We have apples, oranges, pears, plums, peaches, watermelon, cantaloupe, honey dew, blue berries, strawberries and bananas and an assortment of fruits. But have you ever hear of Dragon Fruit? Its not a fruit for dragons and don't get intimidated by the name. As a matter of fact its a very healthy fruit. You may see it in Wegman's when in season. No other place other than Asian supermarkets may have it, but since its not very popular to the general population, it may just lie on the shelves, and die.
But like everything else, eventually, it will become popular and everyone will want one. Here's some info on the product:
19 Amazing Benefits of Dragon Fruit
 Dragon fruit has a number of health benefits including its ability to aid in weight loss, control diabetes, improve digestion, lower cholesterol, strengthen the immune system, and boost energy levels. It also helps prevent cancer and heart diseases, defend against bacteria and fungi, and helps in the overall functioning of the body.
What is Dragon Fruit?
Dragon fruit is an exotic and delicious fruit, which is also considered a tropical superfood because of its wealth of benefits. It is known as “pitaya or pitahaya” which comes from the genus Stenocereus and Hylocereus respectively. It has its origins in Mexico, South America, and Central America, but New World settlers probably brought it to Southeast Asian nations like Cambodia, Thailand, Taiwan, Vietnam, and the Philippines, where it remains an important part of the dietary fruit intake. Now, not just the fruit but also nutrient-rich pitayaha powder is available worldwide.
Dragon Fruit Taste
The taste of a fresh dragon fruit is somewhat bland. It is usually mildly sweet and has a subtle taste. However, some varieties, like the red one, have a tangy flavor profile.
Dragon Fruit Varieties
There are three types of dragon fruits, namely, red skin with red flesh, red skin with white flesh, and yellow skin with white flesh. There are both sweet and sour dragon fruits, depending on the species, shape, and size. In terms of the most common form of dragon fruit, it is slightly smaller than a cantaloupe, reddish pink in color, and covered in broad spiky growths.
When you open it, the texture is like a kiwi, and the meat is filled with small black seeds that help improve digestion. The meat of the fruit is used to make wine and can be strained into other beverages, while the leaves of dragon fruit can be steeped for a very healthy form of tea. The rough outer skin has little nutritional value and is rarely eaten.
Dragon Fruit Nutrition
Dragon fruit is a healthy fruit, which is low in calories and rich in antioxidants and can be added to any weight loss diet. According to the USDA National Nutrient Database, the fruit is rich in protein, fiber, lycopene, and carbohydrates. It contains carotene, vitamin C, vitamin B, Thiamine (vitamin B1), and ribo fllavin. The mineral wealth of this fruit includes calcium, phosherous, iron, and sodium.
Dragon fruit is believed to contain phytonutrients that prevent various diseases. Also, there are polyunsaturated fatty acids like omega 3 and omega 6 fatty acids in the seeds of these fruits.
Health Benefits of Dragon Fruit
The health benefits of the dragon fruit are mainly attributed to its antioxidant, antibacterial, and nutritional properties. The benefits include boosted immunity, faster metabolism, and a smoother digestive process. Let us now look at the benefits in detail.
Boosts Immunity
The high level of vitamin C found in dragon fruit helps boost immunity and it stimulates the activity of other antioxidants in the body as well. According to a research study, the flesh and the peel of the white and red pitayas have high polyphenol and flavonoid content which helps eliminate free radicals. This has been directly linked to preventing the proliferation of cancer cells. Also, these antioxidants work their way in increasing the platelet count, thus treat dengue and helping you recover fast.
Controls Diabetes
Regular consumption of dragon fruit is linked to a reduction in blood sugar levels, which is beneficial for type 2 diabetics and prediabetics. In a 2017 study, it was found that pre diabetics showed a noticeable reduction in blood sugar levels as compared to people who had not eaten dragon fruit. Furthermore, prediabetics with higher consumption of dragon fruit showed greater blood glucose reduction.
Prevents Anemia
Iron, present in dragon fruits, is great for boosting the hemoglobin levels in anemic individuals. It also aids in the production of red blood cells (RBCs), which then helps in the proper oxygenation of vital organs.
Detoxifies the Body
Antioxidant-rich dragon fruits help in detoxification by flushing out the waste metals and toxins from the body. This, in turn, aids in weight loss.
 
Rich in Vitamins
Dragon fruit is also packed with many vitamins like vitamin C and the B vitamin group. The B1, B2, and B3 vitamins improve everything from blood pressure, skin health, and cholesterol levels to thyroid function, fluctuating hemoglobin levels, and carbohydrate metabolism.
Chef Woo can says try it! www.chefwoocan.com
 

I mentioned yesterday when I was blogging about my Diet blog that one of the factors that an individual should consider is the following factor:
COMMON SENSE
Not to dive in with sophisticated fancy words, COMMON SENSE is in itself self explanatory.
1. If your drinking soda whether its regular or even diet, STOP, If you can't go complete cold turkey then wean yourself slowly.
The sugar and other artificial flavoring will kill you.  Plain and simple, sugar will do more harm to your body.
Water is the best alternative, but if your body is craving a sweet drink, try the new sparkling drinks with 0 calories, no sugar or sugar substitutes.  A safe way of telling you its ok, if you can understand the ingredients, its ok. No corn based products like Fructose.
 3 Square meals a day. breakfast is the most important. Have an egg, (protein) and a starch. Lunch, lite meal, portion control the meal; you don't need to eat everything! Restaurants overload your plates to make it look great and give you the sense of good value, so you'll come back.
See your doctor, he will tell you or guide you in the right direction. If as you get older, diabetes is a problem, you need to adjust your diet. At first its hard but you'll overcome.
The view of I'm only on this earth for a short period of time, is great if your alone, but many of us have families, don't be selfish.
My family has been eating this way forever. Ok, but with so much data available, there is no reason for you to not adjust to a healthier way.
Chips, snacks, ice cream etc.... all the goodies we munch between meals. Moderation is ok, but try staying away. Yep, I'm guilty of snacking, my nerves, anxiety, we can't help it but we can help it if we really want to.
Prepackages food boxes. Easy substitute to cooking at home. Just pop in microwave and its done. Not exactly the healthiest ingredients used, and the chemicals, salts, sugars and oils and afterwards, you still feel hungry? Waste of money. Manage your time!
If you eat an excessive amount of carbohydrates all day, then you need to burn off the excess calories at the gym or take log walks, bicycle ride, just work out.
Sweating from working out is a natural way our body cools itself, so hydrate constantly. Dehydration is dangerous.

QAs you can see, look at what your eating, you probably can keep on eating your favorite foods, just cut down and moderation. The heavy gravies or the heavy alfredo sauces over pasta, you may want to rethink those items.
Get at least 8 hours of sleep, stop eating after 8 PM and you may not need to drink coffee. which dehydrates you. Although considered a pick me up with Caffeine, try it.
I personally have worked out at the gym, feel more energetic than sluggish. I haven't changed my desire for my favorite dishes, maybe I have them once in awhile or may change a sauce with less sodium and sugar but I have control. I rather have control then the food companies having control over what I eat by their preparation. I don't has as big of appetite since working out and swimming.
The view I'll just go on a all meat diet or join a diet club and purchase their food, is really not doing yourself justice. Whenever I can, I always make a fresh cooked meal, however long it takes for my family. Quality food goes in and they appreciate the flavor. Don't need the heavy dressings or gravies, sauces, laden with sugar and salt. Take the test, try reading the ingredients? if you can't read them, then its bad for you.
If one thing that the Millennial generation did was force companies to be transparent and offer natural solutions. Have you looked at the hot dogs these day? No nitrite or nitrates, amazing. Thank you Millennial generation. I've seen a significant difference. Today, when I buy chicken breast, I actually get 8 breast versus 3 humongous breasts due to all those antibiotics and hormone injections.   
 by Chef Woo Can, www.chefwoocan.com

Everyone of us purchase food from our local supermarket, during school lunch, beverages and snacks from vending machines, fast food,  drive in food on the run, packing lunches for our kids and bottled water. Anything happen to do with food preparation uses non biodegradeable material PLASTIC.
The result here our oceans, rivers and lakes, parks neighborhood is be flooded with plastic. The ocean will have more plastic waste than all the fish, lobsters, crabs, clams, whales, dolphins, sharks squid shrimp, otters...….etc Plastic has been found however microscopic, are in all living things.
Birds ingest plastic so much, the sea gulls that when plastic is ingested, they feel full but the truth is nothing is being digested nor is any nutrition and they die of starvation.
Yes, states and local governments are taking action. Banning straws, its a small first step and some municipalities are banning plastic bags and we see an increase in the purchase of reuseable bags.
There are many organizations that are stepping up the challenge of doing their very best to rid of the plastic that we share with our wildlife but the more they act, we have to try our best by recycling, Purchase items that can be recycled. It takes effort and we should always remind those people that organizations are doing the best, so we need to do our best to minimize what we buy.   
By Chef Woo Can
​www.chefwoocan.com

When I hear someone is going on a diet, basically they want to lose weight by reading a diet book authored by and individual that may not have the right qualifications to suggest that their way is the best way to lose weight in a very short period of time.
I'm amazed that as individuals we seek out people that claim they have the magic formula to lose 10 pounds in a week. That's all we need to know and we buy the diet book. How desperate can we be! Ok, let me give you my view and I hope you enjoy it.
The following factors contribute to gaining and losing weight: Family Genes, our life style, work ethic, laziness and exhaustion go hand in hand, being barraged by multimillion dollar marketing firms by multimillion dollar companies to persuade you that they product is the best tasting and lack of will power and stress.
Following these diet books disregard or even consider these factors. The books take you out of your comfort zone. You spend monies on prepackaged food, buy ingredients that taste terrible or you have to go out of your way to purchase really healthy organic ingredients. Items "Organic" cost more, any healthier?
Drastic changes to your diet does irreversible damage to your body. It sends shock waves to all your organs and just when they are used to the diet routine, you fall back to your regular routine and gain back the weight.
The word that should be emphasize is "USE COMMON SENSE"   
My 1 paragraph Diet book is
-USE COMMON SENSE (Think about what your eating)
-SEE YOUR DOCTOR
-MODERATION
-CALORIES for men and woman
-EXERCISE; gradual not painstaking
Any questions, just ask. 
By Chef Woo Can
​www.chefwoocan.com