Don’t Like Oranges? These 5 Foods Are Packed With Vitamin C
If vitamin C had a cheerleader, it would certainly be the orange. But while an orange is indeed a rich source of vitamin C, it’s by no stretch the only fruit out there to contain it. In fact, some vegetables even surpass the orange in vitamin C content! Here are five no-brainer foods you’re hopefully already eating to get your vitamin C on.
Of all the vitamins out there, vitamin C may be the one we recognize most. According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), vitamin C helps our bodies to form, grow and repair its tissues, and it’s a key antioxidant that protects us from the effects of aging over time. The recommended daily allowance for adult women is 75 mg, and for men it’s 90 mg. Considering the ample amount of vitamin C in many of our favorite whole foods, it’s easy to eat your vitamin C on a daily basis—and never even touch an orange, if you so please!
Here are five delicious foods full of vitamin C according to the USDA. Compare these each to an orange, which contains 70 mg vitamin C and 62 calories.
RED BELL PEPPER
Just a ½ cup of raw red bell peppers contains 142 mg vitamin C, and a modest 20 calories. Try our recipe for baby bell peppers stuffed with fresh goat cheese or fresh crudité with spinach feta cheese dip.
KIWI
A medium kiwi fruit contains 70 mg vitamin C and 46 calories. Put some on the grill this summer with our summer fruit kebabs, or try our kiwi vesper cocktail.
STRAWBERRIES
One cup of fresh strawberries contains a whopping 96 mg vitamin C and only 54 calories. Try our recipe for PB&J banana burritos, and use whole sliced strawberries in the mix—great for the kiddos and the adults this season.
BRUSSELS SPROUTS
Raw Brussels sprouts are a surprising source of vitamin C. One cup contains 96 mg of the vitamin and just 56 calories. We like our Brussels sprouts shredded and used in place of cabbage for fresh summer coleslaws, but if you go for the more traditional route, try our recipe for roasted Brussels sprouts with lemon.
KALE
Who can resist kale nowadays? If you needed another reason to love this leafy green, consider that just a cup cooked contains 54 mg vitamin C and only 36 calories. First, check out why we think kale is the new beef. Then check out our 5 fave ways we love to eat kale—no fancy recipes required.
Image adapted from Flickr, andreasdantz, Creative Commons 2.0
