MSU Extension Nutrition

Fabulous Fruit Five Ways - Making Healthy Choices for Adults Ages 60+

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November 9, 2022

• Amy Shovels

Transcript:

Eating healthy is easy when it comes to fruit. That's because fruit is naturally sweet, convenient to grab and go, hydrating, and packed with good nutrition!

Enjoy a variety of fruit... like bananas, apples, oranges, dates, kiwis, melons, berries, mangos, grapes, peaches, pineapple and more. This will keep your taste buds interested and provide you with a wide range of nutrients like vitamins, minerals, and fiber.

What's fiber? Fiber is the "roughage" found in plant foods that makes you feel full faster and stay full for a longer time. It can help with weight control and prevent constipation. One way to get the fiber you need is to eat fruit every day.

How much fruit? To support your best health, aim for at least two cups every day.

Mix it up - and keep your budget in check - by enjoying fabulous fruit these five ways.

1. Reach for your fresh fruit first while it's ripe, so it doesn't go to waste. Then choose your canned, frozen and dried varieties later in the week when you're fresh fruit is depleted.
2. Frozen berries, mangos and cherries can be a decadent finger food, perfect for taming a sweet tooth.
3. For canned fruit, choose varieties that are packed in their own juice, avoiding those that are packed in heavy syrup.
4. Dried fruit is a great choice. Just be careful how much you eat, and be sure to avoid varieties with added sugar. Because it lacks the water found in whole fruit, dried fruit can be a concentrated source of calories. Half a cup of dried fruit, then, is equal to a one cup serving of whole fruit.
5. For juice, limit yourself to one 8-ounce cup a day, opting for whole fruit after that. That's because juice is missing the beneficial fiber that is found in whole fruit. Choose "100% fruit juice" over "fruit juice drinks" to limit the amount of added sugars you are consuming.

Fruit is a delicious, maybe even luxurious good-for-you food. Choose varieties you enjoy, and that fit into your budget. Then, treat yourself, and savor the goodness!