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February is National Grapefruit Month, and the perfect time to inject a little citrus in your winter menu planning. Grapefruit is plentiful and affordable this time of year. Here are some ideas to get you started celebrating this seasonal fruit.
Laura of The Balanced Plate gives a full run-down on the nutritional benefits of grapefruit:
First off, for all the dieters out there, grapefruits are a lower-calorie fruit. Compared to a navel orange – one navel orange about 3 inches in diameter provides 70 calories and 18 grams of carbohydrates while half of one large grapefruit provides only 37 calories and 9 grams of carbohydrates. Therefore grapefruit can be part of a weight loss diet by helping to reduce calorie intake.
Ruby red grapefruit has lycopene. Yes, that same nutrient that was found to be beneficial in tomato products. It helps reduce the risk of prostate cancer in men and for everyone else it helps can protect your heart. The pectin in grapefruit also helps protect your heart by slowing the progression of atherosclerosis and even lowering LDL cholesterol and triglycerides in human studies. This effect was more pronounced with ruby red colored grapefruit.
Laura suggests using grapefruit in a salad, either in pieces, or as part of a grapefruit vinaigrette.
Though she describes them as a little bit labor intensive, Lindsay of rosemarried highly recommends Grapefruit Cupcakes as a lovely spin on a traditional dessert:
Grapefruit is my absolute favorite of all the citrus fruits and I was excited about the possibility of turning this zingy citrus into a sweet little cupcake. I’d never had a grapefruit cupcake before, so I knew I was taking somewhat of a risk with this recipe: but I was so thrilled with how they turned out. They were sour, without being too sour (and sweet, without being too sweet!). So balanced, so light, and so lovely.
Elizabeth Stark of Brooklyn Supper made Ruby Red Grapefruit Sherbet to break up the monotony of winter:
With vibrant fresh-squeezed grapefruit flavor, this sherbet is absolutely delicious. Light and ultra tangy, homemade sherbet has an amazing depth of fragrant grapefruit flavor. Brian and I loved this recipe. In fact, it’s reserved a coveted place in my top 5 favorite flavors...One bite and you’ll swear you can feel a summer breeze--if you can remember what that was like.
Christiane of The Mom Chef also banished the winter blues with her Grapefruit-Buttermilk Sherbet:
When I eat grapefruit I think of bright mornings too. There's just something about that fruit that is a ray of bright sun to me. In my opinion, anything made with grapefruit should evoke the same reaction.
The Foodie Bride of Confections of a Foodie Bride used versatile grapefruit to make Grapefruit Meltaways, though she has plenty of other ideas about how to use the sunny citrus fruit:
I love grapefruits. Sprinkled with sugar and broiled, they’re breakfast. Segmented and tossed with red onion, arugula, and olive oil, they’re lunch. Baked into buttery, citrusy cookies that melt in your mouth, they’re dessert. And breakfast.
Here are some other grapefruit recipes to try:
- Broiled Ginger-Cinnamon Grapefruit from Heather Teeter of Tasty Kitchen
- Grapefruit Rice from Priya of Priya's Easy N Tasty Recipes
- Grapefruit Radicchio Salad from Amy Sherman of Cooking with Amy
- Shaved Fennel & Grapefruit Salad from Ileana of Ileana's Kitchen
- Paleo Grapefruit Chicken Satay Salad from Corinne Smith of Tribe: Paleo Recipes
- Grapefruit Olive Oil Cake for the Soul from Lauren of From the Little Yellow Kitchen
- Candied Grapefruit Peels from Valerie of Une Gamine dans la Cuisine
- Ina Garten's Grapefruit Margarita from Gwen Kenneally of My Daily Find
How do you best enjoy grapefruit? Share your ideas in the comments below.
Genie blogs about gardening and food at The Inadvertent Gardener, and tells very short tales at 100 Proof Stories.
Photo by isox4, shared under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic License. | Original for BlogHer.
