What Do You Know About Figs?

RIMG3864small RIMG3939small RIMG4014smallI just harvested figs from our tree, and I’m feeling very lucky!

Our climate is great for growing figs, so when our neighbors moved north, we adopted their tree.

If you’re not fortunate enough to have your own fig tree, perhaps a friend can share their crop with you. Or you can always find some at a local market, though it can be a challenge to find figs at farmer’s markets, since they don’t store well and have a very short shelf life. But however you try it, get your hands on some fresh figs!

When selecting figs, pick ones that are plump, clean, and dry, with smooth, unbroken skin. They should be soft and yield to the touch, but do not choose mushy ones.

Fresh figs are very perishable. They can be stored in plastic bags in the coldest part of the refrigerator, but they’ll only keep for 2-3 days after picking. If you’re lucky enough to have an abundance of figs, they may be dried, frozen, canned, or made into jam or preserves.

Many people are not familiar with fresh figs. Often their only exposure to this fruit is in the dried form or in baked goods like fig cookies. But figs can be eaten fresh, just as you would any other fruit, and they’re really a treat.

Use figs as another way to add variety to meals, or try them as another interesting fruit that can help you get those desired fruit and vegetable servings each day. Just 3-5 dried figs (about ¼ cup) or ½ cup of fresh figs count as one fruit serving.

More Figs!Now let’s talk nutrition. Figs are known for their high fiber content. They also contain more calcium, more potassium, and more iron than many other common fruits. They’re also full of disease-fighting antioxidants.

Fresh figs are very low in calories. About 3.5 ounces (~100 grams) or nine small figs contain only 74 calories, along with three grams of dietary fiber. On the other hand, dried figs have concentrated sugars and nutrition. 12 dried figs (the same 100 grams) contain 251 calories and 10 grams of dietary fiber. Use some caution with these dried fruits — it’s really easy to eat too many in one sitting.

So, what can you do with fresh figs?

In addition to fig cookies, figs can be used as appetizers, salads, main dishes, and desserts. Cut them in half and put them in a salad or grill them with chicken or fish. You can also mix them with feta cheese and balsamic vinegar for a show-stopping appetizer. I personally, like them chopped and mixed with vanilla Greek yogurt.

How will you enjoy fresh figs?

By Cheryle Jones Syracuse, MS, Professor Emeritus at The Ohio State University

Want to offer your clients a fun way to cook with figs? Get this free recipe handout today!

Fig Recipe Handout

And there are lots more cooking and nutrition resources in the Nutrition Education Store! Which will make your life easier?

Healthy Kitchen Poster Set

PowerPoint — Nutrition: Get the Facts

Introduction to Cooking Cookbook

Confused About Calcium?

_FHC0790sEarlier this week the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force released new recommendations regarding calcium supplements.  They are recommending AGAINST daily supplementation with 400 IU or less of vitamin D3 and 1,000 mg of calcium carbonate for healthy older women, stating that it doesn’t work to prevent bone fractures in post-menopausal women.  However, they say that the data is insignificant to make recommendations for larger doses of these supplements or for younger women or men. See the statement here:
http://www.uspreventiveservicestaskforce.org/bulletins/vitdbulletin.pdf

The National Osteoporosis Foundation responded by encouraging all individuals to get the recommended amounts of calcium and vitamin D to protect their bone health.  They especially urged people not to stop taking supplements they are currently taking without checking with their health care provider first.   http://www.nof.org/news/903

After reading these documents I understand why consumers and educators alike are confused about this issue. There is an excellent article on diet and osteoporosis here in our CPE library and it is very clear that osteoporosis prevention is more about a healthful diet than supplements. The author of that article, Dr. James J Kenney, PhD, FACN, agrees with the US Preventive Services Task Force, “I’ve long believed that calcium supplements and low doses of vitamin D are largely useless so I have no real problem with that recommendation change.”

One thing both groups did agree upon is that the best place to get the calcium needed for good bone health is from food. That’s all well-and-good if you like dairy products since they are the best food sources of calcium. But not everyone likes milk or can drink it. If you’re not a milk person, there are other food sources of this important mineral. Some may surprise you.

Take a look at what I found:

  • Some green vegetables naturally have calcium. One cup of broccoli contains about 75 milligrams of calcium. Other vegetables sources are collards and turnip greens. There are 226 mg. of calcium in a cup of cooked collards and 197 mg. in a similar amount of cooked turnip greens.
  • For the record, an eight-ounce glass of 2% milk has about 297 mg. of calcium. So you’d have to eat about four cups of broccoli or a cup and one-half of greens to get the same amount of calcium as in a glass of milk.
  • A quick note here. You may be thinking about spinach. It’s a green leafy vegetable; does it have calcium, too? No, sorry. Spinach, rhubarb stalks and beet greens are examples of foods that are high in a substance called oxalate. Foods with high amounts of oxalate reduce your body’s ability to absorb calcium. While spinach, rhubarb and beet greens can be part of a healthy diet for other vitamins and minerals, they are not good sources of calcium.
  • Some other sources of calcium include seeds and nuts. One ounce (about a ¼ of a cup) of almonds has 75 milligrams of calcium. The same amount of sesame and sunflower seeds has 37 mg. and 33 mg. respectively.
  • Another surprising source: figs. Ten dried figs provide 270 mg. of calcium. But use some care here, they are also loaded with sugars. Those ten figs provide about 477 calories. I checked the Nutrition Facts label on fig cookies. Yes, they do contain some calcium. Two Fig Newtons have 6% of the Daily Value of calcium. That’s about 60 mg. That’s not a great source, but it’s better than nothing and every little bit adds up.
  • There are also calcium-fortified non-dairy foods that may be helpful. These include orange juices, breakfast foods, soymilk, cereals, snacks and breads. Even some bottled water contains calcium.

It is important for children to have a healthy diet. In children, the growth of new bone exceeds bone breakdown. During this stage of life the osteoblast create new bone faster than the osteoclasts are breaking it down. Around age 30 most people attain what is called peak bone mass. By age 40 the activity of the osteoblasts starts to slow down to the point where new bone formation falls behind the breakdown of old bone by the osteoclasts. It is primarily the drop in osteoblast cell activity with age that sets the stage for osteoporosis. The result is that bone mass starts to decline in all people with increasing age.

Try smoothies for snacks and desserts. A combination of skim milk and fresh fruit is just like ice cream.

Cheryle Jones Syracuse, MS

Professor Emeritus, The Ohio State University

Here is the NutritionEducationStore.com show on Osteoporosis, updated with the new guidelines: