If there was one category of food that seems to
instantly bring smiles to a family meal, it is fruit.
For parents that are looking for a way to indulge
their children's sweet tooth without resorting to expensive, prepackaged snacks, fruit is
definitely a great option.
Since fruit contains a lot of fiber, it's perfect
for keeping hunger at bay all the way until lunchtime.
When eaten with lunch, fruit is good filler to not only promote great digestion, but also to
keep you feeling satisfied until dinnertime. There are plenty of great fruits out there, but unfortunately, many
people don't eat enough fruit for many reasons, but primarily because they don't know a lot about fruit. However,
if you're really serious about getting more fruit into your diet, there are a few things you need to know about
this delicious, nutrient-rich category of food.
Is There Such a Thing as a Superfruit?
Fruit has gotten a lot of attention as more and more focus is
placed on losing weight and being healthier. However, one term that gets bandied about a lot is superfruit.
Superfruit are alleged to have both high amounts of nutrients as well as antioxidant or cancer-fighting
properties.
Examples of superfruit are blueberries, cranberries, goji berries,
mango, pomegranates, grapes, and acai. The superfruit term is simply good marketing at work -- there are other
fruits that are absolutely delicious, so don't feel like you have to only eat superfruits in order to get great
health benefits.
Who Shouldn't Eat Fruit
If you are a diabetic, you will need to talk to your doctor as
well as your nutritionist and make sure that you are cleared to actually add a lot of fruit to your diet. Since
fruit does include natural sugar, eating fruit in moderation is definitely the key.
You want to make sure that you don't go overboard, since fruit has
both natural sugars as well as carbohydrates. Many books aimed at diabetics list fruits that are a little lower in
terms of carbohydrates and sugar which make them more suitable for diabetics.
Making Fruit Exciting
One of the biggest reasons why people don't eat nearly the
recommended portions of fruit is that they find that fruit is boring.
However, this isn't the case at all. In fact, there are so many
different ways to enjoy fruit that you would be truly missing out if you didn't take a closer look.
For example, light ice cream and strawberries makes a refreshing
treat, but if you're really going for something healthy there are always smoothies to consider.
Indeed, smoothies are perfect because there's really no need for
any additional sugar, sweeteners or anything else of the sort. All you really need is the fruit and a little milk,
or if you can't have milk, you can skip he milk and just get ice to go with the fruit.
Another issue to consider is fruit accessibility; be sure to have
fruit baskets or fruit bowls somewhere in the kitchen
area so that when you need a snack, you reach for a piece of fruit rather than a piece of candy!
All things considered, fruit is something that is delicious, good for you, and you just might
find that if you add more fruit into your diet, you will have more energy than you know what to do with -- add some
more fruit to your life today!
