Me – well I used to be.
Spiky and intimidating, I was always under the impression that a fresh pineapple was more trouble than it was worth. Canned pineapple was out, because for some reason it made my mouth itch…ick.
One day I had some fresh pineapple cut up from the grocery as an experiment. I thought for sure I’d have issues with that also, but I didnt – and man was it good. I learned something that day – an already cut up pineapple from the deli lasts ONE day…..and you just dont know when they cut it up.
So the next trip to the grocery, I stood in front of the fresh pineapple display and stared at the spiky, thorny things and worked up the courage to take a leap. I bought one, brought it home, and stared at it some more. Then I went and found a video on how to clean it, and the rest is history – I always have a pineapple on the counter.
After digging around the internet, I found that I wasn’t the only one who was intimidated. Pineapple is so good for you, and adding it to your high fiber, fresh food diet is really a great idea. Here’s some fast nutrition facts:
1 Cup of Fresh Pineapple has:
- Only 82 Calories
- No fat
- Only 2 mg of Sodium
- 22 Carbs (mostly from the natural sugars)
- 2 Grams of Fiber
- 1 Gram of Protein
- 16 Grams of natural sugar
- 78.9 mg of Vitamin C (131% of what you need in a day)
- 76% of your Manganese for a day
- 28 mg of Omega-3 Fatty Acids
- 38mg of Omega-6 Fatty acids
I put together a picture tutorial of how to clean a fresh pineapple. Checking for ripeness is pretty easy. The husk around the bottom should be more yellow than green, with no smushy or black/dark brown spots. Once you’ve inspected the outside, grab a spike from the middle of the top of the pineapple. If it releases easily, it’s ripe.
If you have any tips or tricks, let me know – I’m always on the lookout for ways to make my kitchen life easier!
