Today, we are featuring a gorgeous wrinkled super fruit — the prune. Prunes are naturally sweet and a great friend to your health. Nowadays, they are also referred to as dried plums. This is the result of a big PR campaign by plum promoters who thought consumers would be more receptive to eating dry plums than prunes. In fact, in June 2000, the FDA approved the relabeling of prunes and allowed prune manufacturers to call them dried plums. It does not make much difference to us, it’s all the same. In fact, we love the name prune (it’s close to the French name “pruneaux” — so we are a bit biased). No matter how it is called, this super fruit is an excellent source of goodness in anybody’s diet. Enjoy and bon appétit!

Top 5 Reasons to Eat Prunes (Dried Plums)

Art of the Home Top 5 Reasons to Eat Prunes:

1. Digestive Health: prunes are commonly known for their benefit to the digestive system (e.g. constipation, regularity). Indeed, a serving of prunes (about 4-5 prunes) contains 3 grams of fiber which contributes to better digestive health.
2. Natural Antioxidants: prunes are loaded with natural antioxidants. In fact, the USDA has ranked prunes as a top antioxidant fruit with a high ORAC (Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity) of 5,770 per 100g (blueberries for example, often mentioned for their antioxidant virtues, has an ORAC 2,700). ORAC basically measures a food’s ability and effectiveness in fighting free radicals that can be harmful to our bodies. Free radicals are linked to disease and aging so finding a delicious food with a high ORAC is a win-win. We’ll take it!
3. Cholesterol LDL Management: prunes are rich in both soluble and non-soluble fibers. A diet rich in soluble fiber is often recommended to manage healthy cholesterol levels. For example, if you have oatmeal for breakfast, add prunes to it and you will get a breakfast even richer in soluble fiber.
4. Natural Appetite Suppressant: Prunes are a great snack and may help you reduce how much you want to eat during a meal. They are also very easy to carry for an on-the-go snack.
5. Prunes are Delicious: we like the texture of the D’Noir prunes by Sunsweet — very moist and tender. It reminds us of the pruneaux d’Agen (Agen prunes), fine prunes from the Southwest of France renown for their quality — which we enjoy very much. After opening, we keep them in the pantry (not in the fridge as suggested by Sunsweet). As long as you eat them within a few weeks, it should be fine and they stay softer and keep their moisture better that way.

 
So, if prunes are not already part of your diet, you may want to just try this for a couple of days and see how you feel. Enjoy!