Throw away the old idea that you have to have greens in a salad; instead, enjoy this fantastic and healthy citrus salad.

Get blood oranges if at all possible; pomelos are another good alternative, but they can often be expensive to purchase.

When picking fruits for this salad, you should stick to sweeter fruits, such as clementines, tangerines, navel oranges, and even grapefruit, in order to have a good mix of flavors.

Prepare all of your fruit; you can start by leveling off the fruit. Just chop the ends off, then stand it up for easier access. Following that, cut the peel off, leaving as little of it left on the pulp as you can, getting the pith out of the way as well.

Cut disks of fruit and make it aesthetically pleasing by coming up with a beautiful arrangement for it. Slice or chop shallots or red onions and sprinkle that over the citrus salad, along with some salt.

Top it all off with a salad dressing that will accent the wonderful flavors of the citrus fruit. Here’s my dressing recipe: citrus juice, sherry vinegar, olive oil, and a little bit of honey. Mix it all together and pour it over your salad; voila! When it comes to the citrus juice, use either lemon or lime; if you want to mix it up a bit, try sprinkling black pepper or cayenne into it.

Get that great anise flavor in by including fresh tarragon, and you’ll end up with a great way to wait out the winter in a very delicious salad.

Vitamin C is also used to keep your joints, bones and skin strong. It also helps heal wounds and helps the immune system.

So, every morning, to help your body fight off disease and stress, drink a large glass of orange, lemon or grapefruit juice.  Your body will love you for it.

The Captain crossed the Jamaican sweet orange with the Indonesian pomelo. In fact until the 1800s the fruit was called the Shaddock. The tangy fruit eventually became known as the grapefruit.

Today the grapefruit is counted among the “7 Wonders of Barbados.” For decades the grapefruit was grown mainly as an ornamental fruit. It did not find real commercial success until the creation of the Ruby Red variety in the 1920s.

For mysterious reasons, the pink grapefruit became a popular food in a way the original white grapefruit did not. Today the red grapefruit is one of the state symbols of Texas where the originally Ruby Red was first created. The United States is the number one producer of the grapefruit with production concentrated in Texas, California, Florida and Arizona.

Grapefruit trees thrive in a subtropical climate. Temperatures and humidity levels affect flowering periods; peel thickness and even levels of acidity and juiciness. If you plan to plant a grapefruit tree, ensure that you are in an area where grapefruit trees can thrive, otherwise opt for a potted variety.

Like all citrus trees grapefruit trees need nutrient rich soil and should be fertilized often with potassium and nitrogen rich mixtures if you want them to bear fruit. They need plenty of sunshine, deep watering at least once a week and well draining soil to prevent root rot.

One of the easiest and most natural ways to accomplish this is to eat well and supplement our daily diet with immune boosting products like grapefruit extract. This healthy herbal remedy is produced by grinding the pulp and seeds of grapefruit into a usable form for ingesting either as a liquid or capsule. Grapefruit extract is very bitter and is not meant to be used as a beverage.

Most of the diseases our body encounters are caused by a poor PH environment that allows bacteria and viruses to take hold and flourish. If we can create a more alkaline environment inside our system, we can have a head start on keeping these nasty bugs under control. Grapefruit seed extract helps to maintain this chemical balance and create a healthy immune system.

In addition to this ph balancing, grapefruit extract has many additional benefits. If you have been considering starting a grapefruit extract regimen, here is a list of its 5 most common health benefits.

1. It is very high in antioxidants which can help control the free radicals that are indicated in many types of cancer.

2. It can be very helpful in the treatment of acne and scars.

3. Due to its alkaline boosting properties, it can be very beneficial in the treatment of yeast infections as well as other fungal infections such as thrush and athletes foot.

4. The fantastic immune boosting properties make it a great help in increases one’s ability to fight off the common cold and seasonal flu.

5. The pH balancing properties make it an excellent choice for treating digestive upsets such as nausea, diarrhea and indigestion.

Very small amounts of grapefruit extract taken daily can provide long lasting health benefits. Another positive thing that should be mentioned is that there are no known side effects.

It is available at most health food stores and often in the natural herbal supplement section of your pharmacy.

If you plan to harvest your fresh fruit, not for the kitchen but citrus fruit baskets then here are a few ideas which you may want to consider:

Use a unique container:

When arranging your citrus fruit baskets consider using something other than an ordinary wicker or woven basket. Instead pile your fruit into a container which can be used again. For example, try making an arrangement using a glass bowl which can then be used after as an everyday fruit bowl. Or try to arrange your citrus fruit into a glass pitcher, to be used to prepare and serve fresh lemonade!

Include some fruity essentials!

When gathering all of the gifts to include in your citrus fruit baskets try adding a few kitchen tools and essentials into the mix such as a lemon zester, juicer or even a fancy peeler! Other nifty additions could include stir sticks for fruity drinks or a set of summery and festive paper napkins!

Mix it up and add some food to your fruit!

When picking your fresh harvest to give as gifts consider including some food in your citrus fruit basket. For example, if you have decided to give a collection of sweet watery oranges, maybe include some dark chocolate treats which are sure to compliment the fruit. Or if you are giving some bright, savory lemons maybe include some liquors so that your recipient can prepare zesty Lemon Drop Martinis!

Growing you own fruit to use in citrus fruit baskets is a sentimental and creative gift option. Your recipients are sure to appreciate your gardening efforts and will welcome such a thoughtful and useful gesture!

First thing to keep in mind is climate and location. Do you want to plant the tree directly in your yard or in a container? If you will be planting outdoors you should do some research into which types of trees are most adaptable to your particular climate.

Citrus trees are hardy but they cannot survive below 20 degrees for more than a few hours and thin-skinned fruits like lemons are damaged with anything below 28 degrees.

Citrus trees thrive in the moderate temperatures of California, Florida, Texas and Arizona. However, if you live in a colder region, don’t despair. You can buy a potable citrus tree that you can bring inside during the winter. There are dwarf varieties of most citrus trees that are excellent for this.

You should remember that all citrus trees require frequent deep watering. They also need nutrient rich soil and should be fertilized often if you want them to bear fruit.

Lemon, orange and grapefruit trees all need plenty of sunlight to grow as well as soil that drains well. Well draining soil is necessary to protect roots from rot. Observe your yard carefully before choosing where to plant.

The next important choice in buying a citrus tree is an easy one- which fruit do you most enjoy? (Or perhaps this is the hardest choice). Once you have decided on a particular fruit – lemons for example – do some research on which type will be best for you.

Some people prefer Meyer lemons, which are sweeter while others swear by Lisbons for their tart, tangy flavor. Once you have grown your first citrus tree, you will certainly want to plant others.