March Madness brings out the best of the best teams to compete in head-to-head matchups on the basketball court!  In honor of the march mayhem, Skinny Gene presents the Produce Playoffs!  Just like the big dance, anything can happen on any given day as these super foods go head-to-head!  Whatever the outcome, all of these foods are winners!

SEE RULES AND GIVEAWAYS!

DAY 1 MATCHUP: Pears versus Asparagus

(voting from March 21st – March 22 @ Midnight PST)

This is sure to be a great matchup to kickoff the Produce Playoffs!  The Aspargus team brings a lot to the table besides their obvious height advantage.  Here are the scouting reports for the two teams:

Pears

Season: Peak from summer to early January, they may have peaked too soon for to make a run in this tourney!

Star players:  Fiber and vitamin C

On the bench: Antioxidants

Offense:  The pears offense is based on their speed.  The quick chopping and dicing allow the pears to be added to so many things!  Our favorite plays are adding diced pears to cereals and oatmeal, and adding slices to fresh spinach salads.

Defense:  The defense attack is led by the Pear’s bench play of the antioxidants.  The threesome of beta-carotene, lutein, and zea-xanthin are super protective against any free radicals reducing risk of colon and other cancers.  The star player, fiber, also provides a defensive edge lowering cholesterol and keeping the bowels moving nicely.

VERSUS

Asparagus 

Season: Lucky for the Asparagus team, they are peaking at just the right time for this match up, February through June!

Star players: Fiber, antioxidants, folic acid and B-vitamins

On the bench: Vitamin foursome – A, C, E, K

Offense: Aspargus is extremely versatile.  On the fast break they can be sautéed with olive oil, garlic, and pepper…a sure slam dunk!

Defense: A great matchup for the pears with fiber, keeping blood sugars stable, lowering cholesterol, and keeping the bowels moving.  Additional defense from the antioxidants and vitamins reducing risk of cancer and reduces inflammation!

THE WINNER

This was an awesome matchup. Both teams played hard, but there could only be 1 winner. And  it was…. CLICK TO SEE THE ANSWER!

HOW TO PLAY

Each week some of our favorite performing produce will go head-to-head. We will give you the scouting reports  for each produce team, including their offensive/defensive lineups. Using the information provided, simply guess which produce in each head-to-head matchup will prevail.  Just know that some produce are prone to pull an upset!   

To make your selection, simply cast your vote using the poll at the bottom of each matchup. Then, tell us who you voted for in the blog comments below.   For each matchup, you can only cast 1 vote, and once the winner is announced the voting for that matchup will be closed. Don’t worry if you miss one, there will be up to 4  matchups each week during March Madness and plenty of chances to earn points and prizes.

POINTS AND PRIZES

– For each head-to-head you guess correctly, you will get one (1) point.

– For each head-to- head, leave us a comment below telling us why you think your chosen produce will take the    prize, and you’ll earn two (2) additional points. {Keep it clean folks, or it won’t count.}

-If your comment is sooo good that we feature it on our Skinny Gene Facebook page, we will give you three (3) more points.

 But, the easiest way to win a prize is to GET SOCIAL!!  Here’s the deal… if your friend wins a prize, so will you.

At the end of the March Madness Produce Playoffs tournament, we will count up all the points. Each point counts as 1 entry in our prize drawing(s).

The more participants we have in our Produce Playoffs, the more prizes we will  give away!  So recruit your friends to play against you in the 2013 Skinny Gene Produce Playoffs.

So far,  UP FOR GRABS are….two (2) $25 Visa Gift Cards – 1 for the winner of the random drawing, 1 for the person who recruited them to the tournament.

Each entry counts as one chance to win.  US Only!  Winner will be announced April 9th. Winner will be chosen AT RANDOM by random.org.

READY TO PLAY!!!

(Click on the links below to pick your produce in the head-to-head matchups or to see the results)

DAY 1 : PEARS vs, ASPARAGUS  – voting is closed. Winner…ASPARAGUS!! See how they pulled it off!

 For a fresh crunch!

•  Snack on cucumber and celery, both of these have <20 calories per serving (1/2 cucumber or 2 stalks of celery) and are full of fiber and water.  Both celery and cucumbers have been found to help lower your blood pressure.

 For a sweet treat!

• Try fruit for dessert or snacks!  Some delicious green fruits include melons, apples, grapes, and pears.   These fruits have ~1/3 the calories of the average dessert! 
• Add lime to foods for an extra sweet twist.  Limes are a great way to season foods without adding extra calories from fat. 

 It’s green on the inside!

• Kiwifruits are super sweet treats that are green on the inside!  Kiwi provides a great source of Vitamin C (95% of the daily value), the antioxidant that protects our body from cell damage, inflammation and cancer.  Kiwi also provides a good source of fiber useful in lowering cholesterol and keeping blood sugars under control.   Simply cut the kiwi in half and spoon out the insides. Be sure to eat the seeds for the extra fiber!
• Avocados are another green on the inside food that provides amazing nutrition benefits, including lowering your risk of cancer and promoting a healthy heart.  Add a slice of avocado to salads, soups, or sandwiches to enjoy these health benefits.

Super foods are a must!

• Broccoli and Spinach are great sources of iron, which help carry oxygen through your body to give you energy and calcium, essential for strengthening and protecting your bones!  Both are great sources of fiber containing ~4-5 grams fiber per cup, which is an excellent way to satisfy your appetite on less than 50 calories!  These two foods are super foods because they provide additional amazing health benefits with consumption, for example prevention of cancer, removal of toxins from our body, repair sun damaged skin, protect our heart from inflammation that may cause a heart attack or stroke, and enhance the immune system. 

By Emily Barr, MS, RD, CNSC