3 Easy Tricks to Eat More Fruit

Picture by Michael Geipel

Vegetables are quite easy to incorporate into our diet since they're a part of our main meals, but unless you eat fruit as a desert or with breakfast, it can be difficult to give it a place in your diet. Fruit makes an ideal snack, however, as long as it's readily available when you feel like snacking.
Healthy eating is always a concern of mine, and with another life growing inside, it is now more so than ever. So I try to consume at least 3 pieces of fruit a day. Here's how I do it:

1. Pick fruit that's easy to eat on the go. It's tangerine and banana season here, but apples, grapes or berries are great too. Put a piece of fruit (or a bag of grapes) in your purse/briefcase so you have it with you when you're out of the house. You'll find yourself reaching for it when you're in the mood for something sweet because it's so close at hand.
   
2. Make a smoothie or shake to go with breakfast or as an in between snack. You can pack smoothies with quite a bit of different fruits, and you can add milk or yogurt for extra calcium, or orange juice for extra  vitamin C. Adding ice-cream is delicious, but kind of defeats the purpose. We've been loving our banana-yogurt-cocoa shakes lately!
   
3. Wash fruits right when you bring them into the house, and then display them wherever you spend the most time in the house. Having it already washed means you can just reach and take a bite. It also means you can let your fruit soak in salt water which is a great way to remove pesticides.
   Remember to wash your fruit even if it is organic because there are bugs and parasites in dirt too!

For me, fruit is a great way to satisfy that craving for something sweet without having to feel guilty about it. It also gives you fast sugars if you're feeling low on energy, so it's a great pick-me-up.
Fruits are full of wonderful nutrients, so every piece is a treat not only for your taste buds, but for your body too! Enjoy!