 | 8 – 11 mg |
For the calories consumed, durian is not as nutrient dense as some of the other foods that we have profiled on this blog, such as certain leafy greens. Also note the fat content of durian, it has more fat per calorie than other fruits, with a notable exception: avocado. I have yet to find a source for the omega 3 and 6 content of durian.
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Backyard sunflower plant and sunflower seeds
In April, I planted several sunflower starts in our backyard in hopes that by August we would have tall, beautifully blooming sunflowers that eventually would yield sunflower seeds. One of these sunflower plants started out as the smallest, and for a while, I was concerned that it might not make it. Eventually, the plant got stronger as it grew, 4 feet then 6 feet, 12 feet, wow – I was amazed at this point, then 14 feet where it stopped growing upward and began to produce a future sunflower bloom (botanically called an infloresence, which is a cluster of individual flowers). We waited excitedly, checked on the plant regularly, and then one morning, the petals began to retract to show a stunning bright yellow sunflower.
Here is the opening:
It took several days for the sunflower to fully open and then the seeds within the bloom began to grow larger, and in the process, increased the size of the bloom.
Here is the full opening:
Here is a close up of the seeds:
Each little seed has a flower at the tip that must be individually pollinated for the seed to fully mature. Later this season, we will harvest the seeds and save some for next year, or maybe grow some sunflower sprouts. Once in a while, we enjoy having shelled sunflower seeds in recipes or just by themselves.
Here is a short nutrient analysis of sunflower seeds:
| Nutrient | Shelled sunflower seeds - ¼ cup, 35 g | Adult Daily Values |
| Calories | 204.4 | |
| Protein | 7.27 g | |
| Thiamin (Vitamin B1) | 0.52 | 1.1 – 1.2 mg |
| Riboflavin (Vitamin B2) | 0.12 | 1.1 – 1.3 mg |
| Niacin (Vitamin B3) | 2.92 | 14 – 16 mg |
| Calcium | 27.3 | 1000 – 1200 mg |
| Iron | 1.84 | 8 – 18 mg |
| Magnesium | 113.8 | 310 – 420 mg |
| Potassium | 225.8 | 4700 mg |
| Zinc | 1.75 | 8 – 11 mg |
| Selenium | 18.55 | 55 mcg |
I am always looking for plant-based sources of selenium, and was pleased to find that sunflower seeds are a notable source. The richest plant source of selenium that I have found so far is Brazil nuts. Here is an article that I wrote that shows the selenium content of Brazil nuts.
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My post-workout berry green smoothie
Rick and I have a very active lifestyle and enjoy having a constant amount of energy throughout the day. On days that I exercise, I find that a fruit-containing green smoothie gives me that extra edge, energy-wise. Here is a recipe for one of my favorite post-workout green smoothies:
2 medium bananas
1 cup orange juice (juice of 3 oranges)
3 cups chopped collard greens (6 medium tree collard leaves)
½ cup fresh raspberries
½ cup fresh blueberries
Here are some of the nutrients found in this smoothie:
| Green smoothie | Adult Daily Values | |
| Calories | 421 | |
| Protein | 8.00 g | |
| Calcium | 210.1 | 1000 – 1200 mg |
| Iron | 1.70 | 8 – 18 mg |
| Zinc | 0.74 | 8 – 11 mg |
| Magnesium | 105.2 | 310 – 420 mg |
| Potassium | 1580.4 | 4700 mg |
| Beta carotene | 4316.2 mcg | |
| Vitamin C | 201.8 | 75 – 90 mg |
| Vitamin E | 3.20 | 15 mg |
| Vitamin B1 | 0.38 | 1.1 – 1.2 mg |
| Vitamin B2 | 0.42 | 1.1 – 1.3 mg |
| Vitamin B3 | 3.67 | 14 – 16 mg |
| Vitamin B5 | 1.64 | 5 mg |
| Vitamin B6 | 1.18 | 1.3 – 1.7 mg |
| Folate | 305.3 | 400 mcg |
The nutrient content of this smoothie is notable and after running four miles today, this smoothie was a welcome treat.
Here is how I made this smoothie:
First, I squeezed the juice from three oranges, peeled two ripe bananas, and gathered and rinsed 6 medium-sized leaves from our tree collard plants. I placed the juice, bananas, and collard greens into our blender:
I blended the ingredients until smooth and added the rinsed blueberries and raspberries:
Once again, I blended the mixture until smooth and enjoyed my smoothie.
The blueberries and raspberries give this green smoothie a lovely purple-brown color. 🙂
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Chocolate mint banana ice cream and nutrient analysis of peppermint
Chocolate, did someone say chocolate?! Yes, chocolate mint, which is one of the many types of mint that one can find in their search for mint plants. In my journeys to various nurseries and plant sales, I have seen the obvious peppermint and spearmint, along with other more exotic types of mint including chocolate mint, and so many more.
I personally love chocolate mint – the fragrance stays true to its name and the flavor to me has a mild peppermint flavor. I currently have chocolate mint and several other types of mint growing in a planter on our deck and find myself enjoying the fragrance of the mint plants whenever I venture into our backyard garden. I have yet to find information on the nutrient content of chocolate mint, so here is a nutrient analysis of its close relative, peppermint, which contains small amounts of important nutrients:
| Fresh peppermint leaves, 10 | Adult Daily Values | |
| Calories | 0.35 | |
| Calcium | 1.22 | 1000 – 1200 mg |
| Magnesium | 0.40 | 310 – 420 mg |
| Potassium | 2.85 | 4700 mg |
I know, nutrient-wise peppermint is rather unremarkable, but Rick and I have found it can really add some zing to frozen recipes especially on hot summer days like today.
Speaking of frozen recipes, I was recently inspired by the fragrance and taste of chocolate mint to create a fun and simple recipe that Rick loves:
Chocolate mint banana ice cream (1 – 2 servings)
3 peeled frozen bananas
10 medium leaves of chocolate mint
There are many ways that Rick and I have made this ice cream. We have used a food processor, high powered blender, and twin-gear juicer. Today, I used the food processor. First, I gathered 10 leaves of chocolate mint from the garden, and then cut 3 frozen bananas into pieces about this size:
Next, I placed the banana pieces and the chocolate mint leaves into the food processor and placed the lid on the container. I blended the bananas and chocolate mint leaves using short pulses until the mixture became more homogenous:
I then blended the mixture continuously until smooth:
I then scooped the mixture into a serving bowl and placed into the freezer for about 5 minutes to let the mixture freeze. Today was a really hot day, so the mixture was a little runny after blending. Freezing for a few minutes after blending keeps the ice cream from melting before serving. When Rick and I were ready to eat the ice cream, we removed the mixture from the freezer and served with a chocolate mint garnish:
This recipe makes one medium serving or two small servings. Of course, one can make more or less depending on how much one would like to have – Rick likes to eat a lot more than this! 🙂
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Front yard citrus and a recipe for green lemonade with nutrient analysis
Whew, what a sense of accomplishment! Rick and I spent a large part of this weekend working on a front yard garden project – planting lemon bushes and a lime tree! We have wanted to do this project for so long, and finally took some time out of our very busy work schedule to do some landscaping that yields these two of our favorite fruits.
When we moved into our house, our front yard had numerous rose bushes with lovely flowers. After a period of time, we noticed that the blooms started to disappear. I would notice rosebuds on the verge of opening on one day, only to find the bud gone the next. Puzzling – why would a rosebud disappear? This occurrence became increasingly frequent, to the point where it was rare to see flowers or buds on our front yard rose bushes. We had a hunch about what was happening to our roses, but it wasn’t until one morning when I woke up for no particular reason around 4 am. I looked out one of our front windows to find a large deer feasting on our rose bushes! Just as we suspected, which hardly surprised us, given that we live near open space.
We have always loved lemons and limes, so we thought that they would make an attractive addition to our yard and replacement for the roses. About a month ago, we purchased 4 lemon bushes and a lime tree and set aside this past weekend for planting. Since our purchase, the lemon bushes have flowered and have small lemons growing on them! We really like the idea of landscaping that is both attractive and productive. Our neighbors with citrus plants have not had a problem with deer eating them, but we will see what happens. In the meantime, we are excited about the new additions to our yard! To celebrate, here is a recipe for green lemonade (aka my favorite green juice):
8 stalks of celery (12” long)
1 medium lemon, peeled
3 medium cucumber, 8” long
This recipe makes about 48 ounces of juice, depending on the ingredients. Here is a nutrient analysis of the juice ingredients:
| Green lemonade ingredients | Adult Daily Values | |
| Calories | 241.7 | |
| Calcium | 371.1 | 1000 – 1200 mg |
| Iron | 4.1 | 8 – 18 mg |
| Zinc | 2.5 | 8 – 11 mg |
| Magnesium | 180.4 | 310 – 420 mg |
| Potassium | 2774.5 | 4700 mg |
| Vitamin C | 85.7 | 70 – 90 mg |
| Vitamin B1 (Thiamin) | 0.38 | 1.1 – 1.2 mg |
| Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin) | 0.61 | 1.1 – 1.3 mg |
| Vitamin B3 (Niacin) | 2.61 | 14 – 16 mg |
| Folate | 256.8 | 400 mcg |
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Five Things One Can Do With Summer Squash
This week, Rick and I returned home from teaching out of town to find that many our small, six-inch long zucchini squash had grown to over a foot long! There was quite a bit of heat in our area while we were gone, so we weren’t too surprised, but now we are left with a dilemma – what to do with so many huge summer squash. Here are five ideas:
1. Shred into salad – Simple and one of our all-time favorite ways to enjoy summer squash. Rick especially loves summer squash in his salad.
2. Use in dressing – Summer squash is a great ingredient to help add volume to a salad dressing. For example, we use summer squash to increase the volume of our miso-tahini-lemon dressing which is a great strategy to decrease the fat content per volume of a higher fat dressing.
- Our recipe: Juice of ½ lemon, 2 tablespoons tahini (we like raw tahini), ½ teaspoon chickpea miso, 2 cups chopped summer squash. Blend in blender until smooth.
3. Make spiralized summer squash pasta – Have a pasta party! Here is a blog post with recipes for squash pasta and sauce.
4. Steam them – This helps to soften the toughness of large summer squash skin. We enjoy steaming large summer squash and adding some avocado for consistency and flavor. This recipe reminds me of the steamed summer squash mom used to make when I was young.
5. Share the wealth – We are now in the process of trying 🙂 to share our squash with neighbors and friends. Resoundingly, they have said “hey, thanks for the month supply” (smile) and asked “how can we prepare these?” See 1 – 4 for ideas.
Nutrient analysis of summer squash – all varieties:
| Summer squash – 2 cups chopped (226 g) | Adult Daily Values | |
| Beta carotene | 271 mcg | |
| Vitamin B1 (Thiamin) | 0.11 | 1.1 – 1.2 mg |
| Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin) | 0.32 | 1.1 – 1.3 mg |
| Vitamin B3 (Niacin) | 1.10 | 14 – 16 mg |
| Folate | 65.5 | 400 mcg |
| Calcium | 33.9 | 1,000 – 1,200 mg |
| Magnesium | 38.4 | 310 – 420 mg |
| Potassium | 592.1 | 4,700 mg |
Summer squash may not be a nutrient powerhouse, but it certainly can provide contributory amounts of certain key nutrients, such as the B vitamins listed on the chart above, calcium, magnesium, and potassium.
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Oranges – Vitamin C and much more
Here is a post for those of you who love fruit. Oranges are famous for their vitamin C content, for good reason, but they are often overlooked for other nutrients. Here is what I found:
| Oranges – 2 medium Valencia (242 g) | Adult Daily Values | |
| Calories | 118.6 | |
| Vitamin C | 117.4 | 70 – 90 mg |
| Folate | 94.4 | 400 mcg |
| Calcium | 96.8 | 1000 – 1200 mg |
| Potassium | 433.2 | 4700 mg |
Almost 100 mg of calcium in two oranges?! I find this to be impressive for a sweet fruit. Generally, I have found that many types of leafy greens are calcium stars, but there are actually several sweet fruits that contain notable amounts of calcium, and the orange is one of them.
Additionally, when I am teaching our Science of Raw Food Nutrition I class, a question that I enjoy asking our students is “what food is high in potassium?” The most popular answer by far is (drum roll please) ……… as you may have guessed - banana. In addition to bananas, many other fruits contain notable amounts of potassium, including oranges. Per calorie, oranges contain a similar amount of potassium to bananas:
| Banana – one medium (118 g) | Adult Daily Values | |
| Calories | 105 | |
| Potassium | 422.4 | 4700 mg |
Please note that the potassium comparison in oranges and bananas is per calorie, if one was comparing them per weight, the potassium content of bananas would be greater than oranges.
Folate is popularly found in leafy greens, and here we find it in oranges, too.
We enjoy oranges in smoothies and occasionally juiced. We recently found a large quantity of oranges at the South San Francisco wholesale produce market. We put them in our fridge to keep them fresh in our recent heat spell:
As you can see, we have lots of green veggies in our fridge, too!
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Arugula, a leafy green with zing …
Years ago, when I started to become interested in health and nutrition, I became acquainted with arugula by accident. At the time, admittedly I was not very well educated about leafy greens, given that iceberg lettuce and spinach formed the boundaries of my leafy green literacy.
One day, in produce area of my local natural food store, I bagged several heads of lettuce, finished my shopping and returned home. Later, while making a salad, I discovered that I had mistakenly purchased one bunch of arugula leaves instead of a head of lettuce. I tried it and found that I really liked the mildly spicy flavor. Nowadays, I enjoy arugula occasionally in my salads and smoothies. I especially find arugula to be a salad-friendly leafy green due to the mildly spicy taste and tenderness of the leaf, unlike stronger tasting and more fibrous leafy greens.
Arugula is a member of the cabbage family, making it a botanical relative of kale, broccoli, cauliflower, bok choy, and cabbage. Like many other members of this plant family, the mineral content of arugula is significant, especially calcium:
| Arugula – 4 cups chopped | Adult Daily Values | |
| Calories | 20 | |
| Calcium | 128.0 | 1000 – 1200 mg |
| Iron | 1.17 | 8 – 18 mg |
| Zinc | 0.38 | 8 – 11 mg |
| Magnesium | 37.6 | 310 – 420 mg |
| Potassium | 295.2 | 4700 mg |
Considering that 4 cups of arugula contains 20 calories, the content of the nutrients listed above are notable. This sample of arugula also contains 77.6 mcg of folate and 2.06 g of protein.
The arugula plants growing in my yard recently flowered:
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