Ruby Tuesday

I'm trying to fervently get back into blogging so thought today I'd try this meme that is hosted each week on Mary's blog, "Work of the Poet." Each week she looks for photos with the color ruby. Since that's once of my favorite colors, I thought I'd do the same. I didn't find many with ruby but you can bet from here on out, I will be taking pics of anything ruby.

When we were in Brazil, we quickly developed a taste for açaí. Small berries harvested in the rainforests of Brazil, açaí tastes like a vibrant blend of berries and chocolate. Hidden within its royal purple pigment is the magic that makes it nature's perfect energy fruit. Açaí is packed full of antioxidants, amino acids and essential fatty acids. Although açaí may not be available in your local supermarket, you can find it in several health food (Earth Fare has it) and gourmet stores (often in juice form). A new product featuring the unsweetened pulp is now also available, and I highly recommend that you choose this form of açaí.

In Brazil, açaí is sold as a bowl of frozen smashed-up berries with sliced bananas and/or granola. It is yummy. After cultivating the taste in Brazil, we came home to find that açaí has become a food fad even being named as a Super Food.

Açaí pulp contains a remarkable concentration of antioxidants that help combat premature aging, with 10 times more antioxidants than red grapes and 10 to 30 times the anthocyanins of red wine. A synergy of monounsaturated (healthy) fats, dietary fiber and phytosterols to help promote cardiovascular and digestive health. An almost perfect essential amino acid complex in conjunction with valuable trace minerals, vital to proper muscle contraction and regeneration. The fatty acid content in açaí resembles that of olive oil, and is rich in monounsaturated oleic acid. Oleic acid is important for a number of reasons. It helps omega-3 fish oils penetrate the cell membrane; together they help make cell membranes more supple. By keeping the cell membrane supple, all hormones, neurotransmitter and insulin receptors function more efficiently. This is particularly important because high insulin levels create an inflammatory state, and we know, inflammation causes aging. (http://www.oprah.com/article/health/nutrition/life_acai)

Wow, who knew that something so YUMMY could be so good for you. As you can see, the grandchildren LOVE açaí. Totally appropriate Ruby Tuesday post :-).