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Healthy Eating: Focus on Fruits
By Patrice Powers-Barker, OSU Family Nutrition Program
Guest Column
The message, “focus on fruits” covers all types of fruits
from fresh, canned, frozen or
dried and they may be whole, cut-up, pureed or 100 percent
fruit juice.
There are many options of fruit-flavored drinks that include
no or little amount of fruit juice. Look for options that
have 100 percent fruit juice. One hundred percent fruit
juice is a great option for drinks, especially over a choice
like soda pop but don’t substitute drinking 100 percent
fruit juice in place of eating fruit.
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Eating plenty of different fruits, along with other healthy
habits, may help protect you against many chronic diseases.
Fruits provide vitamins, minerals, fiber and other
substances that are important for good health including
potassium, vitamin C, vitamin A and folate. Whole or cut-up
fruits provide dietary fiber.
Fruit juices contain little or no fiber. Because most fruits
are naturally sweet, there is no need to add sugar. When
choosing canned fruits, read the label to find fruit canned
in 100 percent fruit juice or water instead of syrup
(sugar). Substituting fruits as a dessert for other higher
fat foods could be one way to help lower calorie intake.
Eat different colors and kinds of fruit. Orange colored
fruits such as cantaloupe and apricots are a good source of
vitamin A. For vitamin C, citrus fruits (oranges,
tangerines, clementines, grapefruit), kiwi fruit,
strawberries, cantaloupe, guava, papaya, and pineapple are
good sources. Folate (a B vitamin) is found in oranges and
the best fruit sources of potassium are bananas, dried
fruits such as apricots and prunes, cantaloupe and orange
juice. Colorful fruits provide a variety of vitamins,
minerals, and chemicals that your body needs.
For good health, most people need about two cups of fruit a
day. A one-cup serving of fruit is either one cup of cup up
fresh, cooked or canned fruit, one cup of 100 percent fruit
juice or ½ cup dried fruit or one medium sized whole fruit.
By adding fruit to your favorite snacks or meals, you can
easily eat the recommended amount for your best health. Here
are some easy ways to add more fruit options to your day:
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Keep a bowl of whole fruit on the table, counter, or in
the refrigerator.
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At breakfast, top your cereal with bananas or peaches;
add blueberries to pancakes;
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Try a fruit mixed with low-fat or fat-free yogurt.
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Individual containers of fruits like peaches or
applesauce are easy and convenient.
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Dried fruits make a great snack and are easy to carry
and store well. Because they are dried, ¼ cup is
equivalent to ½ cup of other fruits.
Try new recipes with fruits. For breakfast add blueberries
or bananas to your pancake batter before cooking. Or make
whole grain pancakes and sliced peaches in their own juice
as a different kind of “syrup”. Add fruits to your favorite
meal like baked apples with pork chops or chicken with
apricots or mango chutney. Order your pizza with pineapple
and some vegetables. When grilling this summer, put a foil
packet of peaches on the grill or add some pineapple chunks
to kabobs. Try fresh or dried fruit on salads or add some
chopped fruit to coleslaw. Many fruits taste great with a
dip or dressing. Try low-fat yogurt or pudding as a dip for
fruits like strawberries or melons. Make a fruit smoothie by
blending fat-free or low-fat milk or yogurt with fresh or
frozen fruit. Try applesauce as a fat-free substitute for
some of the oil when baking cakes.
Set a good example for children by eating fruit everyday
with meals or as snacks. While shopping, allow children to
pick out a new fruit to try later at home. Offer children a
choice of fruits for lunch. They can help prepare the fruit
by washing it in under clean, running water. Show them how
to rub fruits briskly with your hands to remove dirt and
then dry after washing.
For a family trip, find a
“pick-your-own” fruit farm where you can pick and buy your
own strawberries or blueberries in the summer or apples in
the fall.
Buy fresh fruits in season
when they may be less expensive and at their peak flavor.
For local fruit, shop at a farm stand or a farmers’ market.
Some of the fruits that will be in peak season in the next
couple on months in northwest Ohio include strawberries,
rhubarb, cherries, gooseberries, black and red raspberries
as well as muskmelons and watermelons later in the summer.
For more information or fact sheets on the importance of
eating fruit, contact The Ohio State University Extension,
Lucas County office 419-213-4254.
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