Hidden Messages in our Foods?

I received an email last week with some interesting trivia and thought it was worth sharing, read on and see what you think...
We all know that raw fruits and vegetables are good for you but did you know that they may actually resemble the body parts that they help support.

Kidney Beans
Kidney Beans heal and help maintain kidney function and remarkably, they look exactly like the human kidney.

Avocado Eggplant Pears
Avocados, eggplants and pears, these fruit & vegetables target the health and function of the womb and cervix of the female and are shaped just like these organs.

Celery
Celery, Bok Choy and Rhubarb look just like bones. These food replenish the skeletal needs of the body and target bone strength. Bones are 23% sodium and these foods are 23% sodium. If the body does not have enough sodium, it is pulled from the bones, making them weak.

Grapes
Grapes hang in clusters shaped like the human heart. Research has shown the benefits grapes have on heart health and they are shown to be a profound heart and blood vitalizing food.

Figs
Figs are full of seeds and hang in twos when they grow. Figs increase the mobility of male sperm and increase the numbers of sperm.

Sweet Potato
Sweet Potatoes balance the glycemic index of diabetics and look just like a human pancreas.

Olives
Olives grow in bunches and assist in the health and function of the ovaries.

Tomato
Tomatoes have four chambers just like the human heart. All the research shows that tomatoes are loaded with lycopine which helps maintain a healthy heart.

Onion
Onions resemble human cells. Research shows they help clear waste materials from all of the body cells. Onions are commonly known to produce tears. Human tears wash the epithelial layers of the eyes.

Orange
Oranges, grapefruits and other citrus fruits look like mammary glands. They assist in breast health and the movement of lymph in and out of the breast.

Carrot
A sliced carrot looks like the human eye, including the iris, the pupil and even the radiating lines. Carrots enhance blood flow to the eye and may help prevent night blindness.

Walnut
Does this resemble your brain? A left and right hemisphere, upper cerebrum, lower cerebrum, the wrinkles and folds on the nut even look like the neo cortex and the shell looks like the skull. Research shows that walnuts help develop more than three dozen neurotransmitters that help brain function.

Fruit Smoothies...yum!

I just got a new blender for Christmas and I've been sampling some smoothie recipes- try them out and see what you think. Enjoy!

Fruitopia
1 banana, peeled and cut up
1/4 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
1/4 cup sliced fresh or frozen strawberries
3/4 cup vanilla soymilk or milk
1/2 cup pomegranate-blueberry juice, pomegranate juice, grape juice, or cranberry juice, chilled
1/2 cup vanilla frozen yogurt or pineapple sherbet

In a blender combine banana, berries, soymilk, juice, and yogurt. Cover and blend until smooth. Pour into glasses. Makes 2 servings.

Banaberry
4 cups sliced fresh strawberries
1 medium banana, sliced
1 6-ounce carton vanilla low-fat yogurt
1 cup ice cubes
1 kiwifruit, peeled and sliced (optional)

In a blender, combine strawberries, banana, and yogurt; cover and blend until smooth. With blender running, add ice cubes, one at a time, through hole in the lid; blend until smooth. Pour into 8 small glasses. If desired, garnish with kiwifruit; serve immediately. Makes 8 (about 1/2-cup) servings.

Just Peachy
2 cups sliced fresh peaches, nectarines, and/or apricots
1 cup fat-free milk
1 6-ounce carton peach fat-free yogurt with no-calorie sweetener
1 cup small ice cubes or crushed ice

In a blender, combine fruit, milk, and yogurt. Cover and blend until smooth. Gradually add ice through hole in lid, blending until almost smooth. If desired, garnish each serving with fresh fruit. Makes 4 (1-cup) servings.

Very Blueberry
2 cups sliced fresh or frozen blueberries
1 cup fat-free milk
1 6-ounce carton blueberry fat-free yogurt with no-calorie sweetener
1 cup small ice cubes or crushed ice

In a blender, combine fruit, milk, and yogurt. Cover and blend until smooth. Gradually add ice through hole in lid, blending until almost smooth. If desired, garnish each serving with fresh fruit. Makes 4 (1-cup) servings.

Strawberrylicious
2 cups sliced fresh or frozen strawberries
1 cup fat-free milk
1 6-ounce carton strawberry fat-free yogurt with no-calorie sweetener
1 cup small ice cubes or crushed ice
Directions

In a blender, combine fruit, milk, and yogurt. Cover and blend until smooth. Gradually add ice through hole in lid, blending until almost smooth. If desired, garnish each serving with fresh fruit. Makes 4 (1-cup) servings.

Fruit Smoothie Pops
Prepare peach, blue berry, or strawberry mixtures as directed through Step 1. Omit ice. Pour mixture into 14 compartments of freezer pop molds. (Or pour into 3-ounce paper or plastic cups. Cover with foil. Make a slit in the foil of each. Add sticks.) Freeze for 4 to 6 hours or until firm. Makes 14 pops. Prepare as directed and freeze for up to one week.

The Pick of the Crop

How can you pick the most delicious fruits and vegetables? Follow our check list to help select the best of the best.

Thump your watermelon, make sure to listen for a hollow sound. Pick the heaviest melon for its size and look for a mild yellow underside. A heavy melon is a juicy one.

Don’t buy slimy lettuce. Limp lettuce is old, make sure your head has crisp, unblemished leaves.

Peaches that give when you apply light pressure, have a fragrant aroma and no dark or mushy spots taste the best. Remember that peaches ripen most on the tree; for a little further ripening, place peaches in a brown paper bag on a counter for a day or two to soften.

Nothing should be sprouting on your onions,shallots, garlic, or potatoes. They should feel hard to the touch, soft ones are probably overripe or dried up.

Firm-textured, deep-red cherries stay tasty in the refrigerator for several days and in the freezer for up to one year. Avoid cherries that are too dark or too soft.

Cantaloupe should have a yellowish tinge to the rind and should yield to soft pressure at the ends and have a fragrant aroma. Melons with the stem still attached are immature and will not yield the best flavor.

The ‘eyes’ of a pineapple tell you if it is ripe; make sure they are all roughly the same size. Unlike a lot of other popular fruits, pineapples will continue to ripen if stored at room temperature.

Apples should be crisp and hard and blemish-free.

The freshest grapes, are firmly attached to the stem. The grapes stem should look green and healthy not dry and brown.

Pick up an orange to test how heavy it is. The heavier the orange, the more juice it contains and the sweeter it should taste.