Pineapple: Fruit/ Vegetable of the Month

According to the Dole Nutrition Book, pineapple is considered a fruit super food.



Pineapple is an excellent source of both vitamin C and manganese, both antioxidants. One cup of pineapple provides 131% of the daily requirement of vitamin C and 76% of the daily requirement for Manganese.

Vitamin C is a powerful, water soluble antioxidant that disarms free radicals in the watery spaces within the body. Since the average human body is composed of 70% water, water soluble antioxidants like vitamin C are important for keeping free radicals "in check". Free radicals are unstable molecules which take what they are missing from healthy cells, leaving them damaged. Antioxidants are a lot like martyrs. They give the free-radicals what they are looking for (electrons) and as a result healthy cells are protected. Free radicals exist naturally and unnaturally in the environment and are just a part of life.Eating fruits and vegetables, including pineapple will help protect your body from free radicals.

Pineapple also contains the natural enzyme bromelain. This enzyme acts like a sponge, mopping up dead cells throughout the body- resulting in an anti-inflammatory response. Studies using bromelain extract have shown that bromelain may help reduce symptoms of asthma- among several other common inflammatory responses.

Pineapples are in season, March-June but are available in US markets year round. When shopping for a pineapple, select one which is heavy for its size, smells sweet and fragrant at the bottom and has fresh green leaves. The color of the outer shell is not an indicator of ripeness. A green looking pineapple is as ripe as one golden on the outside. Pineapples do not ripen any further after they are picked- although they may get juicier they will not get any sweeter after being picked. Store your pineapple in the refrigerator if you do not plan on cutting it right away. After cutting pineapple keep in a sealed container for up to 6 days.

Kids should easily gravitate toward pineapples with their sweet, tart, tropical flavor.

• If pineapple is unfamiliar to the children, make fruit kebabs or fruit salad, mixing the pineapple with the familiar, accepted fruits.
• Blend fresh pineapple with other fruits, adding juice, milk or yogurt to create a tropical smoothie.
• Broil pineapple with a sprinkling of brown sugar or a drizzle of maple syrup. Serve alone or with vanilla yogurt or frozen yogurt.

Science/ Geography lessons:

Pineapples take a long time to mature. If you were to take the leaf clump off of a pineapple and plant it in soil, new leaves would form after a few months. That new green plant would grow for a little over one year and then a beautiful red flower would form. From this flower a pineapple grows. There is only one flower per plant and therefore only one pineapple grows from one plant. It takes nearly two years for the flower to form into a ripe pineapple for a total for 3 years for a pineapple to mature.

Pineapples are native to South America. Spanish explorers discovered this tropical fruit during their explorations, and called it a pineapple because it resembled a pineapple (which at the time was the word for what we now call "pine cones"). In Spain and most Hispanic American countries, pineapples are referred to as piña, which in Spanish also refers to pinecones.

The majority of the world's pineapples are grown in Southeast Asia (Thailand & Phillipines) and in the Americas (North- Hawaii, Central- Costa Rica, South- Brazil.)

Find these countries on a globe. What do they have in common?

In the Phillipines, fabric is made from the fibers in the pineapple leaves. Waste not, want not.

If you are a child care provider in California you can receive cash reimbursements for providing healthy food to the children in your care. If you are a child care provider in El Dorado, Alpine, Placer, Nevada or Mono county our agency can help you enroll in the California Child Care Food Program (CCFP).

Recommended amounts of fruits and vegetables varies with age.

Children ages 2-3 need   1- 1.5 cups of fruits and 1- 1.5 cups of vegetables each day.

Children ages 4-8 need   1-2     cups of fruits and 1.5-2.5 cups of vegetables each day. 

Children ages 9-13 need 1.5-2  cups of fruits and 1.5-3.5 cups of vegetables each day.

Teens ages   14-18 need   1.5 -2.5 cups of fruits and 2.5-4 cups of vegetables each day.

Keep in mind that fruits and vegetables are rich in essential vitamins and minerals needed for optimum growth and development. Check out  CDC's fruit and vegetable calculator for an more accurate recommendation based upon age, sex, and activity levels.

Remember your plate.......