Fruit is incredible.
It contains all kinds of vitamins and minerals, and it’s an important part of a well-balanced, healthy diet.
With that being said, it’s surprising that more people aren’t eating fruit on a regular basis.
But part of the reason for this is because we have a lot of preconceived ideas about meals that don’t include fruit as a staple part of the diet.
For example:
A lot of people love to eat steak and potatoes.
This is awesome.
In fact, steak is really good for you, and potatoes are actually a vegetable.
With that being said, you hardly ever see people eating pineapple or blueberries along with their steak and potatoes.
Why?
Well, partly it’s due to tradition.
In our culture and society, we tend to favor food pairings that stick with a certain kind of tradition.
Now, sometimes, with more contemporary or modern cuisines, these stereotypes do get broken.
For example, it’s not so uncommon to see tacos served with a little bit of pineapple.
It’s also not necessarily uncommon for meat to be served with little bits of fruit on the side in certain contexts.
(For example, lamb and cranberries.)
With that being said, this is still not as normal as traditional meal choice stereotypes at the average kitchen table of the average person.
So in this post, you’re going to learn 3 tips for how to start breaking these stereotypes in your own life to include more fruit at every meal.
1. Choose One Fruit To Serve With Every Meal
Contrary to popular belief, fruit can go with anything.
You can eat fruit along with your steak and eggs, your oatmeal, your bologna sandwich, your turkey and dressing, and even your pizza.
It’s all a matter of getting creative and being willing to try new things.
For example, if you usually eat oatmeal in the mornings, sprinkle some blueberries and strawberries on top.
If you usually eat a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for lunch, pack a banana or an apple to eat alongside it.
If you’re eating bacon cheeseburgers for dinner, serve up a side of grapes and blackberries to eat with them instead of french fries.
Just be willing to try new things and break away from the stereotypes.
2. Think Of Fruit As A Meal Filler Item
In some households, fruit plays a filler item role.
For example:
I had a grandma who served cantaloupe and watermelon with every single meal during the summer.
It was on the table for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
Sometimes people ate it.
Sometimes they didn’t.
But it was always there, and it was always made available.
And thus, everyone knew that they could expect it.
And they learned that it was just a staple part of the diet at my grandma’s kitchen table.
And this certainly increased the fruit intake for the family during the summer months.
3. Make Fruit The ‘Main Dish’
If you want to go a step further, you can start making fruit the primary dish at the table and serve up other things like meat, grains, etc. as side pieces.
For example—not too long ago, I attended a dinner where the centerpiece of the meal was a mixture of mango, pineapple, and pear that was chopped up and drizzled with honey.
Every plate was piled high with this mixture.
And then, on the side, there was also some seasoned ground beef, a bit of cheese, and a beautifully fried egg placed on top.
This might sound like a strange combo, but it was actually delicious.
Plus, people at this meal tended to eat far more fruit than they usually did.
Why?
Because the fruit was the main course.
