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Fruits

© Gloria Ferri

FRUITS

Summer weather is here . . . and with it brings peak season for a large variety of tasty, juicy, healthy, colourful, interesting, exotic fruits not readily available during the winter months.

Fruits are a source of carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals and fiber and if they are eaten raw the vitamin content is not lost through preparation and cooking. Five servings of fruits and/or vegetables should be eaten a day. Try to eat one each high in Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Folate and Fiber.

Vitamin A rich fruits are apricots (canned apricots have about half of the amount as fresh), dried apricots (also a good source of iron), cantaloupes, mangos and watermelons.

Vitamin C rich fruits are grapes, kiwi, strawberries, papayas (which are also a great source of potassium) and citrus fruit.

Fruits high in fiber are apples, raisins, oranges (if you eat the whole fruit and not just the juice), pink or red grapefruits (which contain a good amount of fiber of the cholesterol lowering type) and pears.

Strawberries are a high source of folate, containing 20 percent of daily value in one serving; however, blackberries, cantaloupes, grapefruits, oranges and orange juice are also good sources containing 10 percent of the daily value in one serving.

There are so many ways to add fruits to your diet. Dried fruits provide a quick, healthy snack and make an excellent substitute for an unhealthy sugar craving. Pack them in kid's (or adult's) lunches as a treat, or add them to cereals for extra nutrition and taste. They are excellent to bring along while hiking, biking, walking, travelling, etc. being non-perishable and light to carry. Grapes and cherries are also excellent fruits to bring along, however, they are not dried fruits and therefore are perishable.

Fruit smoothies are a fast and easy way to increase your intake of fruit and milk. In a blender or food processor, blend fruit juice, yogurt and pieces of fresh fruit. Use any fresh fruit (berries, melons, peaches, pineapple, bananas, mangos) . . . the flavour combinations are endless. For a thicker drink, use chunks of frozen fruit. Adding skim milk powder to your smoothies adds extra thickness and boosts the calcium content. You can make them the night before for a quick morning meal to go. Add a whole grain muffin and you will have a complete breakfast. Here are a few of my favorite combinations.

Sunny Orange Shake

¾ cup vanilla flavoured yogurt

2 tbsp. skim milk powder