Cold Fighting Citrus Ice Cubes

Add these Cold-Fighting Citrus Ice Cubes to water, tea and smoothies as a great way to get extra Vitamin C.  Oranges and grapefruit are potent vitamin C rich foods.  What is vitamin C good for? There’s a lot of health benefits of vitamin C such as strengthening immunity, fighting infection, bones, teeth, gums, and much more.

Keep your immune system at its peak during cold and flu season by adding these Cold Fighting Citrus Ice Cubes to water, tea or smoothies.  These fruit flavored ice cubes are loaded with vitamin C and antioxidants and make a delicious immunity boosting drink.

Health Benefits of Oranges

Consuming citrus regularly gives a good boost to your immune system.  Citrus is a rich source of vitamin C, which has antioxidant properties that help to protect cells from bacteria and viruses.  It also contains Beta-carotene, Lycopene and Flavanones. 

Here are just a few benefits of oranges:

• Beta-carotene is a potent antioxidant and is converted to vitamin A in our bodies.  It plays a role in eye health and may help to lower the risk of macular degeneration, heart disease and stroke. 
• Lycopene is a carotenoid, which is responsible for giving many fruits and vegetables their vibrant color.  It’s abundant in tomatoes, watermelons, papayas and pink grapefruit. 
• Flavanones have anti-inflammatory properties and may help to reduce blood pressure and cholesterol levels.

Orange Vitamin C 

How much vitamin C in an orange you may wonder. (1)

One medium sized orange provides approximately 70 mg of vitamin C and 3/4 cup of fresh squeezed orange juice provides approximately 93 mg. 

Grapefruit Vitamin C 

One half of a medium sized grapefruit provides approximately 39 mg of vitamin C and 3/4 cup of fresh squeezed grapefruit juice provides approximately 70 mg.

How Much Vitamin C Should I Take

The recommended daily value is just 75 mg for adult women and 90 mg for adult men. (2)

Health Benefits of Vitamin C

What is vitamin C good for? There’s a lot of health benefits of vitamin C and our bodies need it for a number of reasons.

• Helps produce collagen, L-carnitine and some neurotransmitters (collagen is vital for tendons, ligaments, skin, cartilage, bones, blood vessels, the cornea, etc.)
• Acts as a powerful antioxidant helping to remove reactive oxidative species from the body
• Rich with antioxidants that can boost the immune system and help fight infection
• Helps the body absorb iron
• Promotes wound healing
• Cardiovascular health (helps widen blood vessels, improves nitric oxide production and may help reduce plaque in atherosclerosis – which may help protect against high blood pressure and heart disease)

Vitamin C Rich Foods

What is vitamin C? It’s a water-soluble vitamin that’s found in fruits and vegetables. It’s also a powerful antioxidant and is important for collagen synthesis, bones, teeth and connective tissue. (3)  Our bodies can’t produce vitamin C on its own and it can’t store it. So it’s important to add vitamin C rich foods to our daily wellness plan. (4)

• Berries (blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, blackberries)
• Black Currants 
• Citrus (lemons, limes, oranges, grapefruits)
• Cruciferous Vegetables (broccoli, Brussels sprouts and cauliflower)
• Leafy Greens (kale, lettuce, etc)
• Melon (watermelon, honeydew, cantaloupe)
• Peppers (red pepper, bell pepper, etc)
• Stone Fruits (cherries, plums, peaches, nectarines)
• Tomatoes
• Tropical Fruits (pineapple, mango, kiwi, guava and papaya)

Grapefruit and Medication

As you may be aware, consuming grapefruit may lead to certain medication interactions because grapefruit contains substances that inhibit certain enzymes in your body to metabolize certain meds.  Which means your body may not be able to break down these meds causing adverse effects. Immunosuppressants, calcium channel blockers and statins are the most common meds that may be affected by consuming grapefruit.  If you should avoid grapefruit, then just switch it out of this recipe and go with pure orange juice (do a blend of navel and blood orange) or you can add some lemon or lime juice instead.

Recipes With Vitamin C Rich Foods

• Crunchy Detox Salad
• Beet Kale Quinoa Salad
• Fruit Cups
• Broccoli Salad
• Packable Fresh Fruit Salad
• Summer Melon Salad
• Summer Berry Salad
• Mexican Gazpacho Fruit Salad
• Spinach Berry Antioxidant Salad

Looking for More Antioxidant Rich Flavored Ice Cubes

• Mango Nectar Juice Cubes
• Smoothie Cubes
• Immune Boosting Whole Lemon Ice Cubes
• Immune Boosting Flavored Ice Cubes
• Summer Peach Ice Cubes
• Hydrating Lemon Cucumber Ice Cubes

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Yield: 12 ice cubes

Cold Fighting Citrus Ice Cubes

Prep Time 5 minutes

Additional Time 8 hours

Total Time 8 hours 5 minutes

Add these Cold-Fighting Citrus Ice Cubes to water, tea and smoothies as a great way to get extra Vitamin C.  Oranges and grapefruit are potent vitamin C rich foods.  What is vitamin C good for? There's a lot of health benefits of vitamin C such as strengthening immunity, fighting infection, bones, teeth, gums, and much more.

Ingredients

• 1 cup fresh squeezed orange juice
• 1 cup fresh squeezed grapefruit juice
• 1 ice cube tray

Instructions

1. Mix juice together and evenly distribute the juice in the ice cube tray and freeze for 8 hours or until frozen solid.
2. For layered cubes, evenly distribute the orange juice in the ice cube tray and freeze for 3-4 hours, then pour the grapefruit over the frozen orange juice and place back in the freezer until frozen solid.
3. Add to hot tea, tall glasses of water or green smoothies.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

12

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 17Total Fat: 0gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 0mgCarbohydrates: 4gFiber: 0gSugar: 2gProtein: 0g

theharvestkitchen.com attempts to provide accurate information, however, this nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. The nutritional information provided comes from online sources and calculations.