Fruit failing? How to eat more fruits and vegetables

The 3 reasons your family fails to eat enough of the good stuff

Wondering how to eat more fruits and vegetables? Are you hounding your kids or significant other to eat more produce? Do you have good intentions of eating more fruit and veggies yourself only to find yourself tossing out rotting fruit in your fridge drawer?

There are 3 common reasons that you or your family may be failing to eat enough fruit. You can use the same principles for vegetables or any other food you need to eat more of.

#1 Failing to use the “see food” diet principle

If you have placed your fresh fruit in your fridge fruit drawer hidden away, chances are you and your kids won’t see them. What we see is often what we eat.

The first thing you will see when you enter my kitchen is a beautiful fruit bowl on my island that seduces you into the kitchen. Since it is bursting with color and displayed where everyone can see it, fruit is much more likely to be consumed.

For food that must be in the refrigerator be sure to display things attractively at the front of the fridge as one of the first things you see.

If you are running low on fresh fruit you can also add dried fruit, canned unsweetened fruit cups and applesauce cups to the fruit bowl as well.

#2 Limited variety

While it may be cost effective to buy bulk bags of apples or oranges you may find that less fruit gets eaten when you only have a few options at home versus many.

Researchers have determined what is known as “sensory specific satiety” which states that our senses (such as taste, smell and even sight) get numbed and overwhelmed if they continually experience the same stimulus. This is why we eat more when there is variety.

Chances are you and your family will eat more overall fruit if you put 6 or more fruit options in your fruit bowl. Mix it up – variety really is the spice of life.

#3 It is not pleasing and prepared

As frustrating as it is to still have to cut up fruit for your significant other or teenager at home, this is one of the single most important ways you can increase fruit consumption.

Researchers have found that when people cut up fruit or vegetables and add them to the centre shelf of the fridge, they ate significantly more.

Fruit that works great to prepare ahead on a mixed platter is cantaloupe, melon, pineapple, whole strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, blueberries, grapes and more. Also consider trying what I call “yo-nut” dip which is simply plain yogurt mixed with a nut butter for a delicious creamy dip that is sure to please.

Looking for more tips about how to eat more fruits and vegetables? Check out:

• How to stop throwing out fruits and vegetables
• How to drag a reluctant partner into better eating habits (without a family fued)
• Six ways to get more veggies in your diet
• How to eat more fruits and vegetables (Health Canada)

If you are looking for nutrition support on how to eat more fruit and vegetables we can help. We also provide online nutrition counselling support for health concerns, emotional eating and family meal planning from the comfort of your home.

We’ve been offering virtual online nutritionist support by our Virtual Dietitian team for some time and can hand hold you through the process. You’ll be surprised how easy it is to use even if you are not technologically savvy. Read more about our personal nutrition counseling services here: In-person and Online Nutrition Counseling

PS: Don’t forget to check with your insurance provider, health spending account or private health services plan and see if you are covered for Registered Dietitian services.