Figs not only taste good, but they are a good source of fiber and complex carbohydrates. They’re also rich in several minerals, including potassium, calcium, magnesium and iron. In fact, when you eat a half-cup of figs you get as much calcium as when you drink a half-cup of milk.

So if you’re wondering how to eat figs, so you get these healthy fruits in your diet, here are some suggestions. . .

How To Eat Figs Fresh

Fresh figs are great eaten as is. Some people say fresh figs taste like a mix of a peach and a strawberry!  However, sometimes fresh figs are hard to find, as they are extremely delicate and don’t travel well.

Green Figs

The trees produce a small, early crop. There is a second and much bigger crop, which is when most figs are more readily available. In southern areas of the United States this occurs from July on through until frost stops production. In more northern locations, fig trees may only produce one crop per season, generally in August or later.

Fresh, ripe figs should be fairly soft, but not mushy. A perfectly ripe fig is heavy for its size and usually oozing a bit of sugary syrup. Sometimes these natural sugars appear as surface sugar crystals. This is a natural phenomenon and does not indicate spoilage.  If you want to remove the sugar crystals:

1. Place 1/2 cup figs in a microwave-safe dish.
2. Sprinkle with 1 teaspoon water.
3. Cover loosely and microwave on high for one minute.

The color of figs varies from green, brown, yellow to purple or almost black, depending on the variety of fig. The size also varies depending on the variety.

Ripened figs can be stored in the refrigerator for 2 or 3 days, but they should be eaten as soon as possible after you buy them. They ferment readily, and should also be checked for mold.

You can use a sharp knife or a pair of scissors to cut up figs. If the knife gets sticky, run it under hot water to remove the fig syrup.

If you find fresh figs that are hard or dried out, they should be used in recipes where they are poached or macerated. Keep in mind that figs do not continue to ripen once picked, so if they’re unripe when you buy them, they’re going to stay that way.

If it doesn’t look like you’re going to use up your fresh figs right away, they can also be kept in the freezer for up to one year.

Brown Turkey Fig hanging on tree.

When You Can’t Find Fresh Healthy Figs, Try Dried Ones

Since it’s sometimes difficult to find fresh figs, dried figs are a good option. They can be eaten as is for a sweet treat.

Dried figs can also be soaked to soften them, or cooked by themselves or with any other dried fruits. They are good stewed, and are usually sweet enough to require little or no sugar.

Buy natural dried figs that don’t have any sulfite or potassium sorbate preservatives. You get more fruit for your money with preservative-free figs because the preservatives make the fruit retain up to 30% more water. It’s better to be eating the figs than perservatives anyway!

Natural dried figs will be darker in color than those with perservatives. The flavor is also more concentrated, and of course they are also more nutrient dense since they don’t have so much water.  They’re also chewier.

Dried figs can be stored in the original sealed package at room temperature for a month. For longer storage, keep them in the refrigerator, six months to a year. Opened dried figs should be transferred to a sealable plastic bag or some kind of airtight container and stored in the refrigerator. They are best used within a year of purchase.

Sometimes a powder forms on dried figs. This is the fruit’s natural sugar in a crystalline form and is edible.

It doesn’t matter whether you call them a Fig (English), Higo (Spanish), Figue (French), Feige (German), or Fico (Italian), this is one healthy fruit, and an easy health food to add to your diet.

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Wondering How To Eat Figs?

So why not try healthy iced tea when you’re thirsty instead of reaching for a soft drink?   The benefits of iced tea make it a better choice, especially as compared to the chemicals and massive amounts of sugar or artificial sweeteners in most soft drinks.

Healthy Tea Is A Super Health Food

Besides tasting good and being so refreshing on hot summer days, tea is a super health food!  True tea is made from the leaves, stems and buds of the Camellia sinensis plant.  It doesn’t matter if you prefer black, green, white or oolong tea, they all come from this same bush.  The only differences are when the leaves are picked and how they are processed.

• Green Tea: made from leaves that are dried right after harvesting.
• Oolong Tea: leaves are fermented for a short time after harvest.
• Black Tea: leaves are fermented fora  longer time than oolong.
• White Tea: leaves are shielded from the sun so they don’t produce any chlorophyll.

Although we call drinks made of such things as peppermint and other herbs tea, technically those are tisanes. I don’t think many people use that term these days though, but just use the word “tea” for both genuine tea and herbal tisanes.

Fields Of Green Tea

The Most Healthy Iced Tea Is Made With Green Tea

To make green tea, freshly harvested tea leaves are lightly steamed, rolled, then spread out and dried with hot air or fried until they are crisp. This produces a flavor close to the fresh leaf.

Because it undergoes the least amount of processing, green tea has the most antioxidant polyphenols.  The most important of these is EGOG, epigallocatechin-3-gallate.  Quite a mouthful, isn’t it?  This polyphenol is believed to be responsible for most of the health benefits of iced tea.

So What Are Some Of The Benefits Of Iced Tea?

Not only does iced tea do a great job of quenching your thirst, it’s full of flavonoids called catechins, which are great antioxidants. Though these are most abundant in green teas, they are found in other teas as well.

The antioxidants in tea are thought to:

• help prevent cancer,
• reduce the risk of heart disease,
• promotes fat loss,maintain bone density,
• increases exercise endurance,
• boosts insulin activity, and
• helps older people keep mentally sharp.

That’s lots of good reasons to drink healthy iced tea!

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Healthy Iced Tea On National Iced Tea Day

What Makes Them Healthy Hazelnuts?

Hazelnuts are a high-quality source of protein and fiber for starters. They also have a bunch of antioxidants such as vitamin E and many phytonutrients that help the immune system.

Not only that, but of all the tree nuts, hazelnuts have the highest concentration of folate. Why is that so great?

Well, folate is a water soluble B vitamin that is especially important during periods of rapid cell division and growth. For instance, it reduces the risk of neural tube birth defects.

In addition, both children and adults require folic acid to produce healthy red blood cells and prevent anemia. Folate is also thought to help reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, certain cancers, depression, and Alzheimer’s disease.  That makes them healthy hazelnuts indeed!

A Hazelnut By Any Other Name

Hazelnuts are also known as filberts, which is actually the correct name for the tree and nut. It’s of French origin and the tree was likely first introduced into the US by early French settlers.

However, hazelnut is the name coined by the English and it was applied to the native species by early settlers.  Nowadays, hazelnut is more commonly used term for these nuts.

The How And Where Of Hazelnut Growth

Hazelnuts are shaped a lot like acorns and grow on bushy trees.  The main producers of hazelnuts are France, Spain, Turkey and Italy.  In the United States, most hazelnuts are grown in Oregon and Washington.

They’ve been a food source for a long time, and are thought to have originated in Asia. There are Chinese manuscripts from 5,000 years ago that refer to the healthy hazelnut as a sacred food from heaven.

They have a rich flavor and work well in baked goods. Hazelnuts are also one of the main ingredients in Nutella spread, besides making hazelnut butter, meal, flour, paste and oil.

Heavenly Hazelnuts Are Healthy Hazelnuts

Besides being a great tasting food, hazelnuts have great health benefits.

• Hazelnut oil was used in ancient times to help quiet chronic coughs.
• Used externally, hazelnut oil is also thought to help rid the skin of cellulite.
• Hazelnuts are a rich source of the amino acid arginine that relaxes blood vessels.
• Eating hazelnuts have been found to help lower cholesterol levels, as they contain nearly 75 percent mono-unsaturated fat and less than 4 percent saturated fat.
• Hazelnuts have the highest proanthocyanidin content of any tree nut. These compounds may help reduce the risk of blood clotting and urinary tract infections.

The Many Ways To Enjoy Hazelnuts

There are many ways to incorporate hazelnuts into your diet. You can snack on the whole or cracked nuts.  Along with diced nuts, they can be used in baked goods, entrees, salads, soups, cereals, bars, toppings, and even dairy products.

Hazelnut meal is finely ground and free flowing. It can be used to replace flour in baked goods, fillings and sauces, and even in ice cream. It’s especially good to use to make low carb foods, and is of course, excellent for use in health foods!

Even More Ways To Enjoy Healthy Hazelnut Benefits!

Hazelnut butter is similar to natural peanut butter, being made of finely ground hazelnuts and unsweetened. Not only does it add a special flavor, it adds protein to replace some carbohydrates, making it also good for low carb and health foods. An interesting side effect of using hazelnut butter with recipes containing chocolate is that it lowers the melting point of chocolate and makes the texture creamier.

Hazelnut paste is much the same as hazelnut butter, only besides the finely ground hazelnuts, it also has sugar added. It’s spreadable, but grainy. It is often used in bakery icings and fillings, confectionery, and dairy products.

Healthy Hazelnuts Add Pizazz To Your Diet!

A great tasting nut with a lot of uses, hazelnuts are also full of nutrients that are great for your body. You can’t go wrong with hazelnuts!

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Go Nuts For Healthy Hazelnuts!