Wednesday, October 19, 2011

My Plate: Fruits

Let's explore fruits. Remember, most of this information is taken from www.myplate.gov, so check it out to learn more.

FRUITS
should complete the vegetable half of the plate, thus making your meal half filled with fruits and vegetables. Any fruit or 100% fruit juice counts as part of the Fruit Group. Fruits may be fresh, canned, frozen, or dried, and may be whole, cut-up, or pureed. Some commonly eaten fruits are apples, oranges, melon, berries, grapes, pineapple and more. Be cautious of those fruits that are high in sugar such as bananas and grapes. While healthy, they do add a large amount of sugar to your diet. Melons and berries are great, low sugar choices.

Check out the Fruit Gallery on the My Plate website to learn more about fruit size/amount and portion sizes.

Fresh Fruit Smoothie

Get out your cup/glass that you will use to drink your smoothie (a healthy choice is one that is about 8 ounces big). Fill it with a combination of your favorite fruits (see list below). If using yogurt, pour that in over the fruit, then pour in apple juice to just cover the fruit. Pour all into a blender. Blend until smooth. If too think, add a bit more apple juice. Pour back into your cup / glass and enjoy!
  • Strawberries, frozen
  • Peaches, frozen
  • Bananas
  • 1 drinkable yogurt, strawberry or strawberry banana (optional)
  • 100% Apple Juice
Other fruit options are kiwi, pineapple, melon, mango, papaya or any fruit you love. You can also add a bit of honey to sweeten.

Grilled Fruit

The next time your parents are grilling, ask them to grill some fruit as well. Great fruits are stone fruits such as peaches, plums, or nectarines and pineapple. For the stone fruit, cut in half, remove the stone (seed) and brush with olive oil. For pineapple, cut into 1 inch thick rounds and brush with olive oil. Place on grill, cut side down. Grill for 5 minutes and then flip. Grill for 5 more minutes. Goes great with fish, chicken, or drizzled with honey and served as dessert.

Another idea is to take stone fruit, pears, pineapple and cut into large chunks. Skewer making kabobs. Brush with oil and grill, turning every few minutes until heated, about 6 minutes. Brush with honey before serving.

Eat well and be healthy. Remember to check out www.myplate.gov for more information.

In the Spirit of Camp,
Allison

Y182?

Join us for the Youth Empowerment / Ragger Retreat Dec 9-11, 2011

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