Fruit: is it necessary?

24

Replies

  • estherdragonbat
    estherdragonbat Posts: 5,283 Member
    I find that a lot of low-calorie desserts use fruit to replace higher-calorie options. I made a peach-nut pudding cake this week. 8 servings. 99 calories/serving. Because it's got 1/4 cup of white flour, 1/4 cup whole wheat, 1/3 cup of sugar and 1.5 cups of peaches. Everything else? Baking powder, extracts, 2 tbsp chopped nuts. The fruit provides much of the bulk that would normally come from the flour and sugar. The fruit sugars mean less added sugar. The cake is delicious; I've made it before. It's one of those low-cal options that doesn't taste 'diet'. And the peaches are the main reason why.

    Maybe I don't 'need' fruit in my diet. But the cake sure does.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    That sounds worth trying out. (Also, peaches are amazing.)
  • GottaBurnEmAll
    GottaBurnEmAll Posts: 7,722 Member
    When I could still have gluten, I loved pudding cakes. Peach anything was my favorite. That sounds like an incredibly tasty treat.
  • estherdragonbat
    estherdragonbat Posts: 5,283 Member
    It is. I'm not up on the ratios for substituting gluten-free flours, but I can PM the recipe if you like.
  • OliveGirl128
    OliveGirl128 Posts: 801 Member
    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    leanitup123 wrote: »
    "EAT 4 SERVINGS OF FRUIT PER DAY BECAUSE HEALTH!!!"
    "FRUIT IS GOOD FOR YOU EAT MORE FRUIT!"
    "I'M SO HEALTHY BECAUSE I EAST FRUIT!!!"

    Okay, okay don't get me wrong... I get that it's "healthy" because of the fiber, vitamins and minerals - but it also has plenty of (natural) sugar. I eat plenty of vegetables but veer away from fruit.

    What are your thoughts - is it really necessary to eat fruit every day? I could easily go a week, a month - heck even a year without eating it.

    I tend towards a serving or two of fruit...mostly berries and right now cherries are in season so I'm eating a lot of those. I put an emphasis on veg, but fruit is very good for you and is chalk full of antioxidants. I get a little weary over all of the sugar fear mongering...when people are avoiding fruit because they're afraid of sugar, you know things have gone too far...ridiculous.

    I mostly use fruit to make my green smoothies bearable, (bananas and berries), but the one fruit I actually look forward to coming into season every year and love by themselves is cherries! They're definitely skewing my fruit intake numbers right now :#
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 31,935 Member
    Fruit necessary daily? No.

    Delicious and desirable? Yes, for me.

    Today I ate about 11 servings of vegetables total, and about 2 of fruit (assuming you count tomatoes and cucumbers as veggies as per normal culinary/dietary practice, rather than as fruit as per botany . . . .).

    Is the fruit sugar "bad"? Since I'm not even remotely close to diabetic . . . no.

    And I suspect my no-sugar-added dairy foods today had more sugars than my fruits, anyway. Not sure, though - I don't bother to track sugar.



  • GottaBurnEmAll
    GottaBurnEmAll Posts: 7,722 Member
    estherdragonbat wrote: »
    It is. I'm not up on the ratios for substituting gluten-free flours, but I can PM the recipe if you like.

    I'd have to look up a specific gluten free pudding cake, and it would likely have eggs. I think gluten makes pudding cakes, well, pudding-y. Thanks for offering, though!
  • Old_Cat_Lady
    Old_Cat_Lady Posts: 1,193 Member
    Cost prohibits fresh fruit in my area (for me). I take a multi along with a vit C w/ flavonoids from Costco.
    Why does the government subsidize corn and wheat but not fruit?
    I simply will not pay $1.50 for an apple. Not worth it.
  • OliveGirl128
    OliveGirl128 Posts: 801 Member
    edited July 2017
    TheWJordinWJordin wrote: »
    Cost prohibits fresh fruit in my area (for me). I take a multi along with a vit C w/ flavonoids from Costco.
    Why does the government subsidize corn and wheat but not fruit?
    I simply will not pay $1.50 for an apple. Not worth it.

    Do you have a growing season where local produce is inexpensive? I only buy apples in the fall, when I can get them for under $1lb, for example. Some fruit freezes well too so I always stock up on those when I can get good deals, (I currently have around 20 lbs of strawberries in my freezee that I got for $1 or less a pound. Same with blueberries).

    Also stores will do weekly loss leaders and if you're flexible with what you get you can get good deals that way as well.

    edit grammar
  • Aartman97
    Aartman97 Posts: 5 Member
    Fruit is wonderful. If you fill up on fruit, hou are less likely to eat other junk.
  • Lovee_Dove7
    Lovee_Dove7 Posts: 742 Member
    I agree with lots of veggies!
    But eliminating fruit is too restricting IMO.
    Berries are perfect if you are trying to keep sugar intake low. And lemons/limes.
  • DamieBird
    DamieBird Posts: 651 Member
    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    leanitup123 wrote: »
    "EAT 4 SERVINGS OF FRUIT PER DAY BECAUSE HEALTH!!!"
    "FRUIT IS GOOD FOR YOU EAT MORE FRUIT!"
    "I'M SO HEALTHY BECAUSE I EAST FRUIT!!!"

    Okay, okay don't get me wrong... I get that it's "healthy" because of the fiber, vitamins and minerals - but it also has plenty of (natural) sugar. I eat plenty of vegetables but veer away from fruit.

    What are your thoughts - is it really necessary to eat fruit every day? I could easily go a week, a month - heck even a year without eating it.

    I tend towards a serving or two of fruit...mostly berries and right now cherries are in season so I'm eating a lot of those. I put an emphasis on veg, but fruit is very good for you and is chalk full of antioxidants. I get a little weary over all of the sugar fear mongering...when people are avoiding fruit because they're afraid of sugar, you know things have gone too far...ridiculous.

    I once had a paleo-ite friend try to say that carrots had too much sugar, because they are a 'sweet' vegetable
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 31,935 Member
    edited July 2017
    DamieBird wrote: »
    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    leanitup123 wrote: »
    "EAT 4 SERVINGS OF FRUIT PER DAY BECAUSE HEALTH!!!"
    "FRUIT IS GOOD FOR YOU EAT MORE FRUIT!"
    "I'M SO HEALTHY BECAUSE I EAST FRUIT!!!"

    Okay, okay don't get me wrong... I get that it's "healthy" because of the fiber, vitamins and minerals - but it also has plenty of (natural) sugar. I eat plenty of vegetables but veer away from fruit.

    What are your thoughts - is it really necessary to eat fruit every day? I could easily go a week, a month - heck even a year without eating it.

    I tend towards a serving or two of fruit...mostly berries and right now cherries are in season so I'm eating a lot of those. I put an emphasis on veg, but fruit is very good for you and is chalk full of antioxidants. I get a little weary over all of the sugar fear mongering...when people are avoiding fruit because they're afraid of sugar, you know things have gone too far...ridiculous.

    I once had a paleo-ite friend try to say that carrots had too much sugar, because they are a 'sweet' vegetable

    That some vegetables are sweeter than some fruits is only one factor that makes the "fruit is bad" generalization pretty silly.

    As someone old enough to have witnessed the "discovery" of many essential nutrients - let alone beneficial but nonessential ones - I find "take a supplement instead" Just. Hilarious.

    (P.S. No disagreement with DamieBird or cwolfman13 implied by piggybacking on their quotes here. Just chattin'.)
  • jnunez1963
    jnunez1963 Posts: 35 Member
    I try not to vilify any food groups personally. And, it's far better to eat a small apple or nectarine than to eat a 100 calorie pack of oreos or ritz crackers. When I am craving chocolate cake or pie or chips, I find a small, crunchy fresh fruit helps me stay focused.
  • SiegfriedXXL
    SiegfriedXXL Posts: 219 Member
    I cannot stand most fruit. I especially cannot stand apples and raspberries. They're just....wrong.

    I like blueberries, cherries, strawberries, lemons, limes, and the occasional orange. Anything else is a big nope.

    I'm glad they aren't essential because I'd be one grumpy eater.
  • DancingMoosie
    DancingMoosie Posts: 8,613 Member
    edited July 2017
    I tend to eat a lot more veggies than fruit, but don't really have anything against fruit. The fruits I eat most often would be banana and strawberry, followed by apples and blueberries. I have some frozen peaches atm and had some cherries when they were on sale, oh and personal watermelons because they are in season. As for veggies, regulars are summer squash, broccoli, spinach and arugula, tomato, carrot, asparagus, peppers, mushrooms(fungus).

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