I actually buy both oranges and grapefruit as well as a whole range of other fruits. But looking at the costs in my local supermarket and at information available online, it seems like oranges cost 50% more than grapefruit for the same weight. This is actually quite a significant cost differential.

We all know that these fruits can be used in similar ways. They work well as fruits for juicing and can be eaten fairly easily. If you are unsure, you can find out how to peel a grapefruit to make it much less troublesome and messy. I sometimes make a grapefruit juice from two fruits. My favorite kind are Florida ruby as they are relatively sweet compared to some of the other more tart varieties.

There are a whole range of other grapefruit benefits that make it an excellent food for us to consume. It is high in fiber as well as both vitamins A and C. They are also very juicy which makes them a hydrating source of water for our bodies. Grapefruit are great at breakfast time or whenever we need something to give us a bit of refreshment.

Up till now I have been simply cutting the top and bottom off the fruit then using my hands to start ripping off the outer skin. This leaves me with a white ball which is the fruit unfortunately still surrounded by pith. Then removing this is a slow process. I can get it looking pretty good but the only issue with this method is that it takes a fairly long time to get the bits of fruit into an edible state. Then I came across an idea that was supposed to make the removal of the white pith much easier. The answer…put the grapefruit into a pot of water that has just boiled and leave it for five minutes or so [edit: 5 minutes is too long, my grapefruit fruit was warm on the outer sections even though the dead center remained cool]. Even though the grapefruit is placed into very hot water, the inside parts remain cool. [edit: when the grapefruit has been left in the hot water for a while it feels kind of spongy and soft on the outside] So I still use a peeling method, namely cut off the top then just get in amongst it with my hands and fingers. The difference though is that after sitting in the pot of hot water the white pith, also known as albedo, comes off much more easily. [edit: this way to peel a grapefruit really does work, it is amazing how easily the white pith falls away. I am going to experiment will shorter periods in the hot water to see if I can peel it easily but have the fruit remain cold.

Simple grapefruit peeling steps

• boil pot of water then turn off the heat.
• place grapefruit into the boiled water.
• leave for less than five minutes.
• remove grapefruit and cut off top section.
• use hands to peel the rest of the grapefruit.

Then you can simply sit down and enjoy a delicious healthy refreshing piece of fruit.

“Going on a diet” is just a really weird concept to me. It seems to imply that normally the dieter eats high calorie, low nutrient food but in an aim to loose some fat they “diet” for a specific period before returning to their rubbish foods. How anyone can think that this will lead to sustained weight loss let alone better health is beyond me. Fair enough, there may be some medical conditions that cause people to be obese but in the main, obese people in my opinion simply eat too much, don’t take enough exercise or a combination of both. It’s not difficult people. Using more calories than you get through the food you eat will lead to weight loss. And conversely burning less calories than you get from the food you eat means you will gain weight. There are of course valid reasons for wanting to gain weight just as there are reasons for wanting to lose weight. The most important factor in for me is to do things in a healthy fashion. Eating plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables every day is great whether you are trying to lose weight or not. And rather than “going on a diet” would it not be much better simply to improve your current diet? I will admit, I am not the most healthy person on the planet. I sometimes eat McDonalds. But if you are having McDonalds more than once a week, this is something you may want to consider cutting down. It does taste good I will admit. But it is fat and sugar laden, heavily processed and has very little nutrition that benefits our bodies. If you eat less than five servings of fruit and vegetables per day then again, this is something you may want to address. One way to do this could be by having a grapefruit breakfast. The sooner we start eating fruit and vegetables during the day, the sooner we can reach our target quantity. Bananas and apples are great to snack on and may help keep you away from chocolate. I still eat chocolate biscuits mind you. Although my rule is that I should not have “bad” foods unless I have eaten my fruit for the day. Grapefruit are an amazing food why not get some into your diet today?