Healthy Chow enjoys Megafruit

Here is the article Healthy Chow wrote about us recently:

Picture this. You have about 15 minutes to get dressed, 17 minutes if you put your lip gloss on in the car. You’re standing in front of your closet, and everything you see looks like the leftovers you have from dinner three night’s ago. The vapid articles of clothing hanging before you will do, but they’re nothing for which you’re going to do the happy dance. You moan, “I have nothing to wearrrrrrr…” just one more time before you give up on your search. So, you throw on the first thing you can grab (and that’s clean) and head out the door. You’re dressed, but certainly not impressed. Sound familiar?

Image Credit – myescapehatch.blogspot.com

Well, I’ve definitely been in that situation more than a few hundred times, and more recently, this has carried over to my choices in healthy snacking. While my fridge has the usual suspects of apples, oranges, Greek yogurt, some carrot and celery sticks, and my cupboards are stocked with raw almonds, dried cranberries and rice crackers, I can’t help but want to utter, “I have nothing to eattttttt…!” Enter Megafruit™.

Just when I was about to reluctantly eat yet another baby carrot, the samples from Megafruit™ arrived at my door. They came in an unassuming little brown cardboard box, but when I opened it, I was pleasantly surprised. My samples not only came in this vibrant and adorable packaging, but they were safely nestled in a Megafruit™-branded wooden crate. I’m a sucker for presentation and first impressions; this knocked my socks off! Similar to how one would bring home fresh produce from a farm or farmers market, my Megafruit™ arrived as if it were handpicked. Plus, I can only imagine the ways I can reuse my nifty new crate (Healthy Chow’s gotta lotta schiz that needs to be organized, if you know what I mean!).

Just a plain lil’ box…

Bam! So surprisingly cute!

According to their website, “Megafruit™ is the next generation of Superfruits; products that have exceptional nutrient and antioxidant qualities whose benefits are not yet widely known.” My samples of Megafruit™ came in 3 different flavors (the company’s initial product offering): mangosteen, baby pineapple and lychee. While I’ve heard of these fruits, I must admit that I had no idea about their nutritional benefits. Here are some of my favorite facts on each fruit:

Ever seen a mangosteen?

Mangosteen

• Called the queen of fruits
• Has been called the most delicious fruit in the world
• High level of Xanthones – considered to be the most powerful of all antioxidants

Oooh, baby!

Baby Pineapple

• Contains a myriad of beneficial minerals including:
  • Micronutrients may protect against cancer and break up blood clots
  • Bromelins that may block reduces swelling related to arthritis, sore throat, sinusitis
  • Manganese, aiding the healthy growth of tissue and bones
  • Fiber that will help in digestion and stimulate kidneys and aid in flushing toxins from the body

Lovely lychee

Lychee

• Has been claimed to be the fruit the Tang Dynasty Emperor used to woo his loved one, making it a fruit synonymous with love and romance
• Just 9 lychees or a handful of the fruit meets an adult’s recommended daily requirement of Vitamin C (contains 72mg per 100 grams)
• Contains flavonoids which have proven to be effective against the growth of cancer cells

Now that’s some fruit with some mega power! And guess what? The taste isn’t what I would call weak either. Even though Megafruit™ doesn’t contain any sugar, preservatives or additives, it doesn’t mean this dried fruit is lacking in flavor. In fact, they are delicious! I’ve never tried a mangosteen before, so I had no idea what to expect. The mangosteen was the first fruit I tried, and while the flavor is subtle, it is unique and has an indescribable exotic taste (sweet, yet a tad sour at the same time) that had me almost inhaling the entire bag in one sitting. The baby pineapple is naturally sweet, not artificial tasting like some dried pineapple can taste. Because the baby pineapple comes in large pieces, they were fun to chew and had a great texture. This is Patrick’s favorite. My favorite, hands down, is the lychee. If you’ve never had lychee, please do yourself a favor and try this, NOW! My grandmother used to serve us lychee after dinner over a bowl of ice water. She would peel the fruit and stick toothpicks in them and I swear, I would eat at least 20 at a time. I haven’t had lychee in years, so for both nostalgic and taste reasons, the lychee is number one for me. A fresh lychee is crunchy like a grape, but has a much more fragrant and sweet taste. Megafruit™’s version magically captured a fresh lychee’s essence.

If you can’t already tell, I’m a mega fan of Megafruit™. For me, there is nothing like a piece of fresh fruit. However, fresh fruit such as bananas, pears, grapes, etc., can get a bit mundane. But what do you do when the not-so-common fruit that you do crave, and that tickles your palate is no where to be found? The answer is in these little goodies that graced my taste buds the other day. Not only are the flavors of Megafruit™ probably like nothing you’ve ever tasted, but they can provide you with health benefits like nothing you’ve ever known. Similar to the dried fruit snack I reviewed in this post, Megafruit™ is a wholesome snack that is just the fruit in its most natural form. There aren’t any fake colors or enhanced flavorings added to the dried fruit to make it appear more appealing. The Megafruit™ pieces are rustic in appearance, and simply delectable.

The Terrific Trio…

If you’re looking for a quick snack that’s easily portable, healthy and unique, I highly recommend Megafruit™ (available soon on Amazon). Reach for it the next time you’re in need of a nutritious boost, whether it be sitting at your desk at the office, after a good butt-kicking workout or when you’re on your 5th hour of running errands. Or, maybe you can snack on a handful as you’re unenthusiastically trying to pick out Monday morning’s outfit.

Some creations I made with my Megafruit™:

Piña Colada Oatmeal – Megafruit™ baby pineapple, dried coconut and nonfat ricotta cheese

Tropical Lychee Orange Delight – Megafruit™ lychee, orange sherbet, Kashi Go Lean cereal and dark chocolate cocoa roast almonds

***If you’d like to win some of your own Megafruit™, not to mention a $100 gift card to Lululemon, check out the fantastic giveaway that Megafruit™ is having here!***

If you had to pick one, what would it be – fruits or vegetables? What do you do to get out of a ‘wardrobe rut’? How about a ‘food rut’?

Namasté,
Nicole