Wholesome Wednesdays: Pineapple

I do not live in Hawaii. Or south America. I do like pineapples, however and when they're on sale i occasionally purchase them. Does it make it better if i serve them with locally caught wild hog and homegrown veggies? I hope so.
I have always preferred the tangy pineapples to the 'sweet gold' ones, but i'll take them either way, especially grilled or spiced (soaked in apple cider vinegar and spices).

I would assume pineapples are pretty full of sugar, but do they have nutritional boons to balance that sweetness? Let's find out.

I like to start at The World's Healthiest Foods to see what they say about an ingredient. If it's in their site, it has something good to offer. They often focus more on the actual nutrition, including minerals and complimentary foods to eat to get the most out of the ingredient- versus calorie count which focuses more on if an ingredient will make you fat or not. Pineapple gets a pretty good review, and has anti-inflammatory properties as well as enough vitamin C to make it a good immunity support.

That's a whole lotta manganese! According to WHFoods:

"manganese, which is an essential cofactor in a number of enzymes important in energy production and antioxidant defenses. For example, the key oxidative enzyme superoxide dismutase, which disarms free radicals produced within the mitochondria (the energy production factories within our cells), requires manganese. Just one cup of fresh pineapple supplies 128.0% of the DV for this very important trace mineral. In addition to manganese, pineapple is a good source of thiamin, a B vitamin that acts as a cofactor in enzymatic reactions central to energy production."

 That crazy talk supposedly means that pineapple is a great source of energy. No wonder it tastes so great after a long day of swimming in the heat. Pineapple is also good for your eye sight, so perhaps i'd better be eating even more of it, as i'm feeling some macular degeneration coming on in my impending 30s.

Calorie Count gives pineapple an A! Turns out this sweet treat isn't so bad for ya after all.

It's definitely mostly carbs and sugar with a smidge of protein, but 78 calories for a full cup of pineapple doesn't seem so bad to me. I think i'll go eat a few more chunks of pineapple right now! Oh, and it's fantastic to float a piece of pineapple in ice tea - flavors the tea just a bit and then you have a yummy snack waiting at the bottom of the glass.