What Is Guava?

Whenever I have the good fortune to visit Maui, I often partake in the regional produce.  Across the street from the condo where my wife and I stay, a farmer’s market, loaded with local fruits, veggies, and other homemade products, conducts a brisk and relaxed, aloha-spirited exchange of goods and smiles bartering for our hard-earned mainland cash.



Each time I visit Hawaii I make it a point to try something different, something healthy, while learning as much about it from the friendly island folk as I can, helpful souls who take the time to explain, no doubt for the hundredth time, what it is they are vending.

Over the past few years I have been lucky enough to discover:

* Papaya 
 
* Passion fruit
 
* Star fruit
 
* poi

Recently, I grabbed a handful of green and yellow orbs, asked my friend across the table what they were, and happily discovered guava, adding that tasty and healthy fruit to my growing repertoire of nutritional delights.

What is guava?

So glad you asked.

Guava grows on trees (in fact, my local amigo at the market informed me that in his backyard grew a prolific guava tree that produced the very fruit in my hands, but he was constantly battling his Vietnamese potbellied pig for them; yes, pigs, and most animals, love guava!) in tropical climes like Hawaii - also Southeast Asia, the Caribbean, Africa, and even Florida.

Guava has both a sweet and sour taste, depending on ripeness (you gotta try it yourself to fully understand), with little edible seeds one has to navigate as you munch your way through one.


But taste alone is not what makes guava a worthwhile venture to discover.  Guava is also considered a super food -  and that’s a good thing!

Why, you ask?

* loaded with dietary fiber
* four times the vitamin C as an orange
* low in calories
* no fat or cholesterol
* good source of folic acid, potassium, copper, and manganese
* antioxidants! (high in carotenoids and polyphenols)
* vital part of POG

Huh?  Um, what the heck is POG?

Oh, POG is an Hawaiian fruit drink made from Passion fruit, Orange juice, and, you guessed it, Guava.  (stay tuned for a couple of videos from my recently concluded trip to Maui about POG in the coming weeks)

Guava can be enjoyed in many different ways:

- smoothies
- juices (like POG)
- ice cream
- with fish
- or right off the tree (watch out for pigs, though)

You need not travel all the way to Maui to taste guava (though that’s not a bad idea, is it now?), just search your local produce aisles and ask around.  I wish you luck, because besides tasting amazing, guava is a super food worth discovering.

Until next time…

peace,

Mike

What Is Papaya?

Whenever I have the good fortune to visit the Hawaiian Islands, I take the opportunity to indulge in as many of the local delicacies as possible, be it Maui Onions or locally grown avocados. There are few things I enjoy more than taking my morning walk, enjoying the always perfect weather, and checking out the farmer’s market for produce that I don’t normally eat here on the mainland. Over the next few weeks I will be showcasing many of the diverse fruits and veggies that, while not all native to Hawaii, seem to be abundantly available there. Wonderful and tasty finds like star fruit, pineapple, passion fruit, and today’s topic: Papaya.

Many of you, I’m sure, have eaten papaya, have enjoyed its succulent flavor (like a peach, but different) in smoothies, juices, or diced in a tropical fruit salad. While some of you may have led a more conservative dietary lifestyle and never ventured deeper into the produce aisle to discover this amazing fruit, perhaps others are like me, needing a trip to a tropical paradise to awaken those salivary glands and indulge in diversity. Whatever category you fall under, papaya is not only delicious, but one of the most nutritious fruits in the world.

But how do you eat one?

Though you’d never ask.

HOW TO...EAT A PAPAYA



Papayas are grown in most tropical climates, but did you also know:


TEN THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT PAPAYA

1. picked while still hard and green (like the avocado), they turn a pretty amber when ripe enough to eat
2. the seeds have a peppery taste and are often dried and ground up and used as a seasoning
3. loaded with the enzyme papain: which aids in digestion, can tenderize meats, and even is used to treat cuts and burns
4. the leaves of the papaya tree can be eaten as a spinach-like vegetable and also dried and used to make tea
5. have more vitamin C than apples or oranges
6. Christopher Columbus called papaya the “fruit of the angels”
7. loaded with antioxidants, potassium, folate, papayas are great for the immune system and may help fight cancer and heart disease
8. they have been used for both promoting fertility and preventing it, depending on what culture you consult
9. when eaten while drinking green tea, papaya may also help prevent prostate cancer
10. one of the healthiest low calorie/high fiber foods you can eat

I always feel like kicking myself whenever I get my hands on a papaya and cut one open, not because they are difficult to eat (you know they aren’t, if you watched the video), but because I realize, the second my taste buds scream with pleasure, that it’s been too long since I last had one. But before I did the research for this post, I had no idea how foolish I’d been not to include papaya in my regular diet—they literally are, pound for pound, one of the best things you can eat because they are loaded with enzymes, extensive amounts of antioxidants, vitamins and minerals, and lycopene.

WHAT IS PAPAYA?



Here are a few ways to include more papaya into your diet:

· juices
· smoothies
· salads
· salsa
· served with fish
· jams and jellies
· curries
· stews
· or just raw

So, what is papaya?

A tasty, nutritious, versatile, and amazing fruit that you should make an effort to discover and add to your dietary regimen. I know I am going to.


Until next time…


peace,

Mike