My Favorite Fruit

Who doesn’t love a bowl of fresh fruit? Particularly in the summer when it tastes perfect. We do eat tons of fruit in my house. We all like various things so I just keep it all!

I’ve got the one kid who likes Mango, Apples (Honeycrisp only) and grapes (purple only).

The other kid who will eat so much fruit that she’ll get sick. She eats it ALL except Blueberries. She makes smoothies, eats it while walking around the house and will eat about any fruit pie or cobbler. She’s a dream.

The hubs is about like the little one. Eats it all. Between the two, my fruit budget alone is like my car payment.

I eat most of it as well but I do have my preferences. I also go in phases and get tired of things quick.

So, what’s in my house currently? Well we just finished a watermelon and some mango and I usually only buy those when the girls are with me so I’ll wait to next week to buy more.

Strawberries. We love them! They are a good source of vitamins C, A, and K. They also have fiber and calcium. The real question is sugar with them or not? I say yes.

Grapes. We have some purple and I just found some organic cotton candy so I grabbed them. They are a tad sweet for me. Grapes are full of yumminess and a super easy snack. They are so easy to throw in your bag as well if you are out and about. Grapes contain an antioxidant in the form of the phytochemical compound Resveratrol, which has been found helpful in the prevention of certain types of cancers, heart disease, and stroke. Grapes also contain copper, iron and manganese, and they are a good source of vitamins A and C. And they make WINE. Win.

Pineapple. This is currently our staple in smoothies. We buy the fresh variety but also love the frozen bags from Costco. They are a million dollars but they last forever. Pineapple is loaded with potassium, vitamin C, beta carotene and more. They are also great for digestion and inflammation. I even grill mine occasionally. I did an Instagram post recently and the clear answer from my question, does pineapple go on pizza was YES, pineapple does go on pizza. Hmm.

Apples. If we are out of apples, something is seriously wrong and I’ll stop by four stores to find the perfect ones. We are apple snobs and we know it. I mentioned above that my oldest is P.I.C.K.Y but she WILL eat apples if they are Honeycrisp. Then the hubs moved in and tried them and now I had to get a second job to pay for apples. I recently wrote a paper for school on the topic of kids and their nutrition and research has shown that when you give in a little, then they also give a little. Meaning that I will drive or spend extra if the girls enjoy and eat what I buy. Plus, $10 on apples that aren’t eaten is a waste of $10. $10 on apples that are actually eaten equals $20 or more to me. It’s a battle that I won’t fight. Apples are full of fiber, vitamin C and antioxidants. They do contain simple sugars and carbs but are classified to have a low GI (Glycemic Index) score. Since a lot of my readers are on special diets, be aware of how much you eat. You are usually safe with a small apple or a half of a bigger one. I add chopped apples to various dishes as well. My hubs loves them in his oatmeal or smoothies.

Avocados. Before you ask - yes they are fruit. Nutritionally they are more like vegetables though and are classified as both on some sites. They contain 20 plus vitamins and minerals including vitamin C, E, K and B-6. Plus omega-3 fatty acid, magnesium and folate. They are classified as a healthy fat and very beneficial even if you are slashing your fat intake. If you knew how many we eat at my house and we have zero issues with the fat! I add them in all sorts of dishes and on top of about everything. I have found that you either love them or hate them so if you are on the fence, keep trying.

We also have some odd Hardy Kiwi at home currently. They are interesting and different. We also keep Prunes on hand. I know you are thinking - she seriously eats this much fruit? Is that healthy? My adorable answer:

Why wouldn’t it be?

I’ve read most all of the fad diets and random bloggers telling you how awful fruit is and I bet they all eat fruit hunkered down in their closets when no one is looking. The benefits of fruit far out weigh the extra .0001 gram of sugar you might absorb. Or you can skip the fruit because the sugar content (that .0001 gram) is scary and eat a cookie or piece of bread instead. That’s logic and please call people out when they mention that. Now, I have had a client who ate 6-7 bananas and 3-4 apples a day and we did have the “talk” but he is the exception. Just take a look around at the people eating and buying fruit. Not to be ugly but.. they are the active ones and the ones eating well. Shouldn’t that be a goal of everyone? I have a new grandson (Hi, Gunnar!) that will literally eat 3 gallons of fruit a day. I’m not even joking. My hubs even made this comment last time I made a dish with fruit for a family gathering- “Don’t forget Gunnar will be there.” I just laughed because aren’t the grandparents saying things like that because the grandkids are acting horrible or painting the walls with spray paint or something? Nope, we say it because he eats ALL.THE.FRUIT. It’s code for buy triple fruit because the child will stand there and eat it all. Then walk away and come back three more times. Now let’s pick Gunnar apart for a minute: He is extremely active, alert, sleeps well, eats about anything you put in front of him, will sit and learn, has like three girlfriends I hear and is super happy. I’m not making the claim that his diet has something to do with all that but it certainly doesn’t hurt it. He will eat junk food as well but he will choose the healthy more.

The research paper I mentioned above was about kids diets and the negative side effects. And who was to blame? The parents of course. The main child being discussed was 10 and starving himself unless his parents fed him certain things. Of course he had started losing weight, passing out at school and so on. What did his mother do?? She bought him the ice cream everyday for dinner. Excuse me? Enter the my-child-would-just-starve phase at my house. I do spoil my kids before you PM me with a copy of the apple story above, but I do draw the line. I never make my kids eat anything. If they don’t want dinner, no problem. But they are on their own later. I provide healthy food and dinners and I don’t stock my kitchen with crap. If they are in the kitchen at midnight, who cares because I know they aren’t eating anything too bad. I’ve also said it before that they would text grocery lists each week when they were returning to my house and it always had “something green” on it because they were wanting healthier options for a change. And I always provided that and as much as they wanted. Back to Gunnar, his parents have made him this way. He wasn’t born with this radical fruit gene. His parents have done an awesome job of providing him with good food and it shows. That’s what he craves and they follow his lead. I can promise you that his mom isn’t over there hollering, “You can’t have any more fruit because it has too much sugar.”

Now that I’ve gone off on a tangent, just be like Gunnar. Choose the good stuff and just be happy.