My Healthy Snack of the Week – Kiwifruit - New Leaf Health and Wellbeing

HAPPY WAITANGI DAY!!

Today is Waitangi Day in New Zealand, which is the celebration of the signing of the Waitangi Treaty in 1840.

So, in honour of all our New Zealand friends, the Snack of the Week is the beautiful kiwifruit.

What Benefits do Kiwifruit offer?

First and foremost, a medium size kiwi provides approximately 46 calories so they make a good low calorie, nutritionally dense snack.
Kiwifruit have a low glycaemic index which means they are low in sugar. This makes them a good fruit for diabetics and those wishing to avoid high insulin sugar spikes.
Kiwis help fight Heart Disease – research has shown that eating 2-3 kiwifruit a day helps to reduce blood clotting by 18% and triglycerides by 15%. Kiwifruit therefore have the same anti-clotting benefits as aspirin without the side affects and added nutritional benefits.
Kiwifruit are an excellent source of Vitamin E which helps protect the skin from degeneration = younger looking skin!
Kiwifruit help protect the eyes from macular degeneration and other problems as they contain high levels of lutein and zeaxanthin. These are naturally occurring chemicals within the eye, so eating kiwis gives your eyes a nutritional boost.
Kiwis are high in Vitamin C which boosts your immunity.
They contain a good range of antioxidants that can protect cell DNA from oxidative damage. This may help prevent cancer.
Kiwis manage blood pressure due to their high levels of potassium.
Raw kiwi contains actinidain, an important enzyme that dissolves protein and therefore helps in digestion.

Your challenge this week is to see if you can get the kids to eat these little GREEN beauties. Pop them in an egg cup and let them scoop out the goodness with a spoon.

AND YES, you can eat the fuzzy skin, although I prefer them without and I’m sure the kids will too.

Have a wonderful Waitangi Day, and when you’re eating your Kiwi you can image you are sat by this beautiful spot in New Zealand.