How do I get over being grossed out by fresh fruit imperfect

I never really heard of such unnatural fear of fruit.....

Spray it down with anti-bacterial soap in your bathroom I guess....

You aren't hungry enough if you can't eat bruised fruit.

I would just suggest peeling the fruit after rinsing it to get rid of all of the nasty bumps and bruises. Oranges, apples and bananas are simple. Berries are usually pretty nice looking. You could also blend your fruits into a smoothie with yogurt if you don't want to look at them. Any way you can get them into your diet is good!

Face your fear, girl. Get up to your elbows in that stuff.

Start with bananas, grapes, and strawberries. They are very easily recognizable if they aren't good enough to eat. Bananas, for me personally, I like to get with some green on the outside still. This means they are not as ripe, but that is the way I like them. If you like yours softer, look for a little darker yellow on the outside. My husband even waits until there are brown spots on the outside. He really likes his ripe. The longer you wait for them to ripen, you may have some spots on the inside. But they will not affect the taste of the banana, just cut them off. As for strawberries, look for the brightest red possible. I am not sure what part of the country you live in. I am from NC and they are currently out of season locally, so the ones in the grocery store aren't as good as when they are in season. But they are still delicious. Grapes, you mostly just want for them to be intact. If they look squishy or you can visibly see blemishes, pass on them. But you can almost always pick off the bad ones in the grocery store.

The reason people harp so bad on fruits in the can is mainly because of the fermented sugar filled juice they sit in. Not to mention anything you can get fresh will always taste better and be better for you. You may get a bad fruit here and there, but in my experience, they are mostly good in the store fresh.

Good luck!

Walmart is actually the largest distributor of organic produce in the US.

I can't imagine not having fresh fruit or veggies every single day...so I'm not the best person to answer this question. I've also been gardening organically my entire life, so I think this has helped shape my attitude about fruits and veggies.

As for not being able to tell when something has gone bad, it is bad if there's mold on it. If not, it just may be over-ripe. I would suggest getting fruit you don't have to handle directly since this sounds like an issue for you. Smoothies made with fresh fruit (made right in front of you) and yogurt is a great option. Also, frozen fruit is better than canned. It is picked at the peak of freshness and the nutrients are all there. It's not like canned because it often has syrup. You could also buy frozen fruit and make your own smoothies at home.

One thing that can be helpful is to stick to trying to buy organic for the list that is called The Dirty Dozen.

http://www.organic.org/articles/showarticle/article-214

I would suggest finding a local farmer's market and asking for tips as you buy. There are so many different fruits to try it might be less overwhelming to tackle a select few at a time. I still have trouble with mango and pineapple cutting, seems like I destroy half the fruit while slicing. It's great to face food fears and conquer!! Good luck and don't give up.

Ha I think I'm completely the opposite. Is it weird that I like when my fruits and vegetables are kinda dirty? Like carrots for example... I don't like to wash them too much... makes me feel like I'm eating some of the soil and getting some of the minerals from it LOL. And I never wash any organic produce that I buy.

You aren't hungry enough if you can't eat bruised fruit.

LOL that is cute/funny, but I can understand e all have our little quirks...I have never heard of this one....but given how most younger kids in society now grow up with everything pre packaged and can barely tell a vegetable against a fruit....it's okay You'll be fine, if a fruit/veggie is really bad...trust me you WILL know

Nectarine = Peach without fuzz.



This sounds like a neurosis. Do you have other phobias like this? Unrealistic fear isn't healthy and leads to disordered behavior.

I had a nectarine and it did not taste at all like a peach to me. And no, I don't have any other "phobias" as you put it.

:laugh: Well, it doesn't taste like a canned peach, that's for sure. You'll be fine. A bruise on fruit won't hurt you. Keep doing what you're doing, trying new things.

I used to be a really picky eater. In looking back at it, I used it as a means of control .....when you are a kid, that's one of the few things you have any control over - what goes in your mouth!

Fruit and vegetables from cans are so heavily processed that they are going to look perfect - You already realize this which is great and a huge first step to eating fresh I suppose. Often times the advertisements we see of fruit, be they in a food magazine, on the television and on the outside of said packaging and cans is so primed, so photoshopped, and often times faked. It's an amazing process to watch how these advertisement companies create silicon fruits, vegetables - even hunks of fresh beef and fish. They're made out of a silicon and painted with such an artistic touch that they look real! It's truly quite admirable, but like those photo shopped images of models they are not real.

In addition to this first step of knowing that fruit and vegetables can be imperfect, you can start by trying to choose the best looking produce you can. It may take some time but you know that you picked a peach without a large bruise. Then I think it's matter of being careful with them. If necessary when you unload your vehicle of groceries, leave the fruits and vegetables for last so that you can bring them inside without them banging around. Pack them in an available seat instead of the trunk to help them stay unbruised. And like many have said, a good wash will do wonders for fruits and vegetables with skins. Buy a soft bristle brush that is just for fruits and vegetables and use it to clean off any dirt and also to clean away any pesticides that may be on the hard skin vegetables. As for vegetables like strawberries that may not with stand that perhaps a good, strong rinse would be fine? Use a colander to do so of course.

You're not alone though. I love my fresh apples, but I take a small pairing knife and cut out the bruises. They do tend to have a slight taste to them that I don't care for either.

I'm not a gardener either but I am growing a patio tomato, a cucumber and a green pepper this summer just for kicks! I've had to do nothing to them except water them. Maybe you and your daughter could start a small garden of just the basics - vegetables that you don't even have to eat if you don't want to. That way you see for yourself that they are bruise free. You can choose whether you want that cracked tomato (A result of uneven watering) or not. It'd be a wonderful way for you two to bond. Good luck!

Ha I think I'm completely the opposite. Is it weird that I like when my fruits and vegetables are kinda dirty? Like carrots for example... I don't like to wash them too much... makes me feel like I'm eating some of the soil and getting some of the minerals from it LOL. And I never wash any organic produce that I buy.

You should still wash your organic produce. Just rinse with water. They may have traces of organic fertilizer (read: cow poo) or the person that picked them may not have had the cleanest hands. The people in the grocery store might also not have the cleanest hands.

Mind you, I eat veggies out of my garden all of the time without washing them. But I know my hands are clean and usually I'm just rinsing off some dirt...not dirty grocery store worker hand residue.

You might want to walk around a farmer's market and just look and talk with the vendors. I think it will be quite eye opening. Plus, once you get up the nerve to try something really local and in-season, the taste alone will convince you that fresh is best.