Creative Guest Chef: How to Cut a Mango by Inspired RD

Hi! I'm Alysa from Inspired RD, and I am thrilled to be today's Guest Chef.  In addition to being a mom of two small kids, I am also a registered dietitian and personal trainer.  My passion is to inspire families to better health through nutritious food and fun exercise.  On my blog, you will find simple recipes, tips for cooking with kids, fitness challenges, and the occasional crafty post.  I basically share whatever inspires me so that you can be inspired too!  I would love to have you visit me at InspiredRD.com.

One of my favorite summer fruits is the mango.  Mangoes are silky and sweet, perfect for nibbling.  They also work in a variety of recipes from salsas to desserts.  But how do you cut into one?  Let me show you. First of all, start with a mango that is slightly soft when you push into it.  You don't want it to be rock hard, but you don't want it to be too soft or wrinkled either.  The one I cut into was actually a little bit on the green side, I should have waited a day or two.  Mangoes that aren't ripe enough are a bit tart.  We ate it anyways.

Lay the mango on your cutting board.  The tricky part of cutting a mango is that you can't cut it in half like most fruit because it has a long flat seed running down the middle. 

Stand the mango up on it's end,

and start cutting about 1/2 inch away from the stem.

Cut the first side off,

then the other side.

You will be left with the long seed in the middle, set this to the side.

Take each side and cut into it across and lengthwise, slicing all the way to the skin but not through it.

Now for the fun part, take your mango and flip it out!

From here, you can easily slice the pieces off.

And what to do with that middle part with the seed?  I always save it for my husband who likes to get every last piece of fruit off with his teeth. 

And that's how you slice a mango! 

I hope to see you soon over at InspiredRD.com.