MyPyramid Tips for Eating More Fruits Every Day

From HealthCastle and Lauren Girdler:

You probably think of fruit mainly as a healthy snack or dessert - but fruits can also be included in entrees. It is recommended that you eat two cups of fruit every day, with the majority coming from whole fruit rather than juice.

Fruit as Snacks

Buy fruits that are dried, frozen, and canned (in 100% fruit juice or water rather than syrup) as well as fresh, so that you always have a supply on hand for a healthy snack.

• Keep a bowl of whole fruit on the kitchen table or counter for easy access any time of the day.
• Dried fruit makes a great, portable snack. Because they are more concentrated, 1/4 cup of dried fruit is equivalent to 1/2 cup of fresh or canned fruit. Try dried apricots, apples, pineapple, bananas, cherries, figs, dates, cranberries, blueberries, prunes, and raisins.
• Top yogurt or cereal with fruits like bananas, peaches, or berries.
• Make a fruit smoothie by blending fat-free or low-fat milk with fresh or frozen fruit.
  

Add Fruit to Meals

Fruits make great snacks, but they can be a healthy addition at meal-time too.

• At breakfast, add blueberries to pancakes.
• At lunch, always pack a portable fruit like a tangerine, banana, or grapes.
• At dinner, include fruit like mandarin oranges or apples with salads. Or try meat dishes that incorporate fruit, such as chicken with apricots and mango chutney.
• For dessert, have baked apples or a fruit salad.
  

Make Fruit Appeal to Children

If you make fruit an important part of your diet, your children will get excited about fruit as well.

• Let children pick which fruits they pack in their lunch.
• Instead of candy, give your children dried fruits like raisins or mangos.
• Pack a 100% juice box in school lunches instead of soda or other sugar-sweetened beverages.
• Make fun fruit kabobs using chunks of apple, banana, pineapple, and berries.
  

Bottom Line:

Fruits are versatile foods that can be eaten with meals or as a healthy snack. Make sure that most, if not all, of the fruit you eat comes from real fruit sources as opposed to fruit juice.