"Fruit of the Angels"

Today was a beautiful, sunny day, and the thermometer passed 80 degrees! Needless to say, I was outside as much as possible, and when I was inside, I had my windows and patio door wide open. Now only if it would stay this way throughout the spring...

While I spent time outside (and of course got in a great workout!), I also had to do grocery shopping (is this really on the top of anyone's list of things to do? Probably...just not mine!) to accomplish. Because of the warm weather and sun, I decided to buy my first tropical fruit of the season: PAPAYA! In doing a little research on the fruit, I found out that Christopher Columbus called papaya the "fruit of the angels". Although I'm not sure the exact reason behind this, I have to believe that the texture has something to do with it.

I personally fell in love with this fruit when I was in Ecuador earlier this year. While they ate it in chunks often, they also put it into the juicer in the mornings and made fresh papaya juice. Yum!

So why papaya? It's a great source of Vitamin C, and aids in both digestive and heart health. They are also a great source of folate and dietary fiber (among other things!). I would highly suggest adding this fruit to your next shopping list! Besides eating it in "chunk form" after a meal, it's great atop cereal (or oatmeal!), ice cream, yogurt, or in smoothies!

1. This is what a papaya looks like. If it's completely green when you buy it, you'll want to keep it for a few days until it starts to turn yellow or reddish. Wash the outside of papaya before starting.

2. Cut just a little off of both ends of the papaya. Take a fruit/veggie peeler and peel the papaya. The first layer may produce a light yellowish color, so you'll need to go over it more then once. You want it to look orange, like in the picture below. 

3. After peeling the papaya, cut it in half length wise. This will produce what looks lots of seeds (like in the picture below). This is the only part that really bothers me, as the seeds sort of make my skin crawl. Take a spoon and scoop out the seeds. There is a sort of membrane that separates the seeds and the fruit, so you'll want to make sure to scoop that out as well. 

4. Place the flat side of the papaya face down on a cutting board, and cut in to chunks!

There you have it. Once you have it cut up, you can enjoy this delicious and tasty tropical fruit!

Have you ever tried papaya before? What was the highlight of you weekend?