As far as I’m concerned, January is grapefruit season in Boston, where Lose It! headquarters is located. Massachusetts farmers aren’t harvesting much at this time of year, but Florida’s citrus farms are busily gathering and sending their seasonal fruit all over the country.
When I was a kid, my choir sold boxes of Florida citrus for our winter fundraiser so our house was always jam-packed with grapefruit and oranges. I remember going into the kitchen on a cold winter’s morning and seeing the grapefruit halves our mom had prepared for us. I imagined that eating those grapefruit segments was equivalent to gobbling down slices of Florida’s sunshine and that that sunshine would keep me strong all winter. Turns out that I was on to something, although it was not the sunshine, but the awesome nutrient combination, that helped grapefruit keep me going through the coldest months.
Nutritional Highlights
As you may know, vitamin C is the highlight of grapefruit – half a grapefruit meets 60% of your daily vitamin C needs. Vitamin C helps to support your immune system– it’s perfect for staying healthy during these winter months! Like other anti-oxidants, vitamin C helps your body to constantly rebuild itself. In addition to cold-fighting, vitamin C intake has been associated with better heart health, reduced inflammation, and even reduced risk of stroke and cancer! This vitamin has got it all going on.
Like other similarly–colored produce, red and pink grapefruits contain a lot of cancer-fighting Lycopene. The more brightly colored the fruit, the more lycopene it contains, so pick those bright red grapefruits over their yellow and white counterparts.
Yes, grapefruit juice does also contain these nutrients. However, juice is much more calorie-dense than a grapefruit – one cup of grapefruit juice is 96 calories while half of a grapefruit only has 39 calories. Stick with the full fruit to help with your calorie budget and weight loss!
Recipes to Try
Grapefruit is great by itself. Cut it in half and scoop out the segments with a spoon, cut it into membrane-free segments, or slice it like traditional orange slices. If you don’t like the bitter taste of the plain grapefruit, sprinkle a little bit of your favorite sugar or sweetener on it (just be sure to measure it!) – even with 1 teaspoon of sugar on it, half a grapefruit still contains only 55 calories.
Check out this fun video for a few creative ways to use the tasty fruit, and read on below for a few of our favorite grapefruit recipes.
Pink Grapefruit and Avocado Salad
Click here to add this savory and nutrient-packed dish to your Lose It! recipe box. Don’t have chervil (or haven’t heard of it, like us?) – you can easily substitute parsley instead!
Grapefruit Salsa
Talk about bringing some summer into winter! This salsa can be used on fish or chicken, in a taco, or as a tasty salad topping. Here’s the Lose It! recipe card to easily add to your Lose It! account.
Brown Sugar Broiled Grapefruit
This decadent dessert can easily fit into your calorie budget! Click here to add it to your Lose It! Recipe box.
What do you like to do with grapefruit? Are they a winter fruit to you, too? Tweet us @loseit or leave a comment on our Facebook page!
