The top of the day to you

Last week I promised I would write this month's article about the Fruits which will ripen after they are picked. When you go to the Grocery Store or Farmer's Market and look at all those beautiful fruits most folks are really in the woods about what to pick and how to pick them out. I decided to write 2 articles one of which will be which ones ripen after they are picked and the 2nd article next month will be which foods need to be in the fridge when you bring the food home.

Once a month I write an article and the rest of the month I send you a recipe. Last week we spoke about a recipe on how to select the best Honey Dew Melon and for those who didn't get the recipe on how to select the best watermelon, I offered to send you that recipe from a year or so ago. That offer still stands.

So away we go, here are the Fruits, which WILL ripen, after they are picked and I'll also include the ones which DO NOT ripen after they're picked. These can also be found in my 7-Day Guide which is a realistic, upspirited look at Healthy Living as it should be, consisting of:

• a Positive Mental Diet,
• a Sound Physical Diet,
• a Wholesome Nutritional Diet, and
• a Simple Spiritual Diet = the ULTIMATE BALANCE!

Also shown are:

• Sprouting Tips
• Food Storage Ideas
• Foods that will and will not Ripen after they are picked
• Foods that should and shouldn't be refrigerated after they're picked
• The Hands and Feet Reflexology Chart, and
• 3 Habits that will keep you as Healthy as you can be!

Fruits which “WILL RIPEN” at Room Temperature AFTER picking:

1. Golden Delicious and Gravenstein Apples ONLY
2. Avocados
3. Apricots
4. Bananas
5. Guava
6. Mangoes
7. Papaya
8. Pears
9. Persimmons
10. Pineapples
11. Plums
12. Pomegranates
13. Cactus Fruit

Here are the Fruits which “WILL NOT RIPEN” at Room Temperature AFTER picking:

1. All Apples (except the Golden Delicious and Gravenstein)
2. All Berries
3. Cherries
4. Citrus Fruit
5. Figs
6. Grapes
7. Melons
8. Nectarines
9. Peaches

Now I'm sure I will hear a lot about this, but unless the fruit has that level of maturity on the tree/bush, then it WILL NOT ripen after it's been picked. Now why is that so important not to eat fruit that's not ripe?

Simply put, all fruit is in a starchy state before ripening and in that state it renders little to no nutritional value. So why eat it then as all you do is put your body through the grief of all sorts of indigestion problems. One other point worthy of your mental perusal, food either digests favorably or it doesn't digest favorably. Food doesn't halfway digest, it does or it doesn't! When it doesn't, then look out for the seed to most diseases…ROTTEN FOOD and POOR DRAINAGE!

How badly do you want to be healthy is just like anything else we want in life.

You accomplish things by directing your desires, not by ignoring them.

You are motivated to the degree that the decisions you make are your decisions. To be honest with yourself, to sincerely know what you really want, is the key to your motivation.

You are always in a position to decide. You can decide to do something or you can decide to do nothing. The choice is yours.

It's so hard when you have to, and so easy when you want to. But then again we always want what we want when the want is more than the effort. And this is all very easy and simple, “Eat good Stuff and you ALWAYS be Tough!”

Stay terrific. You deserve great things.

Wayne “The Mango Man” Pickering = The Ambassador for Health!

Copyright © 2003 Center for Nutrition, Inc