Organic Dried Dragon Fruits (Pitaya) by Food To Live® (Kosher)

• Certified Organic by A Bee Organic
• Certified Kosher by Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America
• Suitable for Vegetarians
• Suitable for Vegans
• Non-GMO

Where Does Dragon Fruit Come From?

Dragon fruit, also known as pitaya, is a fruit of a cactus plant that originates from the lands of Americas. There are a few varieties of it cultivated in different parts of the world today. Organic Dried Dragon Fruits from HELLOYOUNG are a product that can bring this exotic fruit to every home in the US. You can enjoy its numerous health benefits and pleasantly sweet flavor adding it to your salads or smoothies or just eating the dried fruits from the pack.

What Does Dragon Fruit Look Like?

The dragon fruit plant is something of a cross between a cactus and vine. The fruits are usually about the size of a grapefruit and have an oblong shape. They are covered with a ‘shell’ made of ‘scales’ for which they’ve gotten the interesting fantasy name. There are three main types of dragon fruit cultivated in Mexico, Central America, Australia, Cyprus, Southeast Asia, and the US.

·         Yellow dragon fruit with white pulp

·         Red dragon fruit with white pulp

·         Red dragon fruit with red pulp

The most common is red dragon fruit with white pulp, and all of the varieties have similar nutritional profiles and taste.

The pulp of the fruit is filled with small seeds that are a source of valuable nutrients and one of the main reasons why this product is great for you.

 Organic Dried Dragon Fruit: Benefits

Organic Dragon Fruits from HELLOYOUNG are grown without the use of any pesticides, nitrates, and other toxic elements. We care about the planet and only work with the farmers who use eco-friendly agricultural practices.

The fruits are processed at our organic certified facility with the use of advanced equipment. Our main goal is to provide you with delicious and nutritious healthy foods, and we use a variety of tools and techniques to achieve this. The products of HELLOYOUNGare completely free from toxic contaminants and dangerous additives.

Our Organic Dragon Fruits are made with care to ensure they retain the maximum possible amount of the original nutritional value. They keep well, especially if you store them in the fridge.

The Value of Dragon Fruit Seeds

Dragon fruits are rich in antioxidants and important nutrients, which makes them a healthy food by default. However, their seeds are very special as they are packed with omega 3 essential fatty acids. These include but aren’t limited to oleic, linoleic, stearic, and palmitoleic acids.

These elements make dried dragon fruits an extremely valuable food for a vegan diet, because the main source of omega 3 fats is fish.

This delicious fruit is definitely easier for the majority of people to work into their menu than get a few servings of salmon or tuna a few times a week. Therefore, you can turn to dried dragon fruits for omega 3 fatty acids even if you aren’t on a 100% plant diet.

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Is Dragon Fruit Healthy?

Yes, dragon fruit is healthy both fresh and dried. It contains a variety of essential nutrients, so it’s a good food choice if you want to diversify your diet.

The health benefits of dragon fruit come from antioxidants. It contains quite a few of these important compounds, especially:

• ·         Flavonoids
• ·         Hydroxycinnamates
• ·         Betalains

Each group of antioxidants benefits a different system in your body. Together, they produce an overall strengthening effect and generally improve your wellbeing.

Dragon fruit has no reported side effects or interactions. There are only two known cases of allergy to this food.

Should You Buy Dried or Fresh Dragon Fruit?

Even in the age of online shops and delivery services, not everyone can enjoy tropical fruits regularly. Unlike many of their brethren, dragon fruits can keep for a long time when fresh. This allows for long-distance transportation, so you might be able to find these fruits in a grocery store.

Unfortunately, pitaya isn’t the most popular kind of fruit. Many businesses don’t risk ordering them from suppliers for the fear of not being able to sell out the stock of this fresh produce. This means that you might need to look for quite a while before you find a place where you can buy fresh dragon fruits in your city. Ordering them online might not be cost-efficient when you take the shipment costs into account.

Dried dragon fruit, on the other hand, can be stored for months. This means that you can buy it in bulk, which is a rather economical option.

 Organic Dragon Fruits are only a few clicks away and they offer a high level of the fresh fruit’s nutrients.

It’s true that a measure of vitamins and minerals is lost during the dehydration process. Dragon fruit pulp contains a lot of water, and removing it through any method triggers many chemical reactions that break down the nutrient molecules.

However, even after dehydration, dragon fruits retain vitamin C, iron, and manganese, as they contain large amounts of them initially. This makes them a very good fruit to include in a vegan diet, as it’s often low in iron.

Vitamin C increases the body’s ability to absorb this essential mineral. This means that you can actually use almost all iron in dragon fruits, as the chemical formula of the food maximizes your body’s efficiency in processing it.

What Does Dragon Fruit Taste Like?

Despite its exotic appearance, name, and origin, dragon fruit taste is quite mild. Many people compare it to kiwis and pears, and some even call it ‘the cauliflower of fruits’.

You shouldn’t forget that the sense of taste of every person is quite unique, so it’s impossible to describe a flavor in details. You can only try some dried dragon fruit yourself and determine whether you like it or not.

The one thing you can be sure of is that pitaya’s taste isn’t overwhelming. It’s slightly sweet and can be a good choice for picky kids.

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Dried Dragon Fruit Nutrients Guide

Dragon fruit is very nutritious when it’s fresh and ripe, and it retains a lot of the vitamins and minerals after efficient dehydration. We at HELLOYOUNG use the most advanced tools available in order to reduce the loss of nutrients in our dried fruits. Therefore, our pitayas make a great addition to your daily meals.

Dried dragon fruit provides you with:

• ·         Vitamin C
• ·         B vitamins
• ·         Iron
• ·         Magnesium

This food contains only a small amount of fats and none of the ‘bad’ saturated variety. An ounce of dried dragon fruits gives you 2 grams of proteins and 3 grams of dietary fiber.

Bear in mind that pitaya is a fruit, so it contains natural sugars. The good news is that this particular food has one of the smallest amounts of sugar when compared to other tropical fruits.

Dragon Fruit Calories: Is It a Good Diet Snack?

Yes, dried dragon fruit definitely makes an excellent snack for everyone, even those concerned with weight management. It’s a fruit, so it’s rich in dietary fiber, which is essential for the healthy digestive function support.

Compared to many other fruits, especially the exotic delicacies from tropical lands, dried pitaya doesn’t have many carbs and calories. This makes it one of the best options to snack on when you need to up your energy level without compromising your waistline.

This kind of snack is also beneficial for your glucose level because it doesn’t cause sudden sugar spikes, like most sweet foods do. On the contrary, the carbs take a while to process, so your hunger will be satiated for a long time, even if you only consume a few pieces of dried dragon fruit.

In addition, including this delicious ingredient into your meals will help you enjoy a weight management diet, which can be quite bland. When the foods you can eat are actually tasty, keeping your motivation will be much easier.

Dragon Fruit Juice, Tea, and Vitamin Water

Fresh dragon fruit is often used to make beverages and you can use the dried variety for the same purpose. In order to infuse your fruit juice with the benefits of this particular species you just need to reconstitute it by soaking the dried pieces in water for a few hours. Then, mix them with other fruits or veggies in your juicer and enjoy a delicious and healthy drink.

Dried dragon fruit is also an excellent product for making your drinking water more beneficial for your health. Drop a few pieces into your bottle and in a couple of hours you’ll have dragon fruit vitamin water. You can further improve the taste and nutritional value of the drink by adding a slice of some citrus fruit.

The same principle can be applied for making dragon fruit tea. The taste of the fruit is quite mild but it complements the flavor of green tea nicely. Such a mixture produces an extraordinary antioxidant cocktail.

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How to Enjoy Dried Dragon Fruit: Recipes

Due to its mild, pleasant taste, dried dragon fruit can find many uses in your kitchen. It’s rich in nutrients, so adding it to anything will give the dish a positive boost. Unlike some dried fruits that have a rather strong and sometimes unpleasant flavor, dragon fruit can be enjoyed on its own and mix with any other ingredients as it doesn’t overpower their taste.

On the contrary, this fruit is very good in ‘absorbing’ flavors, so mixing it with spices and rich seasonings works out extremely well. Dragon fruit seeds taste mildly nutty and they add valuable omega 3 fatty acids to your dishes.

Try making some dragon fruit smoothie in order to discover the best combination of flavors that will complement this food. Start by adding some of it to your favorite smoothie recipes, both green and fruity.

The second best culinary use for dried dragon fruit is including it into your granola. It’ll make the dish more nutritious without overburdening it with a large dose of extra calories.

Put some dried dragon fruit in your morning cereal to start the day with some healthy omega 3’s or add it to your baking. You can use it in any recipe that calls for dried fruits, especially confections as low-calorie, pleasantly sweet additions benefit them most.

Sprinkling some dried dragon fruits onto your salad will also be a good idea. It can complement both vegetables and fruits and make any recipe more ‘exotic’.

You can enjoy Certified Organic Dried Dragon Fruits from HELLOYOUNG as they are. They make a great midday snack and can help you ‘refuel’ either before or after a workout. In fact, you can add the fruit into your gym drink to infuse it with extra nutrients, proteins, and flavor.

How Long Does Dried Dragon Fruit Last?

Fresh dragon fruit can be stored for up to 3 months in the coldest part of your fridge if the fruit’s integrity isn’t compromised. However, once you cut it, the pulp can go bad fast, so you should enjoy it immediately. Even frozen it can last only about 3 months.

Dried dragon fruit, on the other hand, won’t go bad for 6+ months if kept in a cool, dry environment. Like with any dried fruit, storing it in the fridge will extend shelf life for up to a year. In a freezer, dried dragon fruit can last about 2 years. It won’t go bad, but its nutritional value will diminish gradually.

You also shouldn’t forget that dragon fruit seeds contain natural oils, so they might go rancid if exposed to air and heat. Be sure to store your dried dragon fruits in their original packaging or an airtight container. Keep them away from any products with strong odors.