Amazon


18 May 2008

Guava for Vitamin C

Guavas are a wonderful tasty and nutritious tropical fruit. They originally are said to have come from the Caribbean but quickly spread throughout the warm countries of the world.

They have over four times the vitamin C of the same weight orange and many times more dietary fiber. Just one raw guava supplies 250% of our vitamin C daily requirement. They are also loaded with lycopene, 26% more than a tomato. Guavas are an excellent source of vitamins A, B2 and E, and contain good amounts of calcium, copper, iron, manganese, phosphorus, potassium and folate. They are sodium free.

Health wise they are used raw in the treatment of both diarrhea and constipation. Their rich alkaline astringent content helps prevent gum disease. Guava lycopene and anti-oxidant content protects our cells from the damaging effects of free radicals.

Guavas are also excellent for the skin both by eating them and by using unripe guava juice directly on the skin. They improve skin texture and tighten the muscles. Blend one guava with a tablespoon of oatmeal and a little water then apply to the face for 15 minutes and wash off. They are also popular as a diet aid due to their high fiber which naturally cleanses the system and satisfies the appetite.

When purchasing, check that the guavas are firm with no bruising. Like other tropical fruits do not refrigerate raw guavas unless they are over ripe. The seeds and skin are edible. They are enjoyed raw, dried, stewed, in salads, muesli, smoothies, and as jams and jellies. Enjoy!

*****************

Mixed Greens with Guava Dressing
From Alive's Food and Nutrition Pages
This dish stimulates both the taste buds and the digestion.

4 cups organic mixed greens
4 guavas, quartered, skin on
1/2 cup (125 ml) extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup (60 ml) filtered water
juice of 1 lemon or lime
1 small shallot, minced
1 tbsp (15 ml) ginger, minced
1 Tbsp (15 ml) cilantro, chopped
1 tsp (5 ml) curry
sweetner (optional)

Place all ingredients except mixed greens in a blender and blend until smooth. Run dressing through a sieve to remove guava seeds. Toss greens with dressing and serve. Serves four.


Guava Fruit Punch
From How Stuff Works Contributed by the Editors of Easy Home Cooking Magazine

1-1/2 cups boiling water
2 decaffeinated tea bags
3 slices fresh ginger
2 cups guava juice
3/4 cup pineapple juice
1 to 2 tablespoons lemon juice
ice cubes
mint sprigs

Combine boiling water, tea bags and ginger in heatproof pitcher; steep 5 minutes. Discard tea bags and ginger. Add guava juice, pineapple juice and lemon juice to tea mixture; mix well. Serve in tall glasses over ice. Garnish with mint sprigs. Yield: Makes 4 servings


Guava Chutney
From IndianFoods

1 1/2 cups guava
1 cup vinegar
2 cups water
1 level tsp red chili pepper
2 big cardamoms
1 cup sugar
2 level tsps salt
2 tsps ginger cut into thin long strips
2 cloves garlic
1 tsp raisins
10 blanched almonds

Peel the guavas, cut each into four pieces and remove the seeds. Cut into thin slices and cook with ginger, garlic and water. Add sugar, crushed cardamoms, vinegar, chili powder, raisins and almonds and cook on a hot fire till thick. Cool and put in a jar and cork tightly. Serve the next day.


Mango and Guava Salsa
From el Restaurante Mexicano

2 cups thawed frozen mango chunks, diced
1 cup thawed frozen guava chunks, diced
1 red bell pepper, seeded and finely diced
1 red onion, finely diced
1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and minced
2 tbsp fresh cilantro, minced
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp kosher salt
3 tbsn olive oil
juice of 1 lime

In large bowl, combine the mangoes, guava, bell pepper, onion, jalapeño pepper and cilantro. Add the cumin, salt, olive oil and lime juice and stir to blend. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Lasts for up to two days. Makes 6 servings

/center>

Technorati Tags:

30 comments:

Unknown said...

After living in South Florida, I learned to love the tasty flavor of guava. The Cubans made the best puff pastry with Guava and cream cheese filling. Thanks for the great recipes.

bazu said...

What a great post- I don't use fresh guavas nearly as often as I'd like to. Lots of recipe ideas.

Jackie said...

Shirley, tried to visit, but your profile doesn't allow people to see your blog address.

Anonymous said...

I luv guavas..high on vit C. The guave chutney is a great idea.

Anonymous said...

I haven't had a fresh guava in years and years and years. This brings back so many memories!

ChocolateCoveredVegan said...

I don’t know that I’ve ever seen a guava. But I did have fresh-squeezed guava juice once in Hawaii… can’t remember if I liked it or not.

Divas on a diet said...

jackie, what a great post! Your recipes looks so good. I haven't used guava much before, but your recipes have inspired me to try again.

Fio :-)

Kumudha said...

Guava is one of the fruits I really enjoy. sliced Guava pieces with salt and chili powder is a popular snack in India.

Thanks for the yummy recipes!

HEALTH NUT WANNABEE MOM said...

I love guava juice. I used to live in Costa Rica and drank it quite a bit. I need to start drinking it again. Never knew it was so helpful!

Rural Vegan said...

I don't think I've ever seen a fresh guava in the market, but guava juice is one of my favorites!

Anonymous said...

I like to eat guava.It enriched with vitamin c.

dreamy said...

I like guavas, fresh or dried :) We usually eat fresh ones dipped in sour plum powder here, but I like it juz on it's own, or in a drink :9

Anonymous said...

Wow! I did not know that Guava is so good to our health. I like guava juice best. Thank you for the enlightening post.

Vicki's Vegan Vice said...

I love the taste of guavas ~ just don't buy them as much as I'd like ~ they are a big treat! Thanks for the recipes. :)

urban vegan said...

Wish guava were a local food for me!

Anonymous said...

i love guavas! fresh, juice, dried and jelly i love them all. in my country(philippnes), guavas are also used as a soup base for sinigang or stew aside from tamarind.

Matthew S. Urdan said...

Another great post, Jackie. Where do you find all this awesome info about various fruits and veggies? Were you a nutritionist before you retired? This post is just as good as your post on Cherries!
--------------

Everyone, thank you so much for your overwhelmingly positive comments and the validation on the new look of Meltwater. Torrents. Meanderings. Delta. If you need help adding a sidebar, updating your site, or if you're ready for a new look, Zoe is the one to turn to. I've never met a web designer so friendly, customer-service oriented, responsive and competent. And did I say affordable? You will not be disappointed with any work you hire her to perform.

Matt, Zoe could knock it out for you in a heartbeat!

Rox, yeah, I can't wait til June so I can put up the Summer Header and the Fall Footer...the progression will look sharper with each season. While spring looks awesome, it's my least favorite of the new seasonal themes.

Dave, I'm glad it's easier on the eyes. My whole intent of updating the theme was to make it more readable for everyone!

Aud, welcome to MTMD and thanks for the invite to participate in your meme. Actually, Wordless Wednesday is really the only meme I participate in, and I modify it because I usually have a post that goes along with the pictures, so I call it Almost Wordless Wednesday. I usually don't participate in TAGs either. I just don't have the time, and often they don't follow the theme of my blog. But when I am tagged by a friend, I'll participate if it's a light blogging week and I can find an angle that fits; but I'll never tag anyone else. Still, I will stop by your blog and look at your meme since you were kind enough to stop by here and comment.

Simon, I'm actually agonizing over the background image...It's a link to my old theme, but I've never really been 100% happy with it, but I like the feel of it in the background because it's so varied and contrasts so well with the plain black of the main blog body. Advice taken under advisement, and we'll see where it goes.

Mariuca, actually, putting back all the widgets isn't so hard. It's a chance to clean up your sidebars and decide what is truly important. If you're looking for an update though, and you choose Zoe, she'll put it all back for ya!

Jackie, thanks for letting me know the new design loads faster. I did get that criticism from time to time with the old design! Loading faster is a real bonus!

Shinade, thank you so much for your effusive praise! It's much appreciated. But don't worry about "getting around to me". There's only so much time in the day, and while I get to every Red Hot Drops site every week or two, there's no way I can hit them all every day. Stop by when you can, and do what you can do. Yes, it's very hard to blog when you're not at home.

Crazy working Mom....you are most welcome, glad to participate, and thanks for the kind words on the new theme!

Tricia, your comments mean so much since you've been reading MTMD since the "old" days! I'm glad we've been able to reconnect through entrecard.

Have an awesome day everyone! And GO RED WINGS!

Cheers!

Anonymous said...

I am fortunate enough to live in Hawaii and am able to grow my own Guavas. I cut the ends off, throw them in a blender with water, blend them up and the sweeten to taste. Makes a yummy juice.

You can strain it if you don't like the seeds.

Thanks for all the other great recipes. I will definitely try them.

Anonymous said...

Great recipes, thanks for sharing it! Would love to feature you on Wellsphere.com, a site that helps people to live healthier. Can't find a contact form so thought I'd comment; look forward to hearing from you. Thanks, Larisa

Naomi said...

I never had guava as they're not readily available here Jackie. But this sounds like a great fruit, especialy containing all that Vitamin C.

rahharuto said...

Nice to meet you. It is Kawano working hard for diet every day. I thought that I would have all of you of the English zone know diet circumstances in Japan and made this blog. Please do link in this blog if the all of you who watched this blog do not trouble you.

Jackie said...

Oh Jackie please do not visit my site today.

I posted a slide which includes where and what we ate yesterday.

I am soooo soooooooooo bad.

Jackie said...

I am going to try to fuel you today while we have a signal.

I hope it works.

So far so good out here travelling. It truly would go much better though if Walter would stay on the road and out of the ditches.

Bouncy...bouncy...this is fair warning to all of your readers.

Do not attempt to blog while travelling in a big truck.

It will lead to complete insanity and weight gain.

The food on the road may be good. But, mostly due to our size we are restricted to eat at truck stops.

The food available is loaded with fat, cholesterol, and the good Lord himself only knows for sure waht else they are hiding.

Anonymous said...

My favorites are pineapple guavas (also known as feijoas). So different and delectable. I wish they were more readily available here.

Anonymous said...

Hi Jackie,
Thanks for your response. Just to clarify, to use your posts (with a link back to your blog), I need to create a profile for you, but I can turn off all notifications so you do not receive any email. To discuss further, feel free to contact me at larisa r AT wellsphere . com. If this is ok, just let me know and I'll create a profile (your email is not shown or given out) and I can get this going. Have a wonderful weekend!

Marion said...

We rarely get guavas here...but I'll know where to get info on it if I'm ever somewhere tropical. Thanks, Jackie, I use this blog more than any other for reference...it's great!

... said...

Hi! I'm not Vegan, but i've been thinking about doing a raw diet during the summer. Love the tips and information on your site! Thanks

Dr. Farhan Ahmad Khan said...

Very Insightful article, your blog is indeed very interesting. Would you like to link exchange with me?

http://medpharm.blogspot.com/

this is my blog.

Kristen's Raw said...

Oh I wish I could find guava around here. I love it!

Cheers,
Kristen

Unknown said...

That was a wonderful post! Thank you for sharing! Articles like this keep my updated with the current situations in our society or different body of knowledge that a human must know especially about medicine specifically about vitamins. I admire you guys for sharing your post.


Kosher Vitamins