30 Day Raw Vegan Fruit Project Day 17

www.vibrantvegan.com/raw-vegan-fruit-project.html

It's Day 17 of Vibrant Vegan's 30 Days 30 Fruits for You Project!

The fantastic fruit featured for Day 17 is the Fig!

-Figs have been around for a long long long time!! It's believed figs are one of the first fruits ever cultivated.

-There are over 600 fig varieties grown around the world today. Turkey, Greece, and California are the world's largest growers of figs.

-Figs are unique because they have a cute little opening, or "eye" opposite from the stem (not attached to the tree). This opening is called the "ostiole," and the fig uses this opening as a way to get a sense of its environment and therefore helps the fruit develop.

-When buying/picking figs, look for soft, plump and tender fruits. Don't get the mushy, hard, or discolored figs. Figs are extremely perishable, so be sure to eat them within a day or so.

Here's some nutritional and health-related info to help you on your road to eating more figs:

-Figs have the highest mineral content of all common fruits! A 1/4 cup serving of fresh figs gives you:

244 mg of potassium (7% of the recommended DV)
53 mg of calcium (6% of the recommended DV)
1.2 mg of iron (6% of the recommended DV)

-Because of the fig's nutritional make-up (mineral and sugar content in particular), they're sometimes call the "perfect food for athletes." (Figs would be a great pre or post-workout food.)

-3 medium-sized figs contain about 120 calories

-Figs are a great source of fiber, therefore they have been shown to help prevent and cure constipation.

-Figs are fairly mucilaginous (they've a slightly "slippery" texture), which has shown to help heal sore throats.

-Because figs contain a lot of calcium, they help strengthen bones.

-Figs have been shown to help prevent hypertension because they're high in potassium and very low in sodium.

-Figs are highly alkaline, so they can help regulate pH levels.

-Fig leaves have been repeatedly shown to have properties which can actually help reduce the amount of insulin needed by diabetics who need insulin injections.

So there's your fig trivia and health information. Now it's time for your LOW FAT, RAW VEGAN RECIPE FEATURING FIGS!!!

FIGS AND WALNUTS WITH BALSAMIC VINEGAR

This is simple, yet completely elegant, and utterly delicious! You'll love love love this one! It contains just about 300 calories.

Ingredients

4 ripe figs (Brown Turkey, Black Mission, Kadota, or Excel would be best, I think)
12-14 walnut halves
1-2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

Slice the figs into 1/4 inch rounds and arrange on a plate. Place one walnut half on each fig slice. Drizzle the balsamic vinegar over each fig. (Oh my...my mouth is watering as I type this! This is one of the most amazing dishes you'll ever ever have the pleasure of eating!)

There's Day 17 and the Fantastic Fig for you!
Eat lots of figs! Eat tons and tons of raw fruit!
Be Vegan, Be Vibrant!

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[Rush888]

figs are good, though not my cup of tea so to speak. Im from the south, so we eat peaches and oranges, alot! I love oranges, do you have a video on oranges?

[VibrantVegan]

I love oranges too. Check out the "day 4" video.

[mssmartypantx]

Looks yummy. Can't wait for figs to come in season so I can try this.

[daemona71]

@mrjimmypayjo

I grew up with Adriatic figs in Montenegro when I lived in Bosnia also and there's nothing like it. :)

I still haven't tasted anything like it. Pozdravi.

[phojes69]

why do vegans always look sickly?

[mrjimmypayjo]

wow I didn't know figs were alkaline. I grew up with adriatic figs. I remember going to the adriatic coast in Croatia when I lived in Serbia and munching on them fresh from the tree. Love the recipe too. Balsamic, walnuts and figs are a great combo :)

[buddhasizedguy]

Thanks a lot for this series. I stumbled across it yesterday, and now I have to get caught up! :) I love the format of info + recipe, all in a concise video - really well done.