Mango Passion

Coach Melanie, 05/27/2015

Who doesn’t like a good deal? Buying seasonal produce is the way to go, and this month I’ve fallen in love with Ataulfo mangos (also known as the Honey mango). My local supermarket is selling them 3 for $1.00… how can you beat that? You can eat them out of hand, in salads, as chutney, blended, or juiced. They are smaller than other varieties of mangos, but they yield a good amount of smooth, creamy, string-less flesh.

When shopping for them, choose the yellow to orange colored mangos that give slightly to pressure. Avoid eating mangos if the flesh inside is grayish or black. I like to ripen everything at room temperature and then store in the refrigerator. Mangos can be kept for about two weeks.

Mangos are rich in pre-biotic dietary fiber, vitamins, minerals, and poly-phenolic flavonoid antioxidant compounds. They are an excellent source of Vitamin A, potassium, Vitamin B6, Vitamin C, Vitamin E, beta-carotene, alpha-carotene, and beta-cryptoxanthin.

Pairing mangos with greens makes an excellent summertime lunch when it’s scorching hot outside. According to Dr. Joel Fuhrman, raw leafy greens contain less than 100 calories per pound, so you can eat huge quantities of them with almost no caloric impact. High intake of leafy greens or raw vegetables has been linked to reduced risk of heart attack, stroke, diabetes, and several cancers.

The following recipe that I created is one of my favorite lunches. There are numerous variations of this recipe, and you can substitute any of the ingredients if you prefer a different fruit. Please note that there are no quantities listed for the salad, because I encourage you to choose the amount you are comfortable eating according to your hunger!