How is it that until my best friend at work introduced me to them a few weeks ago, I never knew about blood oranges?
I guess part of why I never knew about them is that they are apparently only available part of the year, and until recently, the produce section of the grocery store was a weird and foreign place that I rarely ventured. Planet Rob didn't have a lot of fruits and vegetables, I confess.
Well, I was missing out. Blood oranges are delicious, and cool to eat, too. I should read up to see what gives them their horror-show appearance, since for all I know, it's something that's on the Forbidden Rob Foods list. (Am I allowed to consume blood? Let me check my Beedies exchange pocket guide.) But yeah, it looks like blood. If you peel a slice just right, it looks like you're a zombie, dining on human body parts. Tell me a cooler way to eat if you can. You can't.
I realize that sweet fruits are still probably not the best snack for me; much better that I eat a raw carrot or a stack of Post-it notes. But compared to the things I used to eat, it's a huge step in the right direction. They're not fried, and they're not coated in chocolate. Let me be.
I feel like a vampire right now, and a workplace vampire at that.
Haha. Before I read the article that went with the picture I was thinking, "wonder how long that orange was in his lunchbox". lol.
ReplyDeleteBlood oranges, huh? I've heard of them but never seen them and am not sure now if I could stomach eating them. But hey, more power to ya!
http://gourmetsleuth.com/bloodoranges.htm#Nutrition
ReplyDeleteHelpful article that shows nutrition information and gives a little background info on this interesting fruit.
Your pictures are far better, though.
Post-it notes are too sticky -
ReplyDeletebuh - dum- dum
Like the blog, Rob - By the way - have you been to
www.calorieking.com?
Just type in the food, and hit search - it will tell you the calories, and importantly, the carbs -
Couldn't find blood oranges, though - !
Have a juicy day, ( yes, feeling corny today, - sorry)
Mary Ellen
looking at that picture, i thought the orange was moldy! i had no idea that's what they looked like on the inside.
ReplyDeleteI'm also a big fan of the ruby red grapefruit, while we're on the subject of red citrus.
ReplyDeleteI used to work in Diebetes research, it was on the labby end, so I'm no nutritional expert, but my understanding is that eating the fruit, with the fibery goodness of the pith and all those little membranes in there, the hit to your glycemic system is much less evil than that of fruit juice, which has all the sugar, and almost no fiber.
ReplyDeleteYou might like passion fruit too, they're brown and wrinky on the soutside, and look like putrified brains on the inside. Green/pink/yellow putrified brains.
I'll have to try the blood oranges - right now I'm addicted to those little mandarins - clemetines - I think the brand name is Cuties.
ReplyDeleteOo, Bill, I like those, too. I am all about oranges. I think the blood oranges go out of season soon, although if they're growing them in Texas now, they might be available for longer.
ReplyDeleteOh, I wonder how they would taste dipped in chocolate?????
ReplyDeleteI bought a blood orange once & couldn't eat it, it looked so much like blood.
ReplyDeleteFormer chemist and long-time food nerd chiming in here: What gives blood oranges their red color are a class of pigments called anthocyanins. These are found in many red foods, including red cabbage, beets, raspberries, currants, and cherries. Anthocyanins are good antioxidants, with several good health effects. A particularly interesting, if very preliminary, study recently suggested that anthocyanins might help diabetics with blood sugar control. So there's no reason why blood oranges should be on the Forbidden Foods list.
ReplyDeleteAnd rosemary grace is right in her comment - most fruit, though it is "sugary", has a fairly low glycemic impact. Plus, it's low in fat and calories, and high in fiber and vitamins. It's a way better snack than a stack of Post-It notes.
(And sometimes you've got to cut yourself a little slack with all the pressure to make "perfect" food choices. A few weeks ago, I caught myself feeling guilty because I'd eaten a bit more steamed rice with dinner than I'd intended to. And then I had to laugh at myself, because, okay, yeah, it would have been smarter to have a second helping of veggies than a second helping of rice. But it was plain steamed rice with soy sauce, not a freakin' chocolate cake.)