Mmmmmm Figs!

Figs, yummy figs!

If you get hungry in the afternoon, but have the problem of always reaching for a bag of Doritos or a Snickers bar, try to change your lifestyle and pick a healthy snack like fruit, aka nature's candy. Right now there's myriad fruit in-season and available at your local supermarket or corner fruit guy (my fruit guy's name is Pukar and he's from Nepal and he's a pineapple picking guru.) Why not try to fill that void in your stomach with some apples or figs or cherries?

I'll be doing writeups this week on other lesser-known fruit, like the pluot, apple-pears, and the Buddha's hand.  Be sure to check back daily.

Figs looks like fat little soft pudgy things, and their innards have a unique, mushy texture, complemented by their tough little seeds that give it a slightly crunchy consistency. I personally love biting into one, but I can see how many people (especially tomato haters) might think it's gross. Here are a few fun facts about the fig fruit:

• The edible fig is one of the first plants cultivated by humans
• Since ripe figs do not transport well, most are dried or processed into jams or Fig Newton cookies
• Turkey is the top fig producer in the world
• Figs are extremely high in calcium and fiber
• Fig leaves are used to cover naked people in the Bible (think Adam and Eve)

Enjoy some figs or other fruit in the afternoon and get thinner the natural way!