Oranges, mandarins and clementines begin to ripen in October and can be harvested until May. It is true that now, thanks to cold storage, we have oranges all year round but their "moment" is winter, when they reach their optimum state of ripeness and are sweeter and tastier.
And an orange juice at breakfast helps us to start the day well, gives us energy, prevents colds and strengthens our defenses, or not?
Well, it does and it doesn’t
Vitamin C is important for maintaining the immune system, but vitamin C supplements do not prevent or cure colds.
Citrus fruits are known for their richness in vitamin C, but they are not the richest foods in this vitamin. Broccoli has twice as much vitamin C as an orange and peppers triple. Parsley has 4 times more, but you would have to eat a good bunch to match an orange.
If you are rather traditional and would not eat a sprig broccoli for breakfast, the option of an orange juice seems ideal, but it is not.
The whole orange, (peeled, it is understood), is much better. Orange juice, even natural, freshly squeezed at home, is considered juice. And the juice is a source of free sugar. The same sugar that the WHO recommends we reduce in a healthy diet.
But of course, eating whole fruit sometimes is not easy. Therefore, we can use a little imagination and try to create figures with the whole fruit that motivates children to eat it. On the web there are numerous ideas such as a mandarin train, little donkeys or booklets. What do you choose? Orange or mandarin?