An Easier Way to Five a Day

Posted in: Healthy Eating // 0 Comments

By Jon Vredenburg

Are you still struggling with getting your recommended servings of fruits and vegetables each day? It can be quite a challenge. For me, it would be much easier if we could just go ahead and call bacon a vegetable or give a vote of confidence to pizza sauce. However, my doctor might pelt me with organic produce for such a suggestion.

Instead, let us focus on the two flavor packed produce items that will complement a wide variety of dishes and see if that puts momentum in your grocery cart.

Let’s start with pineapple, America’s second favorite tropical fruit (playing second banana to the banana in this category). The pineapple boasts exceptional juiciness and vibrant flavor. It presents a good balance of sweetness and tartness as well. When purchasing pineapple, look for bright green leaves and a sweet fragrant aroma from the stem end. The whole fruit should have a bit of softness too.

If you have a good knife and trustworthy motor skills, slice the stem and base off and cut the fruit rinds from the top to bottom. Once the fruit is trimmed away from the core it should be stored in a sealed container with its juice. It can be kept in the refrigerator for five to seven days.

Grilling the pineapple can give a savory boost to your next cookout. Combine a small amount of juice, oil and pepper and then lightly brush this on the pineapple before placing it on the grill. Grill for about two minutes per side. Try the finished product as part of pork kebobs, or enjoy it sliced over barbeque chicken. Finely diced pineapple also mixes well with salsa.

Another versatile item from the produce section is the tomato. Most Americans enjoy the vegetable as ketchup, but there are numerous menu destinations for this vegetable. Tomatoes taste great sliced on top of baked chicken and a thin layer of mozzarella cheese. You can also try some of those same tomato slices on sandwich bread with basil leaves and bacon (yes!) for an upgrade to the BLT. I can only imagine what would happen if you Googled ‘Bacon’ and ‘Nutrition Facts’ so I will save you the trouble and tell you that the average slice has about 40 calories. Do not embarrass your palate with turkey bacon either, since it provides no real nutrition advantages. If the BLT is not your style, take the tomato slices and drizzle with balsamic vinaigrette, basil and mint for a nice heirloom salad.

Until next time!