Fabulous fruit ideas
- Make Monday red day. And eat only red fruits. Tuesday could be orange day and so on. Here's how your weekdays might work to give you maximum fruit variety (you could make weekends a fruit free-for-all):
- Monday. Red: apples, cherries, cranberries, red grapes, plums, strawberries.
- Tuesday. Orange: apricots, cantaloupe, kumquats, nectarines, oranges, papaya, peaches.
- Wednesday. Yellow or white: bananas, yellow apples, grapefruit, mango, pineapple.
- Thursday. Blue or violet: blackberries, blueberries, grapes, plums, figs.
- Friday. Green: limes, pears, green apples, kiwis.
- Mix fruits in with your salad. A sprinkling of raisins, some chopped strawberries, a diced apple, some fresh or dried mango or some sliced kiwi all make tasty additions to the typical tossed salad.
- Purée fresh or canned fruits (peaches, pear, mangoes, apricots, etc.) and use as a delicious and healthy ice cream or pancake topping.
- Add frozen berries to cereal, salads or ice cream. They also work well stirred into yogurt or muffin mix.
- Freeze banana slices or grapes for a refreshing summer snack. Simply pop the banana slices and/or grapes into a sealable bag, freeze, then eat as desired.
- Every time you want a chocolate bar, eat a small box of raisins instead. Raisins are sweet and healthy, and small boxes contain just the right amount to fulfill the need for a sweet treat.
- Get your fruit from bread and cake once a week. How about apple cake, banana bread, strawberry, apple or blueberry tart? Pineapple upside-down cake, anyone?
- Spice up store-bought salsas with fruit. Or make your own fruit-based salsas with pineapple, mango or papaya. Mix with onions, ginger, a bit of garlic, some mint and/or cilantro, sprinkle on a few hot pepper flakes for a bit of a kick, and enjoy.
- Add diced kiwi, sliced grapes or chopped apple to chicken, tuna and turkey salads.
- Keep cubed or sliced melon in a container in the fridge. Use as a first course before dinner; wrap with prosciutto for a starter; mix with cottage cheese for breakfast; have a small bowl for a snack; even consider puréeing it for a quick sauce over fish.
- Grate fruit over plain yogurt. Use the larger holes of a box-type grater for a quick and tasty topping.
- Mash bananas and spread them on toast and bagels for a treat that brings back childhood. Or freeze whole bananas for a delicious, healthy summer snack.
