Lunch Special

Treat yourself to healthy snacks this summer by keeping fruit baskets around the house.  Instead of ice cream and other high calorie summer treats spend your summer snacking on healthy citrus fruit which will help you trim and energized.  Natural citrus fruit like oranges, grapefruits and tangerines has vitamins and minerals that your body uses for energy and to keep your mind clear and focused.  Eating one orange or grapefruit can help you stay alert for hours, and the fiber in the fruit will help you feel full so you don’t end up snacking more than you should.  Lovely summer fruit baskets are a fun way to keep a wide selection of different citrus fruits in the house so that you enjoy different types of fruit every day.

Fruit baskets are also a great way to make sure that your kids spend the summer snacking on low calorie treats that will help them stay active and hydrated.  Orange juice and grapefruit juice are recommended by physical fitness trainers before and after a workout, so giving your kids access to fresh oranges and grapefruits all summer will help their bodies work properly no matter how hot it gets. Keep a large fruit basket on the deck by the pool so the kids don’t have to go in to snack and the energy from the fresh fruit will keep them swimming all day.  Fruit baskets are also ideal for summer picnics, beach trips, and car trips.  Unlike other summer snacks they don’t have to be refrigerated and won’t go bad no matter how hot it gets inside the car when the car is turned off.

Another great thing about using fruit baskets for snacks is that kids can help themselves easily, and peel the oranges themselves, so that you don’t have to interrupt what you’re doing to get them a snack. One piece of fruit generally has about 100 calories, so even if your kids eat more than one piece of fruit, they are still not taking in too many calories and they get great health benefits as well. You can’t say the same for ice cream or a popsicle.

Fruit baskets come in dozens of different types and containers, so you can find a container that fits into  your home decor, is easy to transport, and looks great as a decoration.  When the fruit is gone order a box of assorted fruit and then refill the basket over and over.

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Article contributed by Hale Groves, providing fresh fruit baskets, gift baskets and Florida oranges and citrus, including delicious navel oranges, honeybells, ruby red grapefruit, valencia oranges, tangerines and more! Visit HaleGroves.com for more information.

For years we’ve been told that “an apple a day keeps the doctor away.” That might have more to do with the necessity of having a daily serving of fruits and vegetables then with the particular fruit. Based on many estimates and studies, if you were only to have one type of fruit a day it should be a Florida orange. If you are unable to get your hands on a fresh piece of fruit, then a glass of Florida orange juice will also do the trick.

By just having one glass of Florida orange juice a day, you get all the daily Vitamin C you need. . It’s that vitamin that helps your body repair damaged cells. Although it is not easy to see damaged cells, the human body is constantly shedding skin and being bombarded with all kinds of environmental irritants. Your poor skin cells need all the antioxidant help they can get and thanks to a single Florida orange, it will be mission accomplished for Vitamin C. But there’s more!

Florida oranges are also loaded with Folate which is an offshoot of a B vitamin. Where does that come into play for your body? According to the March of Dimes, “Adequate Folic acid, the B vitamin in orange juice, may reduce the risk of certain birth defects.” To put it simply , medical surveys have found that women who are either pregnant or thinking about getting pregnant that eat a healthy diet containing the abundance of Folate like you’d get in Florida oranges can actually decrease the risk for some common birth defects. Additionally , men need Folate too to help maintain their strength and support cell growth. But wait, there’s more!

From the American Cancer Society comes this powerful finding, “Florida orange juice, as part of a healthy diet, helps in the fight against cancer.” It doesn’t get any simpler than that. Researchers have concluded that a low-fat diet that is chock full of Vitamin C enriched foods can help reduce the risk of some common forms of cancer. And you’re not going to find anything with more Vitamin C then with Florida oranges. But hold on, the orange isn’t done yet!

A heart-healthy diet includes 100% pure Florida Orange juice. It’s an easy equation to follow. Florida oranges are loaded with good fiber. Good fiber helps lower your cholesterol. Lower cholesterol means less pressure on the heart. Less pressure on the heart equals reduced risk for heart attacks or disease.

To sum it all up , Florida oranges are a terrific daily source for a wide range of essential vitamins and minerals. Florida oranges not only taste great, they are a great addition to a healthy diet.

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Article contributed by Hale Groves, providing fresh fruit baskets, gift baskets and Florida oranges and citrus, including delicious navel oranges, honeybells, ruby red grapefruit, valencia oranges, tangerines and more! Visit HaleGroves.com for more information.