“With a little more tweaking, we could make orange juice in the orange without any packaging or processing.”
– Homaro Cantu
Sniffles and sneezes are an unwelcomed part of the holiday season. Knock them out before they have the chance to gain strength with a cold fighting, vitamin packed smoothie exemplifying the colors of autumn and Thanksgiving… orange!
Ben Franklin is quoted as saying, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” That’s important advice for the winter holiday season when we come into contact with so many people at parties, dinners, and events. Contagious airborne and contact germs like colds and flu enjoy parties, too.
Most smoothies are fruit based and have few if any vegetables. Imagine having a recipe to combat disease that is a healthy balance of both fruits and vegetables.
Smoothies like the Orange Smoothie with fresh fruit, vegetables, nuts, and seeds is often suggested by nutritionists as a great convenient way to increase our intake of healthy foods and an alternative to more solid meals for weight loss.
The Power of Orange
According to recent studies, orange fruit and vegetables are high in carotenoids and anti-oxidants. Orange carrots tested in smoothies were found to have the provitamin carotenoid, a powerful anti-oxidant.
Juicy, sweet, and renowned for its concentration of vitamin C, oranges are healthy additions to many recipes. They also contain a special tang that packs a healthy punch, making them one of the most popular fruits in the world. Oranges are generally available from winter through summer with seasonal variations depending on the variety.
In recent research studies, the healing properties of oranges have been associated with a wide variety of phytonutrient compounds such as citrus flavanones which include the molecules hesperetin, naringenin, anthocyanins, hydroxycinnamic acids, and polphenols.
What the heck does that mean?
