Eat More Fruit Using These 5 Simple Strategies

1. Make your own 100-calorie (or less) fruit snack-pack.

Instead of a high-calorie snack-pack from the vending machine, create your own snack-pack of fruit. While a snack-sized bag of chips or cookies often contains 150-250 calories with little to no nutrients, these fruit options are all 100 calories or less:

• 1 medium-size apple (72 calories)
• 1 small 6″ banana (90 calories)
• 1 cup blueberries (83 calories)
• 1 cup grapes (100 calories)
• 1 cup sliced strawberries (53 calories)
• 1 cup diced mango (99 calories)
• 1 medium kiwifruit (42 calories)
• 1 clementine (25 calories)^3,4

2. Mix fruit into other healthy foods.

Mix fruit into other healthy foods you’re already eating. Bright colored fruits not only taste delicious and look visually appealing but also provide the most nutrients as well. Below are a few tips to experiment with a rainbow of colored fruits:

• Add sliced grapes, pineapple chunks, dried cranberries, mandarin oranges, or diced apples to your chicken or tuna salad.⁵
• Cut up your favorite fresh fruit and add it to plain Greek yogurt to make your own healthy, fruit-filled yogurt without added sugars.⁵
• Skip the sugar and syrup and make your own blueberry, raspberry, strawberry, or peach puree for topping oatmeal, or whole grain biscuits, toast, pancakes, or waffles.⁵
• Spread pureed cranberries on your turkey or chicken sandwich.
• Grill fruit kabobs to go with your barbeque.⁵ Try apples, apricots, nectarines, peaches, pineapples, and plums on the grill.⁶
• Mix fruit into your homemade baked goods, such as muffins, cakes, or pies.⁵ Use fruits, like overripe bananas, applesauce, dates, or avocado in place of sugars, butter, or oil in your baked goods.
• Top your salad with fresh fruit and make your own whole fruit-based salad dressing. Try some of these great ideas, including raspberry, mango, apple, strawberry, and blackberry dressing.⁷
• Try fruit-in-a-jar. Salads prepared in a mason jar have been all the rage. Why not try fruit-in-a-jar. Layer any combination of fruit. Try diced or sliced fruits of your choice. Squeeze any citrus juice you like over fruits that tend to brown (like apples or pears). Add a small container of plain Greek yogurt on top to use as a dip. Add a small baggie of nuts, granola, chia seeds, or whole grain cereal to sprinkle atop the yogurt for some added flavor and crunch. Research suggests that the visual appeal of foods can add to our consumption of them, particularly among children.⁸ So why not layer it up in this eye-appealing fashion for you and your family.

3. Choose a new fruit (recipe) each week.

Eating fruits in a variety of different types and colors will help you get many of the nutrients your body needs. One way to do this is to add a new fruit, or a new fruit-containing recipe, each week. It can be helpful to be familiar with the variety of fruits available to you.

Currently, the 20 most popular fruits in the United States in order of popularity are:

1. Bananas
2. Apples
3. Grapes
4. Strawberries
5. Melons
6. Avocados (yes, they’re a fruit)
7. Blueberries
8. Mandarins
9. Oranges
10. Peaches/nectarines/plums (tied)
11. Pineapple
12. Raspberries
13. Cherries
14. Blackberries
15. Pears
16. Lemons
17. Limes
18. Kiwis
19. Grapefruit
20. Mangos.⁹

Choose fruits from this popular list, or try more exotic, lesser-known fruits, like finger limes, mangosteen, longan, dragon fruit, rambutan, loquat, guava, horned melon, cherimoya, jackfruit, or passion fruit.¹⁰ Choose fruits that are in season.¹¹ Foods that are in season are those that are purchased and consumed around the same time they’re harvested.¹²

• Seasonal produce matures longer on the plant, which makes it more nutrient-dense when compared to being picked before its prime.
• Seasonal produce usually tastes better since it’s been picked at the peak of flavor.
• Seasonal produce is also typically sold at its best price, which helps with the budget.¹³

You can download the Seasonal Food Guide App to help you find fruits (as well as veggies, legumes, nuts, and herbs) that are in season.¹²

When seasonal fruit is not an option, frozen fruit is a great choice. Frozen fruits are picked at the peak of ripeness and then flash-frozen to maintain their many nutrients.

4. Get the family involved to eat more fruit.

Getting everyone at your table involved in meal selection and preparation can help increase both interest and intake.

• Do a taste test. Blindfold family members and have them try different varieties of apples, berries, melons, or lesser-known fruits, like jackfruit, starfruit, dragon fruit, passion fruit, loquat, or mulberries. Have them vote for their favorites.
• Have a seed spitting contest. Take it outside as you delve into a seeded watermelon or a handful of cherries and see who can spit their seeds the furthest. Making it fun can help children become more interested. (Note: Only do this with older children for whom the seeds are not a choking hazard.)
• Plate your food with fruits in different shapes. Make a smiley face on your child’s plate with blueberry eyes, a strawberry nose, and a half a banana mouth. Make a heart with strawberries, raspberries, or cherries for Valentine’s Day or any day. Make other holiday-themed shapes, like cut up cantaloupe in the shape of a pumpkin for Halloween or Thanksgiving; try kiwifruit in the shape of a Christmas tree, or blueberries and strawberries laid out like an American flag for 4th of July. Search edible fruit and vegetable art ideas for a myriad of fun ideas for any day.
• Let each family member have a night to choose which fruit is served, or allow each family member to plan a meal that incorporates fruit into each entrée.
• Plan regular fun cooking projects with your little chefs at home. Make them get excited to try different kid-approved fruit recipes every week. Some recipes that involve little to no cooking are rainbow salad, fruit kabobs, watermelon pizza, fruit sandwiches, fruit carvings, fruit and yogurt popsicles, and fruit sushi. Invest in a kid-friendly knife and peeler to help children learn basic knife skills and be more confident and independent in the kitchen.

5. Practice mindful eating.

• Mindful eating is being self-aware and paying attention to your internal and external cues that determine your food choices. Use mindful eating techniques to help you enjoy fruit to its fullest. Stop to look at the fruit on your plate and appreciate its visual appeal.
• Smell the fruit and pay attention to its aroma alone or paired with other flavors on your plate.
• Slow down and savor the flavor. Chew slowly, appreciating the texture of the fruit. Slowing down can aid in digestion and can also help you recognize when you’re becoming full.
• Notice how your body feels before and after eating the fruit. By observing your physical cues for hunger and satiety, you can learn to differentiate between the need for nourishment and emotional food cravings.
• Appreciate your food and think about how your food choices affect your health and the environment.

So, remember, take time to choose fruits in season and make snack-packs for on-the-go success. Try a new fruit-filled recipe or mix fruit into foods you’re already preparing. Add a little fun and creativity to your plate, and be sure to savor the flavors of fruit at any or every meal – all year long.

Want a little motivation to make healthy dietary choices?

Try our 10&10,000 Change Challenge. This Free and simple web app kick starts and helps you achieve the end goal of eating 7 to 13 servings of fruits and vegetables, as well as walking 10,000 steps per day. Complete 3 Tip Task videos during each stage of the challenge to help you change your behavior for the better.