Mango – Tropical Nutrition In Every Bite

It is summer and I love to embrace the fresh flavors of summer by incorporating mangos into my diet.  There is nothing like fresh fruit or a fruit salad to round out a summer meal with meat from the grill.

Mangos originally were grown in India and Southeast Asia.  Nowadays, mangos are grown in Florida, Hawaii and California and other places all around the world.  Which is why they are available  and becoming a staple in grocery store shelves.  Mango salsa is frequently found on restaurant menus the world over.

Mango consumption can positively affect heart health, blood pressure, weight management, diabetes and gut health.  Mangos are classified as a low glycemic food.

A study done by Texas A & M University found that mangos were more effective in relieving chronic constipation than comparable amounts of fiber.

So just how nutritious is a mango?

¾ cup of sliced Mango

• Calories: 70 calories
• Protein: 1g
• Carbs: 19g
• Fat: 0% Hurray!
• Fiber:  2g
• Vitamins & Minerals:
• Over 20 different vitamins and minerals
• ¾ cup is 50% of your daily Vitamin C recommendation
• Contains Vitamin A, Vitamin B6, Vitamin E, Vitamin K, Niacin, Manganese and more
• A good source of folate (15% of your daily recommendation)
• ¾ cup contains 15% of your recommendation for copper

The good news is mangos are available year round.  And kids as well as adults like them.  Sliced and eaten raw is delicious but you can also put them smoothies to add a tropical kick.

How to tell when a mango is ripe and ready to eat?

You must give it a squeeze.  Don’t get fooled by the color.  A ripe mango gives a bit when pressed.  Mangos ripen at room temperature.  So leave on your counter if they are hard and as they soften they sweeten.  You can speed up ripening by placing them in a paper bag.  If they are softening to quickly put them in your refrigerator to slow them down.  You can peel and cube or slice them and store them in an airtight container for up to 5 days.  I generally keep them in my fridge and move them to counter a day or two before I want to eat.  But this depends on the hardness at the time of purchase.

There are different varieties of mangos but my grocery just has one bin without any indication what variety it is.

Fruit & Vegetable Recommendations

Fruits and vegetables are an essential part of a healthy diet.  The CDC recommends that an adult eats 1 ½ to 2 cups of fruit and 2 to 3 cups of vegetables per day for a healthy diet.  The CDC also states that only 1 out of every 10 of us are meeting this recommendation.  We need the vitamins, minerals and fiber that can only be found in fruit and vegetables in order to maintain our best health.

Eating a wide variety of fruits and vegetables in sufficient quantities can help lower risk for many illnesses like Heart Disease and Type 2 Diabetes.

With the wide variety of options available in our stores there is no excuse why we can’t find some choices in the produce department to meet the health recommendations of 1 ½ to 2 cups of fruit and 2 to 3 cups of vegetables per day.

My trick is to wash and slice anything that needs prep (like celery or red peppers) when I get home from the grocery.  That way my fridge is full of containers of ready to eat produce.  I have found that strawberries washed, sliced and stored in Lock-n-Lock containers will stay fresh for at least 5 days.