How to eat more fruit every day: Fun ways to increase your fruit intake

How to eat more fruit? This post steers clear of the boring tips that include long and elaborate ways to increase your fruit intake. Eating more fruit should be fun and peppy as opposed to an experiment straight out of a diet plan where you need to remember the type of vitamins each fruit has and other jargon.

From breakfast to lunch to snacks to dinner - All you need to do is tweak some of your daily habits to make fruits a regular part of your diet without making the effort seem cumbersome.

1) Place a fruit basket in the living room, study or office desk

Sometimes eating more fruit may only be a matter of reminding yourself to eat it. If you love fruit but tend to forget eating it through the day, you can place a fruit basket in your living room or on the kitchen bench.

Every time you walk by the fruit basket you will feel like grabbing a pear, orange, apple or a banana out of it. This could be your answer to eating fruits in the office too.

Buy a cute little fruit basket that is compact enough to fit in a discreet corner on your office desk and keep stocking it up. You are likely to grab a fruity bite out of the basket every time you have a hunger pang or feel like munching.

2) Make a fruit bowl for breakfast or snack

Wish yourself a delicious good morning by mixing cut fruit in a bowl of plain whipped yoghurt and drizzling some honey over it. You can replace your routine bowl of cereal with this wholesome breakfast for a couple of days during the week.

Besides just breakfast, a fruit bowl can be your evening snack or a complement to a healthy and light dinner. You can also prepare a natural fruit bowl by using a rotund fruit like watermelon or pineapple as the base for the bowl. Remove its pulp and fill its empty shell with other fruits.

3) Fruit snack idea: Fruit skewers

You can make a few simple few slices of fruit interesting by lining them up on a skewer. This kebab like snack will look vibrant and the best part is that you don't need to season or dress the fruits themselves. Simply slice, skewer, carry to the couch and much away while watching TV or catching up with family.

4) Make fruit smoothies at home

Making fruit smoothies is slightly tedious and not as effortless as the other seemingly fun ways to eat more fruit. But the delicious result is worth all the 15 to 20 minutes that it would take to churn up a delightful fruit smoothie.

Blend fruit, yogurt and sugar to taste along with a few drops of vanilla essence to make fruit smoothies. They can be a super healthy alternative to breakfast or even a finishing touch to a healthy dinner. You can experiment with different fruits but grape, apple, strawberry and other berries are a safe bet for a delicious glass of pure goodness.

5) Use fruit toppings on cereals

Do you eat cereal for breakfast every morning? Fruits are a delicious and healthy cereal topping. Stock your fridge with berries, oranges, apples, banana and other sweet bites that you love to devour. Slices of your favorite fruit will add a bang in terms of taste and make your mornings effortlessly fruitier and healthier.

6) Complement your meals with a fruit dish

If you can't be bothered with mixing slices of fruit with yogurt an easy way to increase your fruit intake is to top up your meals with an effortless fruit dish. You would want to pick fruits that are easy to slice and don't require a lot of cleaning and pampering. Classic examples are apple, pear, banana and pineapple.

Simply lay down the cut fruit pieces on a plate and season them with some pepper, black or normal salt to create a side dish that complements your meal. A fruit side dish will deliver a peppy and fruity punch to your taste buds.

7) Buy fresh fruit juices instead of soda cans

What are you likely to pick up from a 7-Eleven fridge when you feel thirsty? If your reply was a can of soda, you could easily increase your fruit intake by quenching your thirst with fresh fruit juices instead. Buy the ones which have fresh fruit equivalent. These are the type of juice bottles which generally have a short expiry period.

Make this a habit to sustain an increased fruit intake in the long run. Opt for the healthier drink every single time you find your hands lunging for a can of soda. Buy a fruit juice instead.

8) Go on a fruity date: Indulge in tasting a new fruit every week

The whole chit chat about eating more fruit and staying healthy can sometimes sound like irritating advice because it is virtually all over the place. Your doctor will tell you and so will your parents, your dietitian, your personal trainer and even posts like these.

Shun the boring bits and add some spice in the whole idea of increasing your fruit intake. Decide a day of the week when you and your partner can go to a supermarket or a farmer's market to try a new fruit.

There are hundreds of different types of fruit and it will be many years before you can proudly say that you have tasted them all. Turn fruit tasting into a weekly activity that you can do with your friend, partner or with even with family.

9) Fruit salads: Use fruit as an alternative to veggie salads

Salads made out of varieties of vegetables and meats can be replaced with fruit for a few days of the week. Use your choice of dressing that goes well with the kind of fruit you want to eat.

Peaches, pears, grapes, cherries, strawberries, banana, mango, blueberries and pineapple are generally considered as favorite picks when it comes to mixing up a quick fruit salad. If served up in a nice cocktail glass, it can also be a tangy entrée or appetizer if you have called some friends over.

10) Replace traditional desserts with fruit based desserts

This tip is for the foodies who like to top their meals off with a delicious little treat. Fruit based desserts are a healthier, lighter and possibly more likeable alternative to those heavy dairy based desserts. They may even take a lot less prep time if you plan on doing something simple.

Simple ideas to use fruit as dessert include mixing chopped fruit with whipped cream and serving in a martini glass or drizzling warm chocolate sauce on cold strawberries. The trick to amplify these simple fruit desserts is to make the presentation look a tad fancier.

11) Store away sliced fruit in the refrigerator

It may be impractical to ask a busy student or a professional to come home after a hectic day and start slicing away fruits. If this sounds like the situation you find yourself in every day, slicing and storing may be the way out.

Slice and store fruit in the refrigerator or freezer when you have 10 minutes during the day. Cut up enough slices that will last you at least 2 to 3 days depending on the ripeness of the fruit. Once you put this habit of slicing and storing every other day, you will never run out of an instant fruity snack.

12) Carry a piece of fruit in your bag every day

Popping an apple, banana or a peach in your bag every day before you leave for school or work can go a long way in helping you increase your fruit intake on a daily basis. Every time you feel like going to the cafe to buy a snack, you can remind yourself of the fruits lying in your bag.

Eating more fruit every day should be effortless. Don't be bogged down by having to cut and sort fruit while you are on the go and avoid carrying fruits that can be messy to eat outside. Fruits like grapefruit or passion fruit can create a mess if their juices spill and are not the most convenient snack at an office desk.

13) Make eating fruit a fun activity: Visit fruit farms with friends or family

Visiting fruit farms with family, kids or friends can be fun and a cool way of eating more fruit. Fruit farms are generally known to charge a flat ticket on entry. Visitors are typically allowed to pick fruits straight from the trees and vines.

This trip is likely to turn into a weekend picnic that you and your family can enjoy. It can also be something you would want to do with your girlfriend or boyfriend. There are fewer other more romantic experiences than picking fresh fruit off tress with your partner, later finishing the day with a glass of red and conversations with him/her as the sun sets in the backdrop.

14) Shop for precut fruits at the supermarket

Are you unable to make yourself eat more fruit only because you are too tired or lazy to do the slicing and cutting yourself? You can deal with this by buying precut fruits from the supermarkets.

Be sure to check the freshness of the fruit before you buy them. It may not be the best of ideas to store precut fruit for a long time so it is best to be consumed soon. Working professionals can hop over at the supermarket before going home and buy sliced fruit for a snack, smoothie or a delightful healthy fruit bowl.