Many of our FUEL participants strive to make 1/2 of their breakfast fruit, 1/2 of their lunch vegetables, and 1/2 of their dinner vegetables.
The problem is that common fruits like berries, peaches, and melon, are out of season during the winter months. This means that they are pretty expensive and not very tasty.
So how can you focus on fruit during the winter months?
Sound like another mission impossible?
Check out these easy ideas:
1) Fruit Bowl. Fill up your fruit bowl with seasonal fall and winter fruits such as different varieties of apples, pears, oranges, tangerines, clementines, grapefruits, bananas, and pomegranates .
2) Clementines and pomegranates. Make a simple salad of clementine segments and pomegranate seeds. Clementines are great because they are easy to peel and have few or no seeds. Never used a pomegranate before? Simply cut it in half and submerge it into a medium size bowl of water. Use your fingers to scrape all of the edible seeds away from the non-edible flesh. Then strain the bowl and reserve the edible seeds. They are filled with pomegranate juice and burst in your mouth when you eat them. Add them to fruit salads or green salads.
3) Fresh orange segments. I rarely have time to peel an pith an orange in the morning. So I cut up several thin skinned oranges and keep them in the refrigerator for a quick breakfast or snack. Simply cut the orange in half crosswise. Cut each half crosswise again. Then slice the quarters crosswise into little 1/2 inch wedges. Easy to eat. Very little mess.
4) Stock your freezer. Keep a wide variety of frozen fruits in your freezer such as strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, mango, peaches, pineapple, banana slices, and cherries. Choose varieties that have no added sugar. Frozen fruits retain most or all of the vitamins and minerals found in their fresh counterparts. Thaw frozen fruit and add it to yogurt or smoothies. You can also microwave it in your morning oatmeal bowl.
5) Pineapple Mango Banana Fruit Salad with Coconut. Pour frozen mango chunks and frozen pineapple chunks into a container with a lid. Place it in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours to thaw. When you are ready to serve it, top it with a little bit of sliced banana and shredded coconut for a tropical fruit salad.
6) Cherry Yogurt. Place frozen cherries in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours to thaw. Spoon a hearty portion into a bowl and top with a little bit of plain non-fat or low-fat yogurt. Plain yogurt does not have any added sugar or artificial sweeteners. If desired, drizzle with a little bit of honey, maple syrup, or agave. Or for a sweet treat, top it with a little bit of dark chocolate granola.
7) Baked Blueberry Banana Oatmeal. Do you want to fill your kitchen with a delicious aroma? Try baking banana slices. They smell like warm banana bread. Spray a baking pan with nonstick cooking spray and layer banana slices across the bottom of it. Sprinkle with cinnamon and bake for about 15 minutes to slightly soften. Remove the pan from the oven and sprinkle a bag of frozen blueberries over the banana slices. Drizzle 1 Tbsp of brown sugar and 2 cups of uncooked old fashioned oats on top. Pour in 1-1/2 cups of 1% or skim milk and press the oats down so they are submerged in the liquid. Bake for another 15 minutes until the oats and blueberries are cooked through. Sprinkle with some chopped almonds if desired. This is the perfect dish to make at night so you can reheat the leftovers in the microwave on busy mornings.
8) Apple Cinnamon Breakfast Quinoa with Pecans. Rinse 1 cup of quinoa in a fine mesh strainer. In a medium pot, bring 2 cups of apple cider to a simmer over medium high heat. Add quinoa and simmer for about 5 minutes. Add 4 unpeeled chopped apples, 1 Tbsp. of cinnamon, a pinch of salt, and a little bit of brown sugar if desired. Simmer for another 10 minutes or until the quinoa is cooked through. If the mixture becomes too dry, add a little bit of milk or extra cider. Serve with skim milk, 1% milk, or soymilk to round out your meal. This is a another great dish that can be made once and the leftovers can be reheated in the microwave.
9) Green Monster Smoothies. I promise. You will not taste the greens. Blend 2 ripe bananas, 1/2 bag of frozen pineapple or mango, 1 cup of orange juice, and 4 cups of fresh spinach or kale (thick stems removed).
10) Strawberry Banana Smoothies. Blend frozen strawberries with a ripe banana and a little bit of orange or pineapple juice.
