Spiced Pineapple Feijoa Chutney

In the previous post, we have been discussing recipes about drinks which involve guava as an ingredient. Thus, today we are going to have the Spiced Pineapple Feijoa Chutney. Some of you here might be asking themselves the meaning of the last two words 'Feijoa' and 'Chutney'. Searching Feijoa on the web might provide you a different meaning which refers to an evergreen shrub or small tree that bears an edible green fruit. Actually, Feijoa is also another term of 'Pineapple Guava'.

Chutney is basically a kind of savory jam. Many says that its a jam but it isn't because there are several differences between them. A jam is often commonly preserved by the use of sugar and it taste very sweet. Chutney is preserved by using vinegar and sugar having an opposite taste of a jam.

A jam is mainly composed of an ingredients which are made from fruits while chutney can be made from fruit and vegetables. Chutney can actually be a mixture of more than one ingredient such as adding apples and onions. Lastly, the flavor of a jam goes alone with the type of the fruit that has been used. Chutneys are often flavored with spices, chili peppers, onions and garlic.

Ingredients for our Spiced Pineapple Guava (Feijoa) Chutney

This type of chutney are meant to be sweet, tangy and filled with aromatic spices along with the most nutritious pineapple guava fruit as an added ingredients. It is best served over grilled chicken, pork and barbecues. Here are the following ingredients:

3 Cups trimmed and chopped pineapple guavas

1/3 Cup pitted and slivered medjool dates

1/2 Cup golden raisins

1 Cup chopped yellow onion

1/2 Cup packed light brown sugar

1/2 Cup distilled white vinegar

1/4 Teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 Teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 Teaspoon cayenne

1/2 Teaspoon yellow curry powder

1 Tablespoon kosher salt

Preparation:

You will be needing a saucepan with enough size to contain all of the ingredients mentioned above. This is because you are going to mix all of the ingredients with an added 1/2 cup of water. Mix it well to ensure that all those powdered ingredients are well mixed with one another.

After the tedious mixing procedure, its now time to cook it as the final step. Put all the mixture into your cooking pan and it is very important that you are to apply a medium amount of heat. You have to observe until the mixture starts to boil then simmer. At exactly an hour, you should notice that the mixture will become thick and caramelized. If this is the case then it only means that your Spice Pineapple Guava (Feijoa) Chutney is ready to be served.

Chutney can be served whether its warm or chilled and it can be stored in your refrigerator for up to one week for later consumption.

Soy Sauce as an Alternative to Salt and Vinegar

The previous post was all about a method of eating the guava fruit with the added ingredients which are the Salt and Vinegar. At some point, there are individuals who prefers to use Soy Sauce rather than the Salt and Vinegar. Before we discuss the preparation, let's get to learn more about the Soy Sauce.

What is a Soy Sauce?

Soy sauce in some part of the world is also known as 'Tamari'. It is actually made from a miso which is a fermented paste of soy beans. The contents of soy sauce is rich in sodium with a flavor that provides ample seasoning by simply adding a small amount. Apart from the sodium content, soy sauce is also rich in vitamins and minerals which makes it as the healthy seasoning choice with many benefits.

For those who are suffering from disorders wherein you are advised by your doctor to limit your salt intake, you can try to use the low sodium variety of soy sauce. Here are the following health benefits of the soy sauce:

Maintains a Healthy Heart

Soy sauce contains 'Niacin' which is a type of nutrients that aids your heart by lowering the levels of fats in your blood stream. At the same time, it also raises the levels of the healthy cholesterol. This has already been proven through a scientific study that has been conducted by the MB Elam. The result has been publish in September 13, 2000 which can be read on 'The Journal of the American Medical Association'.

Antioxidants Properties

Just like the guava fruit, soy sauce also have antioxidant properties which can reduce the risk of cancer.

Helps Stabilize Moods

The soy sauce contains an essential type of amino acid known as the 'Tryptophan'. Again based from the scientific studies, your body often used tryptohan to produce serotonin and niacin. The production of serotonin is what promotes a healthy sleep and stable moods. Further research has even found out that irritability and negative moods of women who are suffering from their premenstrual dysphoric disorder are greatly reduced.

Preparing the Guava Fruit with Soy Sauce

Finally, here's the part on how you are going to prepare the guava fruit. If you have already read the previous method then the same procedure is applied. The only difference is that you don't have to add salt as the soy sauce already have an added salt content.

Choosing a Ripe Guava

When buying a fruit into the market, it is important for you to know on how to check whether the fruit is ripe or not. This can be done by sticking your fingernail into the guava fruit. If its soft that your fingernails easily penetrates through the skin then it means that the guava is ripe. However, if there is a slight resistance then leave the guava alone as it is not yet ripe.

Washing the Fruit

To wash the guava fruit, simply place them into a bowl then fill it with cool and clean running water. At the same time, you can rub the fruit with your hands to clean each of the fruits.

Peel and Slice the Fruit

You may either choose to peel the skin or not. Its best suggested not to peel the skin as the rich nutrients contents are found on the skin of the fruit. The next step is to slice the guava into half or quarters. You can even slice it into smaller chunks if you like.

The Soy Sauce

Place the sliced pieces of the guava fruit into a bowl. Finally, add a soy sauce into the bowl then mix it up. Congratulations, you can now enjoy eating your guava fruit.

How to Know When a Guava is Ripe?

Either you are picking the guava fruit from a guava tree or you are simply picking it up from a grocery store, it is important for you to know how to determine whether the fruit is ripe or not. There are actually several indications that can be observed from the fruit telling you when it is already ripe.

The Color

Common type of guava fruits can be easily identified if it is already ripe for the picking due to color. Ripened fruit usually have light yellow color. However, there are some different species of guavas wherein the fruit remains bright green but are already ripe. If this is the case then you can do the second method below.

Stick your Fingernails

With your fingernails, stick it right into the skin of the fruit. If it easily penetrate through the skin then the guava is ripe. Its still unripe when there is a little resistance.

Smelling the Fruit

The aroma of the guava fruit changes as it becomes ripen. As the fruit gets more ripened, the stronger the tasty sweet smell will become. Fruit Growers even describe it as 'penetrating' which means that you can smell it without putting the fruit close enough into your nose.

What to do with Unripe Guavas?

If you have accidentally picked guavas that are not yet ripe then you need to keep it at room temperature as it will soon get ripen in just a few days. According to some sources, unripe guavas will ripe faster when you are to keep them on a paper bag along with other fruits such as a banana, apple or avocado. Washing the fruit with cool trap of water also helps in speeding up the process of ripening.

Already ripe guava fruit must always be stored in the refrigerator and it will be good for two days period. Refrigerating the fruit doesn't stop the ripening process of the fruit but to delay. If it happens that you have plenty of guava fruits that you wish to store for a longer period of time then you can use edible wax to further delay the repining process of the fruit.

Buying Ripe or Unripe Guava Fruit

Some says that it is best to buy guavas that are green and nearly ripe. Take it home then simply place them inside a paper bag along with some other fruits. In one or two days, check your guava fruits and it is for sure that some or most are already fully ripe.

Buying guavas that are already ripe is only advisable when you intend to eat all of them with a duration period of one to two days. Beyond this time, some guavas that are left might turn bad and no longer edible.

Moreover, there are some people who prefers to eat guavas that are nearly ripe. The color of the fruit is light green and it requires tough teeth to chew on the fruit. One of the reason why some people choose to eat nearly ripe guava fruit is that it thoroughly cleans their teeth out of dental plaques.

Eat Guava Fruit with Salt and Vinegar

The very first method of eating Guava that has been previously discussed on this blog is the common way of eating the fruit. You will simply either peel the skin or directly eat the guava fruit upon washing it on a clean running water. On this post, you will get to learn a better and more enjoyable method of eating the fruit with two added ingredients.

Lets have a short discussion on all the components that you are about to eat particularly on the health benefits. First time visitors are suggested to visit and read the post entitled 'Guava Fruits for Cancer Prevention'. Every possible health benefits of the guava fruit has been discussed on that post.

Salts is a common ingredient that is used in almost every cooked type of food. By consuming the right amount of salt into your body, it will keep you healthy. Don't you know that most of your body contains water? Actually salt water which is very similar to the composition of water found in the ocean. This is the reason why people who got ill are often given saline or salt water solution directly into their bloodstream.

Retain Hydration

Anyone who suffers from dehydration such as due to diarrhea can be treated with salt in-take. Most doctors recommends Gatorade or any similar electrolyte drinks which contains high salt contents.

Regulates Blood Sugar

Diabetic individuals are important not to have a low salt intake. Its because salt helps reduce the body's need of insulin which aids it in maintaining proper sugar levels.

Health Thyroid

Thyroid disease such as goiter can be prevented by regular salt intake because of the salt's iodine contents.

How about the Vinegar?

Vinegar just like salt is another common cooking ingredient. There has been numerous studies and researches that has already been conducted about the health benefits of the vinegar but there's still no official result or conclusion from the experts. However, many individuals believes that it can cure and prevent various forms of diseases and below are some of them:

- Vinegar can help lower glucose levels for those who are suffering diabetic disorders.

- Lowers high cholesterol.

- Maintain proper blood pressure for a healthy heart.

- Prevents various forms of cancers.

- Old method that has been used for a thousand years for weight loss.

Preparing the Guava Fruit

Wash the guava fruits that you are about to eat on a clean running water. Simply rub your hands against the skin of the fruit to get rid of any possible dirt. Once cleaned, place them all on a clean bowl.

Peel the Skin

If you enjoy eating the skin then you may skip this step. For those people who are suffering from diabetes, it is advised that you are to peel off the skin.

Slice the Fruit

Most guava eaters slices the fruit into four pieces.

Salt and Vinegar

On a small saucer plate, put 3 spoon filled with vinegar then sprinkle some salt. Mix the salt and vinegar with your spoon until you can no longer see or felt the grain of salt.

Ready to Eat

You can either use a fork or simply pick up the sliced piece of guava fruit with your clean fingers that you are about to eat. Dip it into the salted vinegar each time you are to swallow a piece of the fruit. Some may find the fruit to be even tastier when they offer it on the salted vinegar for a few minutes before eating.

The King of All Fruits

Asking people around the web for their own personal opinion as to which fruit is considered as the king of all fruits ended up into different answers and opinions. The majority of these people had chosen the type of fruit which are very common in their region or country. People in the US voted for the Apple, India for Mango, Brazil for Avocado, Indonesia for Durian and so on...

Other people had voted for fruits due to their taste. The list of these fruits are Bananas, Strawberries, Pineapples and fruits that can be mixed on their blender machine.

Determining the king of all fruits should involve several factors. It should not only be based due to the taste or it is one of the major product of your country. The title should go into the type of fruit that provides a lot of health benefits. Thus, a team of curious researcher had invested their time searching for the type of fruit that deserves the title.

Almost every fruit around the world are tasty that so many people love and enjoy to eat. This goes the same in all the nutrients that they provide for health benefits. The majority of the fruits including vegetables are rich in Carotenoids and Vitamin C which lowers the risk of cancers. Other common nutrients found on fruits are Folate, Potassium and Fiber.

The group of researchers had finally decided to determine the king of all fruits based on the amount of nutrients contents that the fruit contains. It took them time tabulating plenty of numbers comparing results from one fruit to another.

Finally, the group of researchers ends up into one type of fruit as the supreme. This is the Guava fruit wherein it has beaten all other types of fruits around the world in terms of its nutritious contents.

Previous post on this blog had already discussed how a guava fruit can prevent various forms of cancerous diseases. You can read the discussion on this post to learn more about the nutrients and on how cancers are prevented by simply eating guava fruits on your daily diet. To tell you more, the leaves of the guava tree are also being used as a traditional herb for curing various forms of infections.

Many of you have your own favorite type of fruit which you enjoy the most way more than the guava fruit. Some of you may even completely disagree that the guava fruit doesn't deserve to be the king of all fruits. Thus, the comment form is always open and provided below to tell your own opinion.

Do you agree that the guava fruit is the king of all fruits? If not then what fruit deserves the title as the 'king of all fruits' and please state your reason why.

Does Eating Guava Fruit Good for Diabetes?

The Guava fruit is considered as a 'Super Fruit' because of its medicinal properties that help prevents various forms of diseases. In China, people of this country has been eating guava fruits as they claim that it is one way of treating diabetic disorder. But recently, scientific studies had found out that the skin of a guava fruit can increase your blood sugar level by 91%.

If you enjoy eating the fruit but you have a controlled diabetic disorder then you can peel off the skin. By peeling off the skin, the fruit will increase your blood sugar level by 27%. It is advised that you have to eat guava fruit that are not too ripe.

What is a Diabetic Disorder?

Most people will simply define diabetes as a type of disorder where your body particularly your blood contains enough sugar contents that are needed by your body. To explain it more in details, diabetes is classified as a metabolism disorder. Metabolism is a process on how the internal parts of your body processes the food you eat into energy and growth.

The food you eat goes through a process of digestion wherein all the nutrients are extracted in the form of 'Glucose'. This is a form of sugar in your blood which acts as the fuel of your body.

Upon digestion of the food, the glucose will automatically go into your bloodstream. The cells will then use it for energy and growth. At some point, a problem might occur wherein the glucose cannot enter through the cells because of the lack of insulin.

After eating, it is normal for your pancreas to release an adequate amount of insulin for the purpose of allowing the glucose to move into the bloodstream way through the cells. As a result, this will cause the cells blood-glucose levels to drop.

A diabetic person suffering from 'Hyperglycemia' which is a condition wherein the quantity of the glucose in the blood is too high is due to the lack of insulin. There is not enough supply of insulin generated by the body which should process the glucose into the cells. Thus, too much glucose builds up in the blood which leads into a diabetic disorder.

Is Eating Guava Still Advisable for Diabetic Person?

Guava fruit is actually one of the best recommended type of food for those diabetic people. For those who have high-blood sugar, it is highly advisable that you are to peel off the skin of the fruit before eating.

The fruit is too tasty and very nutritious. There is no reason why anyone would have to avoid eating it. It has high Vitamin C content containing 120 mg which is almost twice the amount found in the oranges. In comparison with the oranges, it is less acidic and it contains very high fiber. Other nutrients found on the guava fruit are Vitamin A and Potassium.

If this is your first-time to encounter the guava fruit, you can learn more about it on this post entitled 'How to Eat Raw Guava Fruit'.

Curing Wound Infection with Guava Leaves

Guava fruits was the major topic that has been previously discussed on this blog wherein regular consumption of the fruit provides plenty of health benefits. Actually, the leaves are potent type of herb as well that can cure almost any type of wound infections. It has become one of the most common old medicinal tradition of treatment for various forms of diseases used by people in most Tropical Countries.

Wounds is simply a common type of injury that can be encountered accidentally which depends on your daily life activities. Carpenters and Mechanics are the type of jobs where there is a huge risk of acquiring wounds.

The injury is categorized into two different types. If the you have been injured by accidentally cutting yourself with a sharp object then it is called an 'Open or External Wound'. The breakage of your body tissue will cause your blood to flow out from the cut. We call the second type of injury as 'Close or Internal Wound' when there is no breakage of body tissue that is involved. Internal wounds can be acquired when you accidentally hit yourself hard from a tough object. It is also more commonly referred as 'bruise'.

In tropical countries where guava tree are very common to be found around the environment, people had discovered the curing benefits of the guava leaves. Recently, a group of interested scientist in Nigeria had conducted a study to uncover the properties of the guava leaves. They had found out that it contains potent anti-bacteria which prevents infections.

Apart from wound infections, the researcher had also found out that the guava leaves are highly effective for reducing inflammation of the uterus. It works with wonders by accelerating the healing process of the wounds.

How to Apply the Guava Leaves into the Wounds?

Picking Up Fresh Guava Leaves

The first step is to collect a few guava leaves which can be around 5 to 10 pieces. Make sure that you are picking leaves that are fresh which can be easily identified with their colors. Fresh leaves are light-green in color and they are soft. Avoid picking guava leaves that are hard and dark-green in color.

Clean It With Running Water

Tropical countries often experience rain fall which makes the leaves clean. However, there are some period wherein it doesn't rain for a couple of days or weeks. If this is the case then you have to wash the guava leaves on a clean running water. This to get rid of any dirt or insects.

Boil the Guava Leaves

Depending on the size of the wound, you have to boil the leaves with enough water for washing the wound. Boil the guava leaves until it turns into brown color.

Applying into the Wound

Wait for the hot water to cool off which is just good enough to apply into the wounded area. Simply use the water for washing the wound at least 2 or 3 times a day. Wash it in the morning, mid-noon and before you go to bed.

Natural Method to Prevent Prostate Cancer

Prostate Cancer is a type of disease common to all male individuals. It starts being develop at the gland and will slowing grow in size. Some serious cases of prostate cancer is that it tends to be aggressive. This means that the cancerous cells will metastasize or spread through the other parts of the body.

When the diseases manages to spread, it commonly targets the bones and lymph nodes. This will most likely lead into pain. Dysfunction will also be experienced wherein there is a difficulty of urinating. Erectile dysfunction may also be experienced which can be a serious problem for both couple during their sexual intercourse. More symptoms will be develop at later stages of this type deadly disease.

Speaking about 'deadly', prostate cancer is the current sixth leading cause of death in the entire world. In the UK, this male type of disease was rated as the first leading cause of death in the country while US rated it as the second on their list. In third world countries, most male individuals with prostate cancer never to bother about the symptoms. They don't undergo therapy which unfortunately lead into their unexpected cause of death.

What Are the Causes of Prostate Cancer?

Development of cancer includes many factors but the most common causes are from genetics and diet. Genetics means that when your family ancestry had a history of prostate cancer then there are chances that you will have a prostate cancer at an older age of your time. As for the diet, scientific research claims that obesity is one of the primary risk factor of this disease.

With the help of our advance medical technology today, prostate cancer can be cured and prevented. There are already various methods that are available for treatment which generally involves surgery. Minor type of prostate cancer are being treated with radiation therapy or cryosurgery. Those that already have major type of disease will have to undergo hormonal therapy and chemotherapy procedures.

An Interesting Fact

Several group of scientist had conducted studies on how to reduce the risk of prostate cancer through various simple means. There are two of these methods which can be through 'mas-tur-bation' or eating 'fruits' that are rich in phytochemical-lycopene. The first method which is mas-tur-bation has been suggested and supported by several studies to prevent the risk of prostate cancer. This will be discussed on the separate post.

The second method is to eat fruits that are rich in phytochemical-lycopene contents. Guava fruit is one among the type of fruits which contains an abundant anti-oxidants lycopene nutrients that prevents prostate cancer from being develop.

Lycopene has been found out by scientists that it can neutralize oxygen driving off the so called dangerous 'free radicals' inside our body. This means that beside from prostate cancer, it also protect your body from other types of cancer diseases.

Most men that lives in the tropical region where guava fruits are commonly served on the table, survey showed that the majority of the male individuals doesn't suffer from prostate cancer. Thus, its time to add guava fruit on your daily diet especially if your family has a history of the disease.

Preventing Prostate Cancer | Fruit and Vegetable Diet

Preventing prostate cancer through diet can be done by eating fruits that are rich in phytochemical lycopene. Such fruit are tomatoes, guavas, watermelon, grapefruit, persimmons and etc... The lycopene contents of these fruits are already proven by scientific research and studies that they are highly effective form of anti-oxidants.

To explain further how common types of cancerous diseases forms inside your body, they are the causes of what they referred as 'Free Radicals'. These are forms of highly reactive molecules that can either be produced by your body naturally or from being exposed under toxic environments such as tobacco smoke and UV light. There is only one intention of free radicals inside you body which is to cause damages leading into deadly type of diseases particularly cancer.

We can say that free radical are bad type of oxygen. Thus, in order to get rid of the free radicals inside your body you will need anti-oxidants. Apart from the fruits that has mentioned above, vegetables are also rich in antioxidants. Actually, any vegetable and fruits that are rich in vitamin C, Vitamin E and beta-carotene helps prevent free radicals from causing serious damage inside your body.

Additional information on how to prevent prostate cancer is discussed on this post, "Natural Method to Prevent Prostate Cancer".

Gain or Lose your Weight with the Guava Fruit

Many people would aspire to either gain or loss their weight. Fat people are the once searching for the best method to lose their weight while thin people is the complete opposite. To tell you something interesting about the guava fruit which is in relation to this health issue. This tropical type of fruit has the contents which can either cause weight loss or weight gain.

First let's discuss something more about weight loss. We can define it as the process of reducing body fats which are commonly done via physical fitness and medicine. Weight loss can be successful if the patient has the determination to do regular training exercise. Unfortunately, most patients doesn't have such a strong determination wherein they give up right away in just a few days of their tries.

Medicine or medical surgery can provide you immediate good results but they can also be risky. There's also a huge financial cost involve that you might just want to do the regular physical exercise as mentioned above.

Now here's the third option which is in the form of dietary method. Simply add a medium-sized guava on your lunch and you are surely good to go until evening. You will ask why and how?

The question can be answered by explaining the nutritional contents of the guava fruit. It has a very high roughage or fiber and rich with multi-vitamins, proteins and minerals. Another interesting fact that you would like to know is that the guava fruit doesn't have cholesterol (food contents responsible for building up fats) and it has a low amount of digestible carbohydrates.

Comparing guava into some other fruits, it has far less sugar contents. And lastly, the reason why guava is perfect for a weight-loss diet is that the fruit has the taste that can easily satisfies an appetite.

How about weight gain?

Let's first discuss a few details about weight-gain. This is actually the process of gaining body weight which can either be in the form of increasing muscle mass or fat deposits. If your intention is simply to get fat then all you have to do is to consume plenty of foods with high-cholesterol contents. However, this isn't recommended due to the reason that you will end up with the risk of turning yourself into an obese which is very unlikely.

Your best choice will be a proper diet procedure. There are plenty of dietary methods online that you can choose to follow but you should always include on the list a guava fruit. The reason is that this tropical fruit has the wealthy nutrients which provide proper metabolism. It keeps your metabolism regulates which leads into your body's proper absorption of the nutrients.

Therefore, we conclude that including guava fruit on your regular diet will aid you in your goal of achieving weight loss or weight gain. If you want to read more about the health benefits of the guava fruit then read the next succeeding posts. For those who got more advance knowledge about this fruit which is in relation to weight loss or gain, please share your thoughts on the comment form provided below.