Food & Recipes

Tips for Making Fruit Work for You

Make fruit more appealing:

• 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 bananas, peaches, strawberries, or other berries.
• Try applesauce as a fat-free substitute for some of the oil when baking cakes.
• Try different textures of fruits. For example, apples are crunchy, bananas are smooth and creamy, and oranges are juicy.
• For fresh fruit salads, mix apples, bananas, or pears with acidic fruits like oranges, pineapple, or lemon juice to keep them from turning brown.

Turning Children Into Fruit Lovers:

• Set a good example for children by eating fruit everyday with meals or as snacks.
• Offer children a choice of fruits for lunch.
• Depending on their age, children can help shop for, clean, peel, or cut up fruits.
• While shopping, allow children to pick out a new fruit to try later at home.
• Decorate plates or serving dishes with fruit slices.
• Top off a bowl of cereal with some berries. Or, make a smiley face with sliced bananas for eyes, raisins for a nose, and an orange slice for a mouth.
• Offer raisins or other dried fruits instead of candy.
• Make fruit kabobs using pineapple chunks, bananas, grapes, and berries.
• Pack a juice box (100% juice) in children's lunches versus soda or other sugar-sweetened beverages.
• Choose fruit options, such as sliced apples, mixed fruit cup, or 100% fruit juice, that are available in some fast-food restaurants.
• Offer fruit pieces and 100% fruit juice to children. There is often little fruit in "fruit-flavored" beverages or chewy fruit snacks.

Avoid a Fruit Snafu

• Wash fruits before preparing or eating them. Under clean, running water, rub fruits briskly with your hands to remove dirt and surface microorganisms. Dry after washing.
• Keep fruits separate from raw meat, poultry and seafood while shopping, preparing, or storing.