When you’re looking to add new fruits to your diet consider the apricots. Although available most of the year in dried or canned variations, when summer hits fresh apricots are widely available. Apricots are a deliciously sweet fruit you can eat to make sure you’re getting enough nutrients in your diet.
These small golden fruits are slightly fuzzy on the outside like peaches and juicy when picked fresh. To find out how many calories apricots add to your diet, keep reading.
Major Nutrients Found In Apricots
The calories in apricots are exactly what you want to see when you’re counting calories. With just 17 calories per apricot, slice a few and bring them as an afternoon snack.
Apricots, thanks to their beautiful color, are full of beta-carotene to help you fight off cancer and reduce bad cholesterol levels. Apricots are also high in vitamins A and C. Thanks to the fiber in apricots, you can burn a few additional calories just by digesting apricots.
What you should appreciate most about apricot nutrition facts is that they have virtually no fat or sodium and no cholesterol so you’re getting all nutrients for just a small amount of calories.
Selecting/Storing
When choosing fresh apricots make sure the skin is soft, but not too soft. They should be golden orange in color, not pale yellow when they are at the height of freshness. You can also purchase canned or dried apricots, but you don’t know what you’re getting until you open the container.
Store apricots are room temperature when fresh or under ripe. If they begin to soften before you’re ready to eat them, store in the fruit section of your refrigerator. Store in a single layer or place in a paper bag to keep moisture from building up.
Eat It With:
Add apricots to your oatmeal or cold cereal each morning. Chop up dried or fresh apricots and add them to your pancakes or make apricot compote to top your pancakes.
{Use sweet fruits like apricots to add sugar to pancakes and biscuits.}
Make a Middle Eastern dish of chicken, vegetables and apricots for a unique dish. The sweetness of the apricots is a perfect way to accompany the spice found in many Middle Eastern dishes. Or chop a few apricots and add them to a green salad.
Burn Off The Calories In An Apricot
To burn off the calories in an apricot, you would have to do:
- 2 minutes of fencing.
- 1 minute of handball.
- 4 minutes of bird watching.
