The beauty of Pitaya (Dragon Fruit)

A “new” food entered our fresh, delivered meals today – and it’s a real beauty! I had called our produce vendor to ask for something that we could use for garnishing…I was getting desperate because the season doesn’t allow for grapes or berries. Low and behold, the owner said he’d send me something really special that another client had ordered and then cancelled. I was anxious to see what arrived – and WHAT A TREAT!

Do you know Dragon fruit? Maybe you’ve seen it in markets – it’s pretty exotic looking, and once you cut it open, you’ll know why I was so thrilled. It’s absolutely gorgeous inside. Bright magenta with tiny black seeds, ringed by a thin green and pink skin – it’s a sight to see for sure. While the taste is not too sweet, more like a bland melon, the color can’t be beat. We paired slices of the dragon fruit with slices of kiwi for what must be called “eye candy”.

In case you want to find out more about this great fruit, you should know that it’s proper name is pitaya, and it’s part of the cactus family. The red flesh variety is rich in antioxidants and vitamins, and dragonfruit is also rich in fiber. Look for it and let me know what you think!

NutriFit’s Heirloom Recipe Contest- Winner #1 (Heather K’s Cheesecake Brownies)

What a treat it’s been to “play” with food today! I just love taking recipes that sound delicious, but decadent, and recreating them in a healthy, NutriFit kinda way.

Case in point is the recipe that we received from client Heather K – Cheesecake Brownies. When I saw the cup of butter, whole eggs and full fat cheese in the recipe, I knew I’d have my work cut out for me, but who can resist dark chocolate swirled with cream cheese batter? Changing the butter to trans-fat free margarine, eggs to egg substitute, full fat cheese to light Neufchatel cheese and adding some dark chocolate chips to intensify the taste and voila, the result, I’m pleased to say, is a truly delicious, healthy version that we’re going to serve to our clients!

Heather – thanks so much for allowing us to experiment with your favorite recipe – I hope you enjoy our version as much as I did!