By Taylor Sutton, MS, RD
United Supermarkets’ Lifestyle Desk
On July 22, we get to celebrate National Mango Day. But, get ready because we are celebrating all month long! Mango is a fun tropical fruit that can be found year round since it is grown in tropical climates that aren’t hit with a variety of seasons.
With that in mind, even if your produce mango wasn’t harvested in “peak” season they can always be found in season within the canned and frozen aisles. This is because, these options are picked at seasonal perfection and transported to a factory, most of the time less than 10 miles away from their field and then taken through a process to preserve their goodness making sure that the quality of flavor is always there.
So first, let’s get down to business with some of the nutrition goodness this fruit brings to the table.
A serving of mango is about 3/4 cup and is packed with 70 calories, 19 grams of carbohydrate, and contains 7% of your recommended daily fiber intake. It provides 50% of your daily dose of vitamin C, 8% Vitamin A and B6. While there are 20 different vitamins and minerals that are found in mangos, it also touts being a good source of folate and copper.
You can see here that there is no shortage of nutrients that can be used for a variety of lifestyles. For example with ¾ cup serving, it’s a little over one carbohydrate exchange if you are counting for diabetes and if you pair it with a fat or protein it will help level off the blood sugar spike for more prolonged energy. It would also make a great snack for a pregnant female being a good source of folate which helps in preventing neural tube defects. It already comes in the majority of prenatal vitamins but including nutrient rich whole food sources is never a bad idea.
We love to enjoy it mixed in a fresh smoothie or margarita, using the pit for baby-led weaning, whipping up a sorbet or pureed into a sauce. Mango has so many versatile uses from sweet to savory and can be used as well in a numerous amount of worldly cuisines. Some of our other favorite ways to incorporate magno are in a mango salsa, dipped in tajin, chutney, mousse, and on skewers with chicken and jerk seasoning. Want a little more worldly inspiration? Check out the recipe below.
Thai Chicken Salad In A Jar
Ingredients
1/8 cup Shredded carrots
1/8 cup Edamame
1/8 cup Lettuce
1 Tbsp. walnuts
1/8 cup mango
1/8 cup Red pepper, diced
1/8 cup 1 minute quinoa and brown rice
2 oz Chicken, shredded
2 Tbsp. Peanut Dressing of choice
For garnish: cilantro
For garnish: green onion
Directions
Chop lettuce, walnuts.
Dice mango, red pepper.
Cook quinoa according to package directions.
Place peanut dressing on bottom of jar.
Layer ingredients in the following order: red bell pepper, edamame, shredded carrots, chicken, purple cabbage, quinoa, lettuce, mango, green onion, cashews, cilantro.
When you’re ready to serve turn the jar upside down to allow the dressing to flood the ingredients if you want to eat the salad in a jar. Or pour into a bowl and enjoy!
