Tuesday, April 18, 2017

P is for PAPAYA #AtoZChallenge Food For Thought

FOOD FOR THOUGHT
My daily #AtoZ posts combine two concepts in under-300-words per day:
an appealing food choice along with thoughts that spring to mind.
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Most people have enjoyed a glass of papaya juice or eaten the fruit, spooning the flesh from the seeded half shell for a juicy and very healthy breakfast. If you live in the islands, you may even have helped yourself to fresh papayas straight from the tree, or found a gifted bag of them on your doorstep.



The black seeds can be dried and used to spice up soups or anything that you normally season with pepper. Though milder in flavor, they still lend an interesting taste to foods.


One thing you may not have done with a papaya, however, is use the emptied shell - the outer skin - to give yourself a facial. I learned this "beauty" tip many years ago. A friend told me that her mother ate half a papaya each morning, then washed her face by rubbing the inner part of the shell over her skin. When I saw how young and wrinkle-free the woman's face looked, I gave it a try.  My face felt refreshed and clean, although I can't say it helped me look much younger. I should have been more faithful. Unfortunately, I didn't continue the practice. And it shows!

Do you suppose the younger look comes from washing with papaya or from eating it?

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8 comments:

  1. I sometimes do the papaya facial but forget to wash it off, and then it dries, and my skin looks orange! Found out the seeds are anti-parasitic. So good to eat them, like in papaya seed dressing. Maui Jungalow

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    1. That's too funny that you would forget to wash off the papaya facial, Courtney. You must have gotten lots of compliments about smelling good!

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  2. Papaya is also good to settle your stomach. They sell papaya pills at vitamin stores, and I chew a few when my stomach is broadcasting storm warnings. Really works well!

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    1. Thanks for the tip, John. I never heard that before and it will come in handy for me.

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  3. I think I've only ever eaten papaya on my honeymoon, in Hawaii. There are fond memories.

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    1. Nice to hear papaya brings back fond memories, Jacqui. Normally, I would expect to hear pineapple and Hawaii together so it is also a "refreshing" change.

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  4. I loved eating and drinking papaya when I visited Hawaii--my daughters weren't so smitten, though. It doesn't taste the same here in Chicago, although I still eat it sometimes--next time I'll try the beauty treatment--sounds like fun.

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  5. Maybe your daughters would have enjoyed the POG more - passionfruit (lilikoi), orange, guava juice. Papaya juice has a sort of earthy taste, a thicker texture than orange juice so a bit different.

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