We weren’t always friends… in fact, I hated pineapple all my childhood and it was very hard for me to accept it in my house, in my kitchen and then, on my plate… disgusting. Let me tell you a little story, just for fun, about a little girl and about a fruit with weird haircut.

When I was about 6, 7 years old I was (of course) in love with Santa Claus and especially with the gifts that he always brought to me on Christmas day.  I was waiting for Santa each year with hope, joy and curiosity, like every other child. He never disappointed me and he came each year with all sorts of gifts for me… breadsticks were my favorite. :d  Let’s say that Santa was perfect… well, he actually annoyed me with 1 gift that he always brought to me: canned pineapple. And boy… he was generous!!! Each year I use to receive at least 4, 5 cans of pineapple. I hated canned pineapple. I didn’t like the taste, the smell and the fact that Santa wasn’t smart enough to realize that. Between me and you… I never told Santa that I hated the canned pineapple because I was afraid to hurt his feelings, after all he was old and I didn’t want him to get a heart attack… just saying :d

When I grew up a little more, I finally took the courage to write Santa a letter saying that I don’t want to receive pineapple anymore, at least not canned. Of course that for Santa was not easy to bring me fresh pineapple, because at the North Pole… there wasn’t any pineapple farm. :d From that day on…. Santa abandoned the pineapple cans and I never saw pineapple in my house until a few years ago.

Until 3,4 years ago I was pretty convinced that pineapple wasn’t my thing; my face would go green only from thinking about eating pineapple, I was disgusted. :d

One day, a friend of mine asked me and then begged me to try to eat a piece of fresh pineapple. After 1 hour of pressure I finally accepted to take a bite for the sake of my mental health… I couldn’t hear one more time: “Please, just try a little piece!” :d :d :d . WOW! I was shocked…The pineapple tasted pretty good, actually the taste was amazing. It was sweet and refreshing… what was wrong with me? I thought I hated pineapple?! How was it possible to be such a  big difference between the fresh pineapple and the canned one?

…from that day we are inseparable and we share the same house, the same kitchen and even the same plate. :d

And because I’ve made peace with the pineapple I would like to advertise it a little bit…and believe me when I say that no one is paying me to do it, I give you my word of honor  😀

Why you should eat fresh pineapple:

• Well, in the first place, fresh pineapple tastes amazing. If you choose it carefully, ripe and fresh, at the same time, you will be able to enjoy the sweet flavor of it. It seems unreal that a fruit that travels thousands of kilometers still tastes the way a fresh pineapple does. Tip: You should definitely try the one that is imported from Costa Rica
• Pineapple is full of vitamins and minerals that support our body, such as: Vitamin A, Vitamins from B complex, calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, copper, manganese (a lot), Vitamin C, and potassium. We shouldn’t become obsessed with vitamins and minerals and we should let our body to do its homework at chemistry. We just have to eat simple and clean
• If you want to strengthen your bones, cut a pineapple in small pieces and ask him nicely to help you in this matter
• Your joints are in pain? Pineapple contains bromelain, an enzyme that seems to work as an anti-inflammatory agent. Now, you have to be reasonable and expect results only if you consume at least 1/2 pineapple a day for at least a few days. Don’t try to obtain anti-inflammatory properties only by eating 1 small piece of pineapple once a week :d
• We all have digestive issues in today’s society, even when we think we don’t have. Who can help us best? Well I think pineapple could do a pretty amazing job when it comes to digestion. The fibers contained in it allows us to improve our bowel movement quite a lot
• Because of its high content in vitamin C, pineapple helps us to maintain a well balanced collagen level in our body. For this reason our skin will look nice and firm
• Do we have potassium in this fruit? Yes, of course we have. This means that by consuming it we will be able to keep our blood pressure in healthy boundaries.
• Each bite of fresh pineapple improves our immune system quite a lot. Remember that the fruit must be ripe
• Pineapple is full of antioxidants and helps our body to fight against free radicals, which are not actually our friends

Have I convinced you? 😀

I want to tell you 2 more things, namely:

1). You can recognize a ripe pineapple by its color, by its weight, by its flavor and by the easiness in which you can pull out its leafs. A ripe pineapple has a yellow or an even orange color; it weights a lot because of the juiciness and smells like heaven. If the leafs are hard to pull, this means that the pineapple is not ripe yet and you should let it to ripe a few more days

2). Pineapple will not sting us very bad if it’s ripe enough, at least this is my experience. This is so important, don’t eat unripe pineapple because your tongue will be on fire, trust me on this one :d

This is all I can say about my weird friend. :d … I suggest you should give him at least one chance and I promise you that it’s worth it. Even if you don’t like the first pineapple that you eat, try another one, maybe this time you will be lucky enough to get a ripe, sweet and amazing one. It depends so much on the country of origin… So so much!

Every fruit deserves a chance, right? 😀