Fruit, delicious fruit
 

I was recently involved in a rather (unnecessarily) heated debate on another thread about an opinion article on low-carb eating. The premise was essentially that fruits and whole grains are dangerous foods and are responsible for the American obesity epidemic. Personally, I feel that this notion is scientifically unsound and generally preposterous, so I've started this thread in appreciation of fruit, delicious fruit! :D

I love bananas mashed into oatmeal, gogi berries and blueberries stirred into yogurt, apple slices with almond butter or goat cheese, and frozen grapes (anytime, not just summer!)

What's your favorite way to eat fruit?

I love pineapple chunks. Pineapple is probably my most favorite fruit ever... but it has to be fresh. No canned stuff. I also love bananas mashed up and spread onto Ezekiel toast. Sometimes, I'll slice up an apple, pour cinnamon all over it, and heat it up in a pan. No extra sugar... just a little spice. A dollop of greek yogurt on there... I can pretend it's a sundae or a slice of apple pie a la mode.

Fruit = love.

My favorites are probably tropical fruits and berries --- pineapple, kiwi, strawberries, blueberries, peaches, bananas, many many others. I actually don't think there is a fruit out there that I do not like the taste of. Recently, I've been trying a lot of different exotic fruits to increase my variety (ie. dragon fruit, star fruit, lychees, blood oranges, etc). My goal in life is to travel to some place exotic and try some pineapple and other fruit straight from the tree! Apparently you haven't had pineapple if you haven't had it ripe from the tree :love:

Fresh mango, just use my teeth to rip it off the pit, with the juices running down my arms. A private delight.

You'll have to link the other thread. I was obese because I ate fast food and processed foods and very little fruits, vegetables or whole grains. I started eating more fruit and I lost 70 lbs.

I definitely wasn't fat because of the less than 1 granny smith apple I ate per week as part of my old lifestyle.

My favorite food in the entire world is watermelon. I am just starting to see watermelons in the store again and I could not be happier! I've already worked my way through 3 :D

And I'm not obese. Fascinating.

I've noticed people tend to get a little sensuous about fruit, more so than with other foods. Just an observation :lol:

I love ALL fruits- and though my husband isn't a vegetable man- he gets a lot of his vitamins from the fruits he eats.

Personally oranges keep me going! I eat an orange EVERY DAY with my lunch and I'm good- but days I don't eat an orange I'm RAVENOUS.

I switch it up with the other fruits like apples and bananas and pineapple- but I can't live without oranges and my hubby can't live without tangerines lol.

Mmmm..fruit--I don't think there is a thing out there I don't love and adore. This week I am enjoying blackberries on steel cut oats and strawberries with sugar-free angel food cake. I am also loving those teency sweet clementines! MMMMM...Thank you God for giving our earth such divine creations!

I have always loved fruit--but I will tell you--this most recent study about how vitamins don't do anything to reduce cancers is not a surprise at all to me--I bet it's that way with most ailments. Try as we might, man just cannot touch Mother Nature.

I'm hungry now lol. I never have had problems with fruit :T but vegetables on the other hand :snooty: I definitely need to work on that. I love watermelon, honey dew, strawberries, bananas, (never tried it in my oatmeal, I'll have to try that drina) kiwi, cherries, grapes, peaches, tangelos, tangerines, clementines, pineapple, golden delicious and honeycrisp apples, the list goes on. Though I've never tried star fruit or dragon fruit, what do those taste like?

mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm, fruit, especially strawberries and watermelon, my two personal favs.

Mixed frozen fruit with low fat vanilla yogurt poured over, it goes like ice cream.

Fried bananas with bacon (sorry)

KIWI fruit!!!!!

I pretty much love all fruits and vegetables. The only fruit I've come across that I haven't really enjoyed is the cactus pear. I see it at the supermarket sometimes and will buy it for one of my sons who likes it; it doesn't do anything for the rest of us.

I love my fruits. I eat a lot of fresh fruit (my favorite snack food is grapes, I find them strangely filling), I use banana to sweeten my oatmeal, and I use fruit in lunch/dinners too - in a stirfry, in a sauce, etc,. I squeeze fresh lemon juice into my water, and I add citrus zest to lots of things. I've been having more dried fruit lately too. Cranberries in my oatmeal, chili spiced dried mango, dried apricots as a snack. And a good mango smoothie makes it hard to miss ice cream. Summer, of course, is fruit prime time. I indulge in as much melon and peaches as I can, while I can :)

I know some people feel they have to be careful with fruits causing cravings. But I'm thankful that for me, they have the opposite effect. When I have lots of fruit in my diet, I have little desire for candy or traditional desserts.

I forgot a very important fruit - avocado! 'nough said!

Come on now, let's not forget those deadly whole grains, oatmeal apparently plays just as big of a role in the obesity epidemic as apples do :lol:

Where do you get chili spiced dried mango?? Or do you make it? That sounds heavenly! I'm a huge fan of dried mango myself... I've found that a few pieces of dried mango, a square of dark chocolate and a nice artisan IPA make for a fantastic dessert (when you can afford the calories!)

I got it at Trader Joe's. Actually, it's seasoned with cayenne and paprika, and I'm not a huge fan of paprika, so I'm on the hunt now for a version with just the cayenne or at least a different chili powder. I may also try making some. But it's a really tasty combo.

I like it, because I'm a hot & spice lightweight, so it really slows me down. Otherwise, dried mango and me is a bad mix :)

I feel like the only person without a Trader Joes :( It's one of the things I miss most from Cleveland... that, and Target! There are TONS of whole foods stores and coops here, but none with the specialty products I always bought from TJs...

The sacrifices we make for our careers...

I love all fruits, great and small. I used to not care for apples but I've become more of an apple lover. I mostly eat fruits by themselves.

I agree with this! There are so many complexities in fruits and vegetables that just can't be mimicked in a lab. I don't like taking man made vitamins. I'll stick to real foods. I also add in spirulina and Chlorella to make sure I'm getting all that I need.

..sort of on the same note, I am looking for pomegranite seeds--anyone know where to buy???

Pomegranate is out of season right now. Are you talking about dried seeds?

I bought some frozen pomegranate seeds and was SO disappointed. They basically fell apart to mush when they defrosted. I was so excited I could have my favorite pomegranate seed salad all year round!

Pomegranates are in season in January. This year I was so lazy, I bought the seeds packaged from Trader Joe's instead of seeding my own.

Star fruit tastes like a mild citrus to me. It's really really pretty, but it doesn't taste as good as it looks (to me). It's great for a fancy dinner party to top a salad! Dragon fruit looks AWESOME. I got one in Singapore but I don't recall being overly impressed. White insides, lots of seeds - bland and pear-like, if I remember correctly.

Just to be contrary - I loathe fresh papaya and passionfruit. Dried papaya is okay, but I hate passionfruit flavored anything!

I also love chili-lime mango :) Check your grocery store for a non-paprika version? My grocery store sells dried chili mango (and dried chili pineapple!) in the produce section.

I see them at Whole Foods in the "prepped" section of the produce... you know that wall where you can get a container of watermelon or mixed fruit? Look for pre-packed pom seeds there. I've seen them there out of season... but be warned, they are also a little pricey.

Glory, I agree about starfruit, sure is pretty though! :)

I love pineapple and blueberries, followed by apples, kiwi, bananas, pears, tangerines and cantaloupe. I don't care much for any other melons, and I have a "bad experience" adversion to watermelon. :lol:

We went to Costa Rica in 2007, and had awesome tropical fruit. Cantaloupe that melted in your mouth, pineapple that was better than that in Hawaii, varieties of bananas we never see in the states.

Whole grain are an important element in a balanced diet! Grains get a bad rap because they're made into processed stuff that has more chemicals than food. I love oatmeal, brown rice, ww pasta, etc.

I too love bananas cooked into my oatmeal! Yumm!!!!

I LOVE fresh cranberries cooked in orange juice and a can of crushed pineapple added to it! Like a dessert!!

I feel absolutely passionate about mango (in any form...dried, fresh, frozen)

I eat an apple every night before I go to bed...it really must keep the doctor away because I rarely get sick!

mmmmmmm love strawberries, bananas, oranges, apples! It's all good! More into blueberries than I was when I was younger....

I never ate blueberries when I was a kid, but it's one of those things I've come to appreciate in my adult life. I especially love frozen blueberries in some vanilla yogurt... great for breakfast AND dessert!

I saw this thread just as I was sitting down with some mixed dried fruit - raisins, cranberries, pineaple, apricot, and papaya. Yum!

I also bought a few mangoes this week... usually they're either too expensive or look awful, but this week they looked almost worth the $1 each... and I haven't had fresh mango in so long!
I know that feeling... except I've never lived near one... turns out Trader Joe's took a cue from the government and forgot that there's more to NY state than NY city. :p

I'm a berries girl ... strawberries, raspberries, blueberries. I also love pineapple! We eat a lot of clementines and grapefruit as well.

Oh, and mango!

Hm hard to describe - you just need to try it yourself. I'd say dragon fruit tastes similar to that of a kiwi - maybe a bit more bitter. Starfruit, kind of citrus like? I've only tried these at my local grocery stores so they prob taste 99% better from the tree!

i eat a grapefruit and and avocado in my salad everyday! the avocado is so rich i don't even use a dressing.

Starfruit, that's something i have not had since the 90's. i remember i liked the taste, very subtle and clean. has a little bit of a crunch to it, but not as dense as an apple, more juicy. i also like to slice them into little star shapes!

I can't get over the theory that fruit is bad, or that americans are obese cuz of all the fresh wholesome fruit in our diets! I read recently in various sources that berries are actually beneficial for diabetics and do not cause the same spikes in sugar. and in fact help with proper insulin regulation.

I don't feel the same about grains though. Processed grains, refined grains and too many grains i believe can make someone fat and wreak havoc on the metabolism and hormones. For alot of folks, they are poorly digested. I believe i am one of those people, as i feel alot better when i avoid grain products, especially wheat and breads. i also find they are addictive for me.
Grains in moderation for me and pile on the greens instead!

I think "grains are evil" got started because of how processed we've made them. I also think that part of the "fruit makes you fat" myth comes from a study done recently. The study said that fructose makes you fat (specifically, in the "muffintop" area). Everybody figured fructose = fruit, but it also means high-fructose corn syrup, which is far more prevalent in our diets than fruit fructose.

Seen in my Trader Joe's today!

I don't think 3.69 is TOO bad, I would get 5 salads out of one of those packages. Pity I'm going out of town, I would have grabbed one!

Back where I used to live, mangoes were probably the most favorite fruit of all. They were nice and yellow and fragrant. We'd gently squeeze a whole mango with our hands (with the skin on) until it felt smooshed and pulpy. Then we'd tear the top off with our teeth and suck the pulp out. Probably sounds gross... but it was so good. Then toss the rest away, while the pit is still in there.

Now I love sliced strawberries mixed with greek yogurt and a little drizzle of honey. Maybe some toasted slivered almonds on top.

Chilled grapefruit is so good! I just eat the whole thing, never mind the spoon. (Minus the skin, lol).

I practically live on fruit salsa during the summer. It's amazing. The recipe calls for too much granulated sugar, so I only sprinkle in a dash if I'm serving it to other people. If it's just for me, I leave the sugar out and eat it with plain baked pita chips. I can't post links yet because I don't have enough posts under my belt, but if anyone wants the recipe, it's on allrecipes.com, under 'Annie's Fruit Salsa and Cinnamon Chips'.

My favorite is summertime and going to the fruit stands or farmer's markets. I load up on whatever is there, come home and make a giant fruit salad. Melons, strawberries, blackberries, kiwi, grapes, watermelon and so on. I take a bowl of it with me to work every day and am the happiest person in the world. No need for sugar or honey, it's so sweet, it feels wrong. :)