Fruit & Veggie Haul: Farmers' Market Style

Last Saturday, I went to the Farmers' Market to restock on fresh fruits and vegetables. Here's what I bought at each station:

For $9:
-2 avocados (vitamin K, omega-6)
-7 tomatoes (vitamin A, C)
-1 sweet onion (MSM)
-1 red pepper (vitamin A, C)
-4 bananas (potassium, dietary fiber)

For $3:
-strawberries (vitamin C)

For $2:
-tons of spinach (vitamin A)

The price of the avocados, tomatoes, onion, red pepper, and spinach were comparable to that of Walmart. The strawberries? Eh, not so much. The quality of the produce, however, certainly exceeds that of Walmart. There is no comparison there.

WALMART price comparison:
-2 avocados + 7 tomatoes + 1 sweet onion + 1 red pepper + bananas = $8.49*
-strawberries - 1.58
-spinach ~ $2.64

*avocados - $1.88/ea; tomatoes - $1.38/lb; sweet onion - $1.28/lb; red pepper - 1.68/ea; bananas ~ $0.39

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MORE READS:
STRAWBERRIES
GREEN VEGETABLES
BANANA SMOOTHIE
BANANA DEEP CONDITIONER
AVOCADO DEEP CONDITIONER

Strawberries for A Sweet Tooth

So I've been having a serious sweet tooth lately. Chocolate cake. Oreos. Ferrero Rocher. Etc. Um ... yeah. Me being me, I had to nip this indulgence in the butt fast.

Fortunately, there are healthier alternatives that can tame this tooth. Smoothies, especially those with peanut butter. Sometimes a bowl of cereal will do the trick for me. Yogurt. This weekend I discovered another option - strawberries. The sweet (and not so much the sour) kind. Yes, strawberries. Here's the scoop on the nutrition facts:

*One cup of strawberries contains almost 150% Vitamin C and 30% Manganese.
*Vitamin C is an antioxidant that is beneficial for the skin, hair, and immune system. It is said to improve scalp circulation.
*Manganese is said to prevent slow hair growth.

So if you have a sweet tooth, maybe strawberries will work for you. If not, there are plenty of other fruits from which to choose. After all, mangos and bananas are much better for your hair and body than Skittles and ice cream.

**According to one article, strawberries are a fine choice for those with type II diabetes. However, as always, please CONSULT YOU DOCTOR before making any changes to your diet.

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STRAWBERRY NUTRITION FACTS
STRAWBERRY & DIABETES
VITAMIN C BENEFITS
VITAMINS FOR THE HAIR

Study || Cherries Reduce Abdominal Fat?

I was eating some cherries a couple weeks ago and thought, "Hmm, I wonder if there is any research out there on cherries and fat".  Up until that point, I thought the fruit was pretty useless other than being a fix for my sweet tooth.  Well, guess what? There is research out there, one of which associates a regular intake of cherries with a reduction in abdominal fat weight, percentage fat mass, and more.  Check out the abstract: REGULAR TART CHERRY INTAKE ALTERS ABDOMINAL ADIPOSITY, ETC. (2009).