cheesedicers

Springtime is coming, and parents are already picking out items to put in Easter baskets. But this year is the perfect time to do something different and give your family fruit baskets instead of traditional Easter baskets.  Easter baskets are usually full of high calorie and high fat chocolates, sugary jelly beans and other candies that are bad for kids.  With the huge increase in the amount of obese children in the US giving traditional Easter baskets full of junk food is something that parents worry about because they make it difficult for parents to limit a child’s sugar intake.  Giving fruit baskets and instead of candy filled baskets is a smart way to give the kids delicious treats without giving them fat and calories they don’t need.

Even though fruit baskets are healthier than candy filled baskets some parents might have a tough time selling the idea of eating fruit instead of eating chocolate to their kids.  To make it easier to get your kids to accept fruit as a treat instead of a basket full of chocolate choose a fruit basket that some chocolates in it, or nuts, or even a limited amount of sugar jelly candies.  That way your child will still get some of the chocolate and candy that he or she associates with the Easter holiday but will also get some healthy fruit too.  And you won’t have to worry about regulating how much your child eats when your child is eating delicious oranges and tangerines because those fruits usually have less than one hundred calories and are packed with vitamins and minerals your kids need to stay healthy.

Hiding fruit baskets is actually easier than hiding chocolate baskets since fruit, especially hardy citrus fruit with a thick peel, will stand up well in any type of weather.  It doesn’t matter if Easter is cold or hot where you live you can hide fruit baskets outdoors instead of candy baskets and be sure that the fruit will look just as appetizing and delicious after three hours outside as it did when it first arrived.  You can also hide fruit baskets in sneaky spots that are not appropriate for chocolate, like in the oven or outdoors in a warm place. Your kids will be very surprised to see fruit baskets in the places that they used to find candy baskets. But giving them healthy citrus fruit instead of candy will help them stay healthy and make better food choices in life.

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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.

One of the most popular fruits is the navel orange. Perhaps it is because of its larger size compared to other varieties of oranges or because the navel orange is usually seedless. The navel orange is well known for its size and the fact that it has what appears to be a navel on the outside, thus the name “navel orange.” The “navel” hides another small orange within the skin which is another reason this orange variety is larger than some of the other varieties you might find in the food market or at produce stands.

Because of the climate oranges are available in Texas all year although the peak season for navel oranges is November through early May. During August and September the market tends to slow down although it is still possible to find an abundant supply of navel oranges in some places throughout the United States. Texas is only one of the four states that grows and harvests the oranges that are shipped to various states on both the east and west coasts. The availability depends largely on the type of weather growers must endure during the peak growing season. Changes in temperature can negatively affect the number of navel orange crops the trees will produce.

There are several other varieties of oranges available in Texas but the navel orange is one of the most popular. Whenever consumers are unable to obtain navel oranges, they usually resort to the Valencia orange which is the one which manufacturers most commonly use for manufacturing commercial orange juice. While both varieties tend to be seedless, it is not uncommon to find a few seeds in Valencia oranges. Another attractive component of the navel orange is the ease with which you can remove the peel and separate the orange sections.

The location where you live quite often determines where the navel orange you buy is cultivated. This is not necessarily a guarantee, however; it is quite possible you can closer to the east coast and purchase navel oranges that were cultivated on the west coast. One important thing to keep in mind is when it comes to eating any kind of orange, they are very healthy and have an abundance of vitamin C—important for those who live in changing climates that may cause the development of many weather-induced illnesses. Adding navel oranges to your daily diet will help boost your immune system especially during cold and flu seasons.

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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.

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.

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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.

You can get your family to healthy fruit instead of sugary snacks by using decorative fruit baskets.  One of the reasons why people are drawn to sugary, high calorie and high fat snacks is the packaging. The packaging of these snacks and treats is designed to make these items look like little gifts, little presents to yourself when you’ve had a bad day or want to treat yourself.  Fruit baskets package healthy, low calorie citrus fruit the same way.  Would you rather have oranges or grapefruit plucked out of a box or a bowl on the table or from a decorative basket packaged with other citrus fruits, nuts, and other treats? Most people, especially kids, would choose to pick a fruit out of the decorative basket.  Fruit baskets placed around your home as decoration, or on a kitchen counter, will be far more attractive to you and your family than boxed fruit or citrus fruit from the market.

The fact is that fruit baskets are one of the popular gifts for occasions like Christmas or anniversaries. Not many people think to buy fresh fruit baskets to decorate their own home. If you have fruit baskets around the house, you will find that you and your family members will grab a piece of fruit for a snack. Fruit baskets can be placed in your dining room, living room, kitchen or office because they are so versatile. You can put fruit baskets just about any where because they do well in both warm and cold climates.  Baskets are easy to transport and store fruit neatly so they are great for your desk at the office or the car.

If you want to get your family to eat healthy fruit instead of unhealthy high fat snacks and you’ve never really had any luck convincing them to choose citrus fruit over chips or cookies or other snacks try ordering some fruit baskets of seasonal citrus fruit to change their minds.  You can spend as little or as much as you want, and choose simple baskets full of oranges or huge baskets full of a rich fruit assortment depending on what your family likes.  No matter which type of basket you choose you’ll be amazed to see how quickly your family will start to embrace eating healthy citrus fruit over unhealthy snacks when you change the presentation of the fruit.

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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.

When you’re hungry and need a snack avoid grabbing cake or candy. Instead reach for a navel orange and preserve not only the calories but avoid any additional sugar and carbohydrates. While you will certainly find sugar and carbohydrates in a navel orange, you will find healthy natural sugar and “good” carbohydrates. While everyone is likely to have the need for snacks during the day, it’s important for each person to learn to eat snacks that are healthy, and eating a navel orange will help you not only get rid of the in between meals hunger pangs but also will provide healthy nutritional balance.

There are a variety of reasons to start adding navel oranges to your daily diet, such as a snack. Navel oranges taste great and are an excellent source of vitamin C as well as antioxidants. When cold and flu season rolls around, having that extra boost of vitamin C is a great benefit. No matter where you live you are prone to the cold and flu season. Adding navel oranges to your diet is a great way to boost your immune system during this season.

Colds and flu are not the only illnesses that will be improved when you eat healthy snacks that boost your immune system. Many serious diseases are caused by a breakdown in the immune system including some cancers. Choosing a navel orange instead of piece of cake will help your body build its resistance to many different illnesses while it will also help you maintain a proper weight because you don’t consume empty calories and excessive carbohydrates that your body turns into sugar. Put the dish of ice cream back in the freezer and choose a healthy Texas navel orange instead.

One of the problems with many healthy foods is their lack of taste. Fortunately for the navel orange it is sweet, juicy and extremely tasty at the same time. Choosing a navel orange dessert will provide you with many health benefits as a result of consuming important vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. That doesn’t mean you have to always eat the fruit right from the peel; you can certainly find many creative ways to eat a navel orange that will still provide you with the same nutritional value you would obtain from grabbing a piece of fruit from the fruit bowl when you’re looking for a snack.

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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.

Are you trying to save money on gifts for families and friends this year? Giving healthy fruit baskets is a great way to spend less and still give fabulous gifts that your family and friends will all appreciate.  Beautiful baskets of fresh oranges, grapefruits, and tangerines are wonderful gifts for any occasion. If you want to give more than just fresh fruit you can choose from deluxe gift towers or more ornate fruit baskets with gourmet chocolates, nuts, candies and other treats as well as delicious and healthy fruit. 

You can show how much you care, without spending a fortune, when you send fruit baskets for occasions such as birthdays, anniversaries, holidays and other special events. Fruit baskets are presented beautifully, so even if you didn’t spend a lot of money, the fruit basket looks like you did. The elegant look of this gift will be greatly appreciated.  Fruit baskets can be shipped all over the world, so no matter where the celebration is being held you can get a beautiful fruit basket there even when you can’t attend yourself.

Sending healthy fruit is a great gift this year because there are so many people who are cutting back on their food budgets and usually when people cut back on their groceries fresh fruits and vegetables are the first things they cut.  Getting a basket of delicious, fresh oranges or grapefruits is a gift that most people would be very grateful for, even if they don’t talk a lot about cutting back on their spending.  Typically families with young children and elderly family members are the first ones to cut fresh fruit from their budget so this year even if there is no occasion send a large fruit basket to your relatives with small children, or an elderly relative who lives alone and they will really appreciate it.

Fruit baskets make gift giving easy because you can browse through dozens of professionally designed baskets  and fruit towers online, order them all at once, and choose what day you want to have them sent.  If you want to really surprise your friends and family this year buy them fruit baskets of exotic and highly sought after citrus fruits like Honeybells or Clementines. These delicious fruits are only in season for a very limited time during the year and getting them can be tough since they typically sell out long before they are even harvested.  Your friends and family will be thrilled to get baskets of these healthy fruits this year.

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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.

Using fruit baskets to decorate for a party is a great way to spend less and get more.  Instead of wasting money on flowers or balloons as decorations for birthday parties, picnics, anniversary parties, holiday parties and other occasions use decorative fruit baskets filled with tasty citrus fruit. Citrus fruit can be used in beverages, in cooking, or as a healthy snack alternative for the guests at the party.  Fruit baskets full of colorful varieties of citrus fruit will enhance the decor of the party and make it more festive. And, since citrus fruit can stand up to many different temperatures and weather events citrus fruit is perfect all year round.  Here are some fun ways that you can use both large and small citrus fruit baskets to decorate at your next party or wedding reception:

Centerpieces – Small bowls full of fresh oranges are beautiful centerpieces for any event. They can sit in the sun or in the cold for hours and still look and taste great. Plus, your guests can grab a piece of fruit if they are hungry, want some orange juice for their beverage, or want to take home a party favor.  Personalize the fruit in the bowl by stenciling the peel with the event date or your name or by using custom made stickers. If you are throwing a shower or wedding reception these simple but elegant centerpieces don’t cost a lot so you’re not losing a lot of money if people take them home.

Pool parties – Fruit baskets are wonderful decorations for pool parties. Arrange several large mixed fruit assortments around the pool area so that people don’t need to get out of the pool in order to grab a snack.  One of the great things about citrus fruit is that it cleans up very easily and you won’t have to worry about dangerous spills poolside. Investing in citrus fruits is a good idea if you entertain at your own home pool during the summer months. One idea is to add a swim up bar to your pool where you can leave the fresh citrus fruit for either snacking or to add to refreshing beverages.

Birthday parties – Keep the focus on the cake at birthday parties by not offering lots of sweets as snacks and party favors.  Assorted fruit baskets are beautiful and give parents a healthy option for their kids to snack on. You can even make citrus fruit party favors by having kids make their own paper or yarn wrappers for the fruit.

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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.

Blood oranges are the most exotic of all the oranges and make an exciting  and unusual fruit basket  arrangement .  They get  their name from the almost gem like ruby red or maroon  hue  of their flesh.  They have an equal quantity of eye appeal as the decadently lush juice has for taste.  They are basically, the best orange available during their season.

The blood orange makes a big   display when it is displayed  as a fruit basket .  The skin is a bright orange made even brighter if it was on the tree when the nights started to cool down.  Slice one open and the incredibly rich smell will tantalize you and start you salivating.  When you bite into one of these, just give into it, you’re going to be hooked .  Bloods have a deeply rich orange flavor and the only insidious part of this fruit is a hint of raspberry flavor .

Because they are so rich in flavor, and their  look is so dramatic, they are  well known   for dressing up both salads and meats.  Sliced wedges  tossed with greens or circling  a serving plate of pork tenderloin add a distinctive look as well as taste .

If you have a friend who is into sauces, the blood orange will be a real treat for them.  Probably the simplest  and easiest meat sauce possible is microwaving a couple of tablespoons of orange marmalade and then tumbling in sliced wedges of the blood orange.  Dramatic and delightful .  It makes great chutney, and if you want a  big   change, it makes a wild salsa  too .

And of course there is the juice.  If you want to add a real boose to your every day OJ, mix in the juice of a blood orange and add ice.  Fair warning although, you’re likely to go through withdrawal attacks  once you run out of these amazing midsized citrus.

Exciting food isn’t the blood orange’s only specialty.  The dark red color of the inside is caused by an abundance of a pigment called anthocyanin which is an highly powerful antioxidant.  Antioxidants ensure free radicals which are responsible for the formation of abnormal cells found in cancer.  The anthocyanin coupled with the vitamin C and beta-carotene found in the fruit provides  excellent prevention of cancerous cells.

 Arrangements  of fruit baskets are special in themselves but a gift of blood oranges makes it even more so.  Do a friend a favor, or better yet, do yourself a favor and get a fruit basket full of blood oranges today.

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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.