Look at what I found at the store this week!
These beauties are black mission figs and they are considered one of the healthiest foods in the world. Dried figs are available all year long, but fresh figs have an amazing color and texture with the soft edible skin and crunchy seeds. It’s really what we all loved about fig newtons when we were children. Right?
Fresh figs are grown in a number of warm climates, but the one in California are fresh from June to September. I ate my first fresh fig at a farmers market in Santa Monica, CA a number of years ago. The farmer who grew them showed my husband and I how to simply bite off the fruit from the hard stem. The mix of flavors and textures is divine!
These lovely little droplets contain a healthy dose of potassium, which helps control blood pressure. If you are looking to shed a few extra pounds by increasing your diet, figs are a sweet way to do it. Just one medium fig has nearly 6% of the daily recommended average of fiber and only 37 calories.
We often think of dairy for calcium sources, but figs also contain approximately 80mg per medium fig. So just 2 figs contains slightly more calcium than a cup of cottage cheese!
This fig and grape cleansing smoothie is by far one of my favorites because it combines the sweetness of the fig, tart grapes, with warming vanilla and cinnamon. As the temperatures are getting cooler around here, this smoothie is a true indulgence without any of the guilt. I like that 
