BANANAS
Did you know?
- Bananas have been around forever. Scientists have proven that bananas have grown on earth for over 1 million years.
- Bananas are a good source of Vitamin C, potassium, and dietary fiber.
- Bananas have no fat, cholesterol or sodium.
- Bananas are America's #1 fruit.
- Bananas are great for athletic and fitness activity because they replenish necessary carbohydrates, glycogen, and body fluids burned during exercise.
PINEAPPLES
Did you know?
- The pineapple is not a single fruit, but a "sorosis." That means the fruit of a hundred or more flowers grow on the plant spike. As they grow, they swell with juice and pulp, expanding to become the fruit.
- The pineapple is originally native to Brazil and Paraguay, not Hawaii, as many people believe.
- The name "pineapple" came from European explorers who thought the fruit looked like a pine cone with flesh like an apple.
- Pineapples take 18 months to grow.
- A serving of pineapple contains 78.9 mg of Vitamin C - 131% of the recommended daily allowance. Pineapples are also naturally very low in cholesterol and saturated fat, and a good source of Vitamin B6, thiamin, and copper.
CANTALOUPES
Did you know?
- Half a cantaloupe will meet your daily requirement for both Vitamins A & C, as well as valuable minerals such as folic acid and potassium. Cantaloupe is extremely nutrient packed, has no fat or cholesterol and provides fiber in the diet.
- Cantaloupe is rich in antioxidants that can help prevent cancer and heart diseases. The great taste of a juicy sweet cantaloupe comes with a very small caloric price: only 50 calories per 6-oz. slice.
- Cantaloupes are named for the papal gardens of Cantaloupe, Italy, where some historians say this species of melon was first grown.
- Cantaloupes are actually muskmelons, because of its sweet smell.
- Leaving an uncut cantaloupe at room temperature for two to four days makes the fruit softer and juicer.
TOMATOES
Did you know?
- Tomatoes are actually a fruit, not a vegetable.
- The Aztecs were the first known cultivators of tomatoes.
- Tomatoes are high in Vitamin A, Vitamin C, calcium, potassium and lycopene (an inhibitor to heart disease), as well as lung, cervical, breast and prostate cancer.
- Tomatoes are a natural antioxidant that can help prevent a number of diseases, including heart disease and some cancers.
- Cooking tomatoes in oil help increase your body’s natural absorption of the nutrients in tomatoes.
