New on the blog, A Note From a Nutritionist featuring the Wel Nourished team! With the winter season upon us, it is important to choose foods that will nourish our bodies and keep us healthy during cold and flu season! The nutritionists at Wel, encourage their clients to eat seasonally because it promotes variety and ensures that our bodies get the nutrients they need. Read a note from the Registered Dietitians at Wel below!
Oranges, grapefruits, and clementines are some of our favorites here at Wel Nourished. They provide the Vitamin C our body needs to support our immune system during the winter months. Oranges have the most Vitamin C out of all three citrus fruits, then comes grapefruit and clementines. If you wash and eat the citrus peels, you’ll find even more Vitamin C content. Some people will wash and blend the peels into a smoothie.
Fun fact: The Vitamin C content of the peel is higher than any other part of the fruit! Some other benefits of Vitamin C include the prevention and relief of illnesses and the absorption of iron from non-heme sources (plant food sources of iron). It’s also a powerful antioxidant and stimulates collagen production. The benefits of Vitamin C are pretty incredible and give you all the more reason to add them to your diet. Try making your own Winter Immunity Shots!
There are endless ways you can include citrus fruit into your day-to-day diet. For breakfast: slice up some oranges to have along with scrambled eggs and a piece of whole wheat toast, make fresh squeezed orange or grapefruit juice, or blend up some citrus into a delicious smoothie. For lunch, add clementines to a chicken salad or eat alongside your favorite wrap/sandwich. Citrus fruits are great for snacking! You can eat them on their own or paired with yogurt, cheese, crackers, or even your favorite protein bar. For dinner, you can marinate your chicken in citrus juices to help tenderize the meat or make your favorite winter salad dressing.
Try our delicious Citrus Vinaigrette: Ingredients include ½ cup olive oil, fresh juice from 1 organic navel orange from HGO Farms, and 1 Tbsp. of white wine vinegar, 1 tsp, Dijon mustard, and salt/pepper to taste. Combine all ingredients and enjoy it on your favorite chicken or salmon salad.
At Wel, we are also a huge fan of pomegranates and persimmons. These fruits are the perfect addition to your diet, as they are full of antioxidants and have anti-inflammatory properties. Pomegranates are high in nutrients such as fiber, vitamins C and K, potassium, folate, and magnesium. Persimmons are also packed full of essential nutrients, as they are high in fiber, vitamins A and C, copper, and manganese. The addition of pomegranate or persimmon to your meals or snacks would make any meal more nutrient-dense and promote a healthy immune system.
Incorporate pomegranates and persimmons into your diet this winter for seasonal flavorful and nutrient-dense choices; there are countless ways to include them. Adding pomegranates or persimmons into your diet this winter could be as simple as snacking on them throughout the day paired with some nuts or cheese, or adding them to your morning yogurt. A persimmon oatmeal would be a delicious way to start the day. Cook your oatmeal with milk mixed with cinnamon and add persimmons and pecans as toppings. For dinner, a simple winter salad would make an excellent side dish. For the winter salad, add some arugula, persimmons, pomegranate seeds, feta cheese, nuts, and a balsamic vinaigrette into a bowl and toss together. Have fun trying some new recipes and adding these delicious fruit options to your diet this season.
A Note From: Alyssa Justice, RDN & Jacy Beckenhauer, RD
We hope this note inspires you to savor the flavors of the season! In case you missed our Ask a Nutritionist series, head over to the rest of our blog posts. Stay in the know with all the organic happenings over on our Instagram and give the team at Wel a follow for more wellness and nutrition tips. If you have questions to ask a nutritionist, leave a comment below!
