cheesedicers

You don’t have to spend a lot of money on organic treats in order to eat healthy.  Florida oranges, grapefruits and other citrus fruits are healthy and sweet treats that won’t break your budget.  Economy size boxes of Florida oranges, or gift baskets full of assorted citrus fruit, are cost effective ways to keep fresh fruit in the house no matter how small your budget is.  If you store Florida oranges in a cool and dark place they will last for quite some time, so you can buy in bulk and save money. If you really want to save money get together with some friends or family members who also want to stock up on fresh citrus fruit and share a box of grapefruits or oranges.  Fresh Florida oranges cost just a fraction of what cookies, cakes and other sweet snacks that are full of refined sugar cost.

There is about one hundred calories in one Florida orange, which makes them a great snack for any family member. Children enjoy the sweet taste, and due to the low calorie count, kids will not gain extra pounds if they have more than one.  Since Florida oranges are high in Vitamin C, parents love the fruit because it helps keep both their children and them healthy by boosting immune systems. Children have a tendency to spread germs easily, having Florida oranges in the house helps keep their kids healthy and tastes great at the same time. Florida oranges are great any time of year, but they are especially beneficial during the winter months.

Switching to Florida oranges after the holidays is the perfect way to get the sweet snacks you crave after weeks of eating cookies and other sweets without breaking your New Year’s resolution to eat healthy. Kids especially can have trouble giving up the decadent and rich desserts that are so easily available during the holiday season but they will benefit the most from making the switch. Once you get used to eating healthy and sweet snacks you’ll find that when you do eat refined sugar snacks they taste flat and stale.  Showing your kids that they can eat healthy snacks that are also sweet and delicious will help them make better food choices throughout their lives, so order some Florida oranges today and get your kids started on a healthy diet that you can afford even if you’re buying groceries on a budget these days.

———————————————-

Article contributed by Hale Groves, providing fresh fruit baskets, gift baskets and Florida oranges and citrus, including delicious navel oranges, honeybells, ruby red grapefruit, valencia oranges, tangerines and more! Visit HaleGroves.com for more information.

It’s that time of year again – the time when everyone wants to lose those holiday pounds and get ready for summer.  Eating Florida citrus fruit can help you be ready for bathing suit season in no time.  Low calorie Florida citrus fruits are full of fiber that will help you stay full and curb your appetite.  The natural sugars in the fruit are easy for your body to break down and use for energy so those sugars won’t get stored as fat the way that refined sugars are.  Natural citrus fruits like oranges and grapefruit will also give you energy and keep you exercising and active which will help you build muscle and lose weight.

Adding grapefruit to your daily diet is a good weigh to lose weight. When combined with a low calorie diet, studies have shown that by eating a half grapefruit with each meal helps you to double the amount of weight you lose. With many Florida citrus fruits at about one hundred calories a fruit, this makes a great snack, especially to help with those sweet cravings. An added benefit is that having a Florida citrus fruit for a snack can help you lost those holiday pounds.

It is not necessary to starve yourself in order to lose weight. Being smart and eating low calorie, healthy foods instead of high calorie foods is the way to start. Vegetables and fresh fruit, like Florida citrus fruit, are very low in calories and have a lot of the vitamins and minerals that you need to stay healthy.  You also need to use healthy fats, like olive oil, instead of butter, cream, mayonnaise and other fats. A large green salad with fresh grapefruit or orange juice and vinegar dressing and fruit segments has very few calories even though it’s a lot of food. It is very possible to lose weight and still eat a satisfying amount of food, you just have to make sure you eat the right kinds of food.

Exercise is also important to losing weight. Cardio exercise will help you burn calories, and muscle building exercises will help you lose weight too because the more muscle you have the more calories you will burn.  Drinking some fresh orange juice before you work out will give you a boost of natural energy that will help you last through a whole workout.  Drinking some Florida citrus fruit juice after a workout will give your body the vitamins and minerals necessary to heal damaged tissues and promote muscle growth.

———————————————-

Article contributed by Hale Groves, providing fresh fruit baskets, gift baskets and Florida oranges and citrus, including delicious navel oranges, honeybells, ruby red grapefruit, valencia oranges, tangerines and more! Visit HaleGroves.com for more information.

Summer is the perfect time for cool and refreshing Florida citrus treats.  After a long day of playing by the pool or sitting in the sun ices, frozen yogurts, sorbets and other chilly citrus treats are sure to please everyone in your household, especially the kids.  Many of these simple desserts are so easy to make that kids can make them on their own. Older children can get even set up a small stand and sell some of them to make some extra pocket money. All you need to make these delicious treats are real Florida citrus fruits like oranges and grapefruits, some granulated sugar, and other simple ingredients.  Make sure to have plenty of fresh Florida citrus fruit on hand for those warm, summer, evening parties. You can even use some of these unusual treats for wedding receptions or baby showers.

Citrus ice – Ices are incredibly simple to make and really showcase the bright flavor of Florida citrus fruit.  To make a mixed citrus fruit ice you will need several types of grapefruit, oranges, some sugar and some water.  Half the grapefruits and remove all the flesh. The rinds will be the cups that the ice is served in. Wash the rinds and make sure you remove all the pith.  Chill the rinds in the freezer while you make the ice.  Juice the rest of the grapefruits and the oranges and pour the juices together. In a saucepan mix the juice and about a cup of sugar. Boil the juice and sugar to make a simple syrup. If the mixture is too runny add more sugar. Once the mixture becomes a syrup add some grated grapefruit peel and orange peel. Let the mixture cool to room temperature and then pour it into the halved grapefruit rinds.  Return the mixture to the freezer and let it chill. Eat and serve.

Citrus ice cream topping – Natural vanilla ice cream is a summer treat everyone loves, but you can make this treat even more refreshing with a sweet citrus topping. All you need to do is peel a few Florida citrus fruits. Chop up the segments and mix them with some fresh orange juice. Make sure the mixture is a bit chunky.  Boil the mixture with some sugar until it has a syrupy consistency and serve warm over the ice cream. Your family and friends will love the rich sweetness of the Florida citrus fruit combined with the cool refreshing flavor of the vanilla.

———————————————-

Article contributed by Hale Groves, providing fresh fruit baskets, gift baskets and Florida oranges and citrus, including delicious navel oranges, honeybells, ruby red grapefruit, valencia oranges, tangerines and more! Visit HaleGroves.com for more information.

If one of your New Year’s resolutions this year was to eat health you’re probably finding out right about now that eating healthy can be kind of boring, at least it’s boring when compared to the excitement of the holidays when you can eat almost anything you want. Eating healthy doesn’t have to be boring though. There are lots of ways that you make healthy eating fun, like using fruit baskets to get your snacks.  Fruit baskets filled with bright seasonal citrus fruit look like a present, and every time you choose a piece of fruit from the basket you’ll feel like you’re treating yourself to something special. And you are, really, since sweet oranges and delicious grapefruits are filled with vitamins and minerals that will help your body work more efficiently and make you feel great. Pretty fruit baskets can liven up your desk at work or be a great centerpiece on the kitchen table.  A fruit basket filled with oranges and assorted citrus fruits in the entryway by the door is a great reminder to grab a healthy snack on the way out the door and it looks pretty when guests come by.

It’s much easier to stay focused on a healthy eating plan when you make it fun to eat healthy. It can be a lot easier to select healthy food over junk food when you start to love the great taste of seasonal fresh fruit. Once you have added fresh fruit to your diet, you will look back and wonder how you ever chose processed, high fat and generally unhealthy food.  When you’re eating healthy the presentation of the food is part of the pleasure of eating, so indulge in a few gorgeous fruit baskets to keep at home and you’ll enjoy snacking on healthy citrus fruits.  Fruit baskets of exotic fruits like Honeybells and Clementines during the winter will seem like a huge treat to you and your family.

Fruit baskets aren’t as expensive as many people think, and it’s money that is well spent when you’re trying to eat healthy.  A great way to boost your spirits is having fresh fruit delivered to your door. It’s much better than having to look through the fruit at the market that has been sitting there a while. Fresh fruit will help you stay energized and has tons of added health benefits.

———————————

Article contributed by Hale Groves, providing fresh fruit baskets, gift baskets and Florida oranges and citrus, including delicious navel oranges, honeybells, ruby red grapefruit, valencia oranges, tangerines and more! Visit HaleGroves.com for more information.

Replace energy drinks with Florida oranges and get a healthy energy boost whenever you need one.  Energy drinks are expensive, especially compared to the cost of fresh and tasty Florida citrus fruit.  Buying citrus fruit directly from the grower can result in huge savings, especially when you buy in bulk. With less than one hundred calories per piece of fruit oranges are a healthy alternative to high calorie, sugar packed energy drinks. Energy drinks are not healthy for you over a long period of time. One of the biggest problems with energy drinks is that they are packed with refined sugar and caffeine. Both of these substances will stimulate you and keep you awake, but neither one can be effectively processed by the body. 

When your body has trouble breaking those substances down you’ll experience a spike of intense energy followed by a hard crash with fatigue, lethargy and a foggy feeling as the substances leave your body.  That crash can send you reaching for another energy drink, which just perpetuates an unhealthy cycle. To get the energy that you need without resorting to drinking refined sugar and caffeine try eating Florida oranges and grapefruits.  Both Florida oranges and grapefruits contain the vitamins and minerals that you need to get energy naturally. Eating oranges and other types of citrus fruits regularly will help you focus and think more clearly. Adding Florida oranges to your diet will help you be your best mentally and physically and are better for you than energy drinks. 

When you eat Florida oranges for energy your body easily processes the natural sugars in the fruit and turns those natural sugars into natural energy. Your energy level will rise without spiking, and it won’t drop off suddenly.  You will have more energy and you’ll feel energetic for a longer period of time when you eat oranges instead of drinking energy drinks.  Instead of going for that energy drink when you hit that mid morning slump, have a Florida orange, it will keep you going until lunch time. Since oranges have fiber, they will give you a fuller feeling stomach and you may not feel the eat as much lunch. For those who have mid-afternoon slumps, eating a Florida orange will give you that boost of energy you need to get you through the rest of the day. You can also enjoy a Florida orange in  the evening instead of reaching for that bag of chips. Florida oranges can be enjoyed any time of day.

———————————————-

Article contributed by Hale Groves, providing fresh fruit baskets, gift baskets and Florida oranges and citrus, including delicious navel oranges, honeybells, ruby red grapefruit, valencia oranges, tangerines and more! Visit HaleGroves.com for more information.

Adding Florida oranges to your daily diet and your family’s diet can make it easier for your kids to focus. Many parents struggle trying to keep their focused on schoolwork, on hobbies, and on other activities.  Some kids require medications to help them stay calm, focus, and keep their attention on one thing for more than a few minutes at a time. But millions of other kids whose problems aren’t serious enough to require medication still need a little help when it comes to staying energized and focused throughout the day.  Kids who have school and then lots of activities like sports, clubs and other interests often need a pick me up by the end of the day.

Diet and exercise can play a huge role in helping your kids focus. Natural Florida oranges, which are packed with vitamins and minerals, give kids the healthy boost of energy they need as well as the nutrients they need to keep their minds sharp and their bodies functioning well.  Giving your kids Florida oranges or grapefruit in the morning will help them get their day off to the right start by stimulating their brains and giving them the natural energy to stay interested and focused on their schoolwork until lunchtime.  Florida oranges eaten as snacks will help them get through the afternoon and homework without fading. 

Kids can learn to eat healthy early on in their lives and they will continue to have healthy eating habits into adulthood. Showing kids that eating Florida oranges and other citrus fruit is the perfect way to jump start their energy and help keep them focused will help them avoid reaching for those energy drinks as they get older. There are so many benefits of adding citrus fruit to your child’s diet, focus and energy are just one part of the advantages. Since the average piece of fruit has less than one hundred calories, but a lot of fiber, snacking on citrus keeps kids healthy but also helps keep them feeling fuller. The natural sugars in oranges and other citrus fruits are easy for the body to break down so they won’t cause the same kind of stomach upset or other discomforts that soda and other foods usually given to kids to give them an energy boost can cause. 

———————————————-

Article contributed by Hale Groves, providing fresh fruit baskets, gift baskets and Florida oranges and citrus, including delicious navel oranges, honeybells, ruby red grapefruit, valencia oranges, tangerines and more! Visit HaleGroves.com for more information.

No matter what kind of party you may be having adding some naval orange slices, peel or juice will spruce it up and turn it into a healthy concoction. There are so many ways you can turn a naval orange into a party selection: drinks, fruit salads, appetizers and much more. The selections are limited only by your imagination as a hostess. Even recipes you use every day will taste different if you add some navel orange peel or juice. There are very few people who do not enjoy the taste of fresh oranges, so your dishes will have immense success.

One of the most popular party treats is the Jell-O mold. Many people prefer to buy the mold at a party or other store rather than spend the time to make it. You are at the mercy of someone else when you do that since you will not have a say in the type of fruit that is used to create the mold. Making your own Jell-O mold for your party means you can add navel orange sections or peel in order to give your mold just the flavor you want to achieve.

Beverages are a major part of any party. It doesn’t matter whether you are serving alcoholic beverages or not, you can definitely add navel orange juice to any drink concoction. If you live in a hot weather climate, serving navel orange slushies is a great idea. They taste great and are refreshing. Your guests will thoroughly enjoy them. If you are having a large party, you can make punch with navel orange juice as a main ingredient.

If you’re serving Screwdrivers for your party, why not use navel orange juice instead of buying a commercial juice? You will have a healthy foundation for the mix—the alcohol will add enough calories to the drink without the extra sugar content of commercial juices. Besides, you will have better control over all the ingredients by taking it upon yourself to create the drinks instead of buying them commercially. It may be more work, but your guests will appreciate your efforts. After all, a party is not something you hold every day, so taking extra time once or twice a month doesn’t take much effort.

————————————-

Pittman & Davis is a leading fresh fruit gift shipper, providing texas citrus, including ruby red grapefruit, oranges, fresh citrus, and baked goods. Visit http://www.pittmandavis.com for more information.

Almost anyone will tell you that the best way to get the benefits of a fruit or vegetable is to eat it in raw form. This is no different when it comes to grapefruit benefits. However, those same people who preach a raw approach to fruits and veggies probably also realize that with the busy lifestyles that we have become accustomed to, raw is not always the easiest approach to grapefruit benefits. So does this mean that we are destined not to get the many grapefruit benefits unless we eat raw grapefruit?

As a matter of fact, the answer to that last question is no.  There are are a variety of  ways to get your share of the wonderful grapefruit benefits without having to eat a single slice of actual grapefruit. Below are three ways to add grapefruit to your daily diet and reap the benefits of this amazing fruit. 

Grapefruit juice is a wonderful way to get grapefruit benefits. It is chock full of Vitamin C, potassium, the powerful cancer-fighting antioxidant lycopene, and much more. The only grapefruit benefits that juice falls short in is fiber. All of the fiber in grapefruits is concentrated in the pulp or the clear skin that encases each slice of grapefruit. This means that juice will not have any of the fiber because it is lacking both of those ingredients. However, you will still get the antioxidants, lycopene and other vitamins and minerals from grapefruit juice as you would from a regular grapefruit. The fiber is the only one of the grapefruit benefits that you will not get from the juice.

There are also grapefruit benefits available in the form of a pill. Though this is not as popular of  way to get grapefruit benefits as juice or raw grapefruits, it is increasingly being used by those whose pallets do not really take well to the juicy citrus fruit and its largely acquired taste. You can of course add sugar to a raw grapefruit of a glass of juice to still get grapefruit benefits. But why bother when you can just swallow a few pills a day while you take your multivitamin and be done with it? You will still get the same great grapefruit benefits as other forms but without the messy peel or added sugar of many juices.

Lastly, you can add grapefruit to your diet in the form of a powder, which is not the most popular form, but will still provide you with grapefruit benefits.  All you have to do is mix the powder according to the package instructions. It usually includes recipes for adding the powder to juice, water, milk or any other substance. Again, be sure to check the sugar content of whatever you are mixing it with and have fun getting grapefruit benefits on the go.

————————————-

Pittman & Davis is a leading fresh fruit gift shipper, providing texas citrus, including ruby red grapefruit, oranges, fresh citrus, and baked goods. Visit http://www.pittmandavis.com for more information.

Where does grapefruit essential oil come from and what is all the rage about grapefruit anyway?  Well, it is actually a power house fruit that you can reap the benefits from even if you do no like its taste. You would be surprised how many products this essential oil can be found in!

Yes, grapefruit essential oil , also commonly referred to as Shaddock that when compressed and turned into grapefruit essential oil is becoming one of the rising stars of the world of massage and homeopathic medicine.  It seems strange that a fruit that does not appear to have any oil in it would have an essential oil concentrate available, but there is a small amount of oil that can be found in the peel or skin of the fruit.  With modern day technology, it is not as difficult of a process as before and now with compression machines, orchards or producers can more easily compress the peels to extract this small amount of oil, or what will become grapefruit essential oil.  This trace amount is highly concentrated and not necessarily stable for shelf life.  Therefore it is then mixed with other natural components to stabilize the product for shipping and of course improve shelf life when it reaches your home. 

Grapefruit essential oils are then sold either in a small vile for topical application for massage, concentrations for ingestion or for diffusers for aromatherapy or they are sold to manufacturers that want to use this scent in their products.  What kind of products you might ask?  Well, the next time you walk down your personal hygiene aisle of your store, you will see! There is variety of liquid and solid soaps, shampoos and conditioners, astringents and disinfectants, facial scrubs and body washes as well as massage oils- all containing grapefruit essential oil.  Many of these products will advertise as being re-invigorating, fresh bursts of energy or a distressing agent to get you to buy their products. This is in part marketing but this is also in part true.  The aroma of grapefruit essential oil is proven to stimulate mental activation and awareness.  It has also been proven to stimulate the lymphatic system and the increased activity of the human metabolism. Therefore, there is truth into what these products offer to sell- but at what concentration are they packaged, that depends on the producer of that product so you will have to do your research on which products to purchase if you want a true dose of the health benefits of grapefruit essential oils. Of course you can always buy the concentrated essential oil for higher concentrations, but be sure to read the instructions and warnings before you use it for the first time. Enjoy the effects of grapefruit essential oil- whatever of what form it takes. 

————————————

Pittman & Davis is a leading fresh fruit gift shipper, providing texas citrus, including ruby red grapefruit, oranges, fresh citrus, and baked goods. Visit http://www.pittmandavis.com for more information.

Vitamin C is a powerful antioxidant that helps your body with many common everyday functions. One great source of Vitamin C is grapefruit. The fact that it has this useful vitamin in it is just one of the many grapefruit benefits that people know about. How many times have you heard someone tell you to get some citrus and/or Vitamin C in your system when you become ill? This is especially true of head colds. But you do not have to limit yourself to just oranges. Another in a long line of grapefruit benefits is the ability to take the place of oranges or other citrus fruits not just in some recipes but in health remedies as well.

Grapefruit benefits everyone by helping to stave off colds or to lessen the symptoms once an illness sets in. Many people take megadoses of Vitamin C in pill form. But you can also get grapefruit benefits in pill form or by eating grapefruits, which are available almost the entire year.

There are also grapefruit benefits that are not related to just Vitamin C. There is an old folk remedy that says that if you cut up an entire grapefruit and boil it, you get some great grapefruit benefits. These grapefruit benefits include hydration, reduction in fever, and fights fatigue. Because the body can become dehydrated during illness, it is essential to be able to get rehydrated. Fever can be downright dangerous during illness, it can even cause death if it goes too high, so a reduction in fever is another one of those grapefruit benefits that will help you recover. As for fatigue, it probably goes without saying that being tired is a big part of illness. The more fatigued you are, the more work or school you could miss. So fighting fatigue with grapefruit benefits is a very big deal for those with head colds.

Grapefruit is a great food for fighting a cold. In addition to having a high of vitamin C, it also helps detoxify the liver. The liver is your front line to the immune system, and when immunity is impaired, you need something that’s alkaline and not acidic to detoxify it. All citrus fruits become alkaline when metabolized in the body. But oranges and other citrus fruits are too sweet to promote proper liver drainage, so you get much better detoxification from grapefruit. It has been recommended that eating one or more grapefruit and their white bitter pulp each day can prevent colds and build immunity.

In the end, it is important to note that grapefruit benefits everyone because it is also rich on other vitamins and minerals and fiber. Any and all ages can get these grapefruit benefits by eating as little as half a grapefruit a day. The more you eat, the more grapefruit benefits  you will reap. You can also take grapefruit in pill or juice form. The only difference is you will not get fiber from the juice, but you will get it from the other two forms. No matter how you choose to eat or drink it, grapefruit benefits everyone

————————————-

Pittman & Davis is a leading fresh fruit gift shipper, providing texas citrus, including ruby red grapefruit, oranges, fresh citrus, and baked goods. Visit http://www.pittmandavis.com for more information.