What's the Plan for Fruit?

One thing I've learned is those at-least five fruit and veggie servings per day don't just happen: you really do have to plan them. For me, veggies are a natural part of my lunch and dinner; fruit is not so much of a no-brainer. I tend to eat fruit for my between-meal snacks, IF I'm hungry for them and have the time. But what if I don't? I've started to revise my fruit-eating strategy so that I don't forget those vital dietary elements which keep me on track with my weight. Here's what I've started doing:

1. Once a week or so, I'll have fruit and yogurt for breakfast instead of my usual cereal. It's a nice change, and one fruit serving gets out of the way right at the beginning of the day.

2. I'll have a piece of fruit right after lunch, since I'm usually craving something sweet then anyway. This often keeps me from thinking about food until close to dinner time.

3. It's not revolutionary, but fruit makes such a great dessert after dinner. Apple slices with a little Nutella on them satisfy my chocolate craving without doing much damage, if any.

So you see the pattern here: add fruit around mealtimes and you won't forget to eat it. In addition to giving yourself a healthful sweet treat, you're getting the fiber, vitamins and minerals that are so vital to a weight-loss (or maintenance) plan. It might even stave off winter colds and flu--wouldn't that be a nice plus?

By the way, that braised chicken with root vegetables dish I made last month? Not as yummy as I or my family would have liked. But I'm not giving up on trying new things--look how successful the spaghetti squash was!