My 1st question is: Is this a good Medifast diet plan for FAST weight loss? Many thanks for any answer or 2. Second question.. I went to Whole Foods last night... I saw the strangest fruit called a Monstera... I bought it - Now I have to wait for the scales to fall off before I can eat it! It ripens a little at a time... so you have to eat it inch by inch as it ripens....

I saw a kinda ripened one in the store- it looked like a banana under the scales. It smelled really good. I can't wait to try it..

I will let you know how good it is once it ripens!.

I looked it up and here is the info I found on it.....

Monstera Deliciosa.

From the split-leaf philodendron! It grows out of the flower. Also called Mexican Breadfruit or Swiss Cheese Plant..

Norman Van Aken explains: "You owe it to yourself to experience Monsteras.".

Native to Central America and widely eaten in the tropics, they taste like a tropical fruit, a mix of mango, pineapple, and banana..

They look like a mix of a corn (in shape and in the fruit kernels) and a (bumpy) cucumber with hexagon tiles on the skin..

Ripen: The skin and the tiles (must) fall of by themselves indicating it is ripe to eat. This will take some time, so be patient. Keep it out on your counter at room temperature until all the tiles come loose or put it in a brown bag for a few days and check on it. It ripens as the skin fall off; the bottom will ripen first (it ripens unevenly) so take it off in sections and be sure to remove all the tiles from that section. The black specs in the fruit are part of the flavor, no need to discard those. Norman Van Aken continues, "You take a small sharp knife and cut into the fruit and scrape off the kernels into a bowl." Unripe will cause irritation to the throat and mouth because of the oxalic acid (as, you can imagine, they don't taste good unripe either) so be patient.



Use: Used to flavor drinks and ice cream or can be eaten as a fresh fruit once ripened..

Nutritionally: High in potassium and Vitamin C..