131 Percent Status Symbol

Let’s play a guessing game. There is a fruit dripping with the sweetest tasting of all anti-oxidants. In days past a sailor returned safely home would place this fruit on the front porch as a symbol of welcome and celebration. Fashionable hostesses would serve this exotic fruit or display it prominently as a kind of status symbol, and eventually its form worked its way into the decorative carvings on furniture or in fabric designs.  Any ideas?  The best part about it is that 1 cup provides 131% of the vitamin C you will need for the whole day. (1)  The free radicals which damage cellular DNA, causing cancerous tumors and premature aging now start to run for their lives, and all the while you just sit there chewing with a smile on your face because this fruit is better than any sweet treat around!

That last clue about the furniture probably gave the royal pineapple away because we certainly don’t see bananas and strawberries carved in wood very often.  What used to be so exotic and difficult to acquire is now yours for the taking now that it is in season and so reasonably priced.  I have enjoyed a few of them lately and I’ve found its hard to stop eating them because they are so good, and especially when fresh like they are now.

Another wonderful benefit of pineapple is the imbedded enzyme bromelain.  This enzyme is useful for digesting protein, and can even be purchased as a supplement for that very reason. I’ve used it myself after a meal and it provided instant comfort.

This week the Almond Crusted Chicken was as delicious and moist as ever , and I served it with fresh cut pineapple and broccoli rabe simmered in broth and seasoned with butter, onions and a healthy dose of cheesy tasting nutritional yeast.  That was a surprise hit by the way.

Since the recipe is paired, I had plenty of delicious chicken left over for amazing tacos, and even more to slice thin and put in sandwiches for lunches.  Pineapple can be found in the two side dishes Tropical Fruit Salad or Spring Slaw.  I hope you will try using the menu and shopping list provided on the site because it is so amazingly convenient to print it out, buy all you need from the organized list, and then have it ready for whenever you choose to make it.  Using a paired recipe like the chicken this week is another efficient time saver.

If you’re in the neighborhood and see a pineapple on the front porch, come on in and stay awhile.  Since I saved so much time using the handy Orange Tree Lane menu and shopping list, I might just make you cup of tea while dinner is baking.

Molly

(1)  http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=34

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