334fruitmixWe asked you, our Tasty and Meatless fans, to share your favorite strategies for getting yourself and your loved ones to eat more fruits and vegetables. You came up with incredibly useful tips! We hope that many others will try a few of these this week. Write to us and let us know how they worked out!

From JEAN OVERBY, Honolulu, Oahu

  • Don’t throw out that little bit of leftover vegetables from dinner. Put any leftover veggies in a small covered dish in the refrigerator and add them to your next batch of soup, pasta sauce, or stir fry.

From JANICE CRETTON, Haiku, Maui

  • Cut up fruits and offer them to your kids and husband at least twice a day. Otherwise, they will forget to eat their fruit everyday.
  • Cut up vegetable sticks and arrange in an appealing display on plate with a yummy dip.
  • Cover apple slices and celery with peanut butter! Kids and adults love’em!

From CANDACE SAKUDA, Honolulu, Oahu

  • For a quick and easy breakfast or snack, I slice a papaya in half and store each half, along with a plastic spoon, in a zipper plastic bag and put them in the refrigerator. Other fruits, like oranges, pineapples, and grapefruit can be pre-prepped this way, too.
  • My family loves chips and salsa so I slice up some vegetables, like cucumbers, carrots, and celery, and add them on the platter.

From OTHER FANS!

  • I got my young adults to eat more fruit by serving them as dessert. Just a nice variety, fresh and very sweet.
  • I do smoothies in the mornings for a nice breakfast drink, no sweetener, just fresh fruit.
  • Add your favorite fruit to your breakfast food. For example, add blueberries with your cereal.
  • Try an exotic piece of fruit or vegetable per week.
  • I keep reading articles and books on nutritious eating. This motivates me to eat more of the “good for me” foods.
  • Try phyllo dough wrapped around some blueberries, strawberries or other fruit, no sugar added, just a light brush of butter, sprinkle of coconut and a dash of nutmeg. Delicious, all organic turnovers!