Fruitful Tips for a Nutritious, Wash-and-Go Dessert

by Richard Visser, D.C., Ph.D.

With the large variety of unusually shaped, brightly colored, fragrant and sweet fruits at your local store, having your children try a few new fruits a week-while continuing to eat their favorites-should be easy, particularly with the easy-to-follow tips outlined here. Lots of detail follows, but make it simple by keeping this acronym in mind when you're shopping: Get a BATCH of fruit every time you visit the grocery story: Berries, Apricots, Tropical (guava, papaya, mangoes and others), Cantaloupe, and any other Healthy choices that keep your kids happy.

B = Berries Are the Best! Strawberries contain more vitamin C than any other berry (8 strawberries have 140 percent of your RDA). Don't wash them until just before eating to preserve appearance and texture.

Cherries and cranberries are well known for containing antioxidants, but the benefits and recommended amounts are still being researched. To reduce the tartness of fresh cranberries, combine them with sweeter fruits, like oranges or pineapple, or toss with honey or maple syrup. Substitute dried cranberries instead of raisins (a big nutritional disappointment, except for the potassium) in bread or muffin recipes.

Though blueberries are also famous for their antioxidants, blackberries have twice the fiber, vitamin C, and potassium, and four times the folate and vitamin A.

A = Apricots Apples give you a lot of fiber and a decent amount of potassium, but not much else. Of all fruits, apples have among the lowest levels of folate and vitamins C and A. Fresh apricots contain large amounts of folate and vitamins C and A. In fact, apricots have four times as much vitamin A as the similar peach and three times as much as a nectarine. Otherwise, their nutrient levels are almost identical. The only other two fruits with such high levels of vitamin A are cantaloupe and pink/red grapefruit. Handy, dried apricots are better sources of potassium and fiber, though they completely lack vitamin C.

T = Tropical Fruits for a Boost in Flavor Choices Papayas, mangoes, and guava all make the A-list in terms of vitamins C and A, folate, potassium, and fiber. Let the kids choose which ones they want to enjoy each week, and you'll have an even better chance of them actually eating what you buy.

C = Cantaloupe Starts with C and A Cantaloupe is a great source of vitamins C and A, potassium, and folate and low in calories despite its super-sweet taste. Watermelon and honeydew melons don't rank nearly as high, but are still loaded with vitamins.

Oranges are the best source of vitamin C, right? Nope! Guavas pack more C, kiwis contain just as much, and all three have high amounts of vitamins A, potassium, and fiber.

H = Healthy Choices that Make Your Kids Happy Cantaloupe, oranges, and grapefruit pack more nutritional punch than bananas, which are great for potassium, folate, and fiber, but have average levels of vitamin C and A.

If you don't see your child's favorite fruit, it probably doesn't contain earth-shattering amounts of nutrients. Of course, any fruit is light-years ahead of artificially sweet alternatives! And fresh fruit as a snack or dessert is so easy for you-no cooking required. Just wash and go.

Tips to Incorporate More Fruits Into Meals & Snacks Put fruit on your child's cereal, waffles or pancakes in the morning, and pack peeled or cut fruit with their lunch-the easier to eat, the better.

Fruit salad is a great way to get a day's worth of recommended fruit servings in one dish, and extra portions can be frozen for a fun, icy treat.

Cut up mangos, cantaloupe, watermelon, or section oranges and grapefruit and keep at kids' eye level in the fridge. Place a bowl of washed fruit, and hang bananas, within your child's reach.

When starfruit is sliced, each slice resembles a star-a fun, easy sell!

Keep dried fruit-cherries, dates, plums, raisins, cranberries, apricots, blueberries-in plastic containers or bags in the car for snacks.

As with vegetables, the key is variety, not quantity. Your child's stomach is tiny, so be happy when your child takes even a few bites of each fruit. Just be prepared to eat what's left of that enormous mango after your child has eaten his or her fill-you need to lead by example, and those nutrients will do your body good, too!

Sidebar As a reminder, the FDA recommends kids aged one to three eat two and a half cups of fruits and vegetables each day. Girls aged four to eight need two and a half cups daily, while boys aged four to eight should eat three cups. Girls aged nine to 13 need three and a half cups, while four cups per day is recommended for boys aged nine to 13 and girls aged 14 to 18. Boys aged 14 to 18 need five cups of fruits and vegetables daily.

Dr. Richard Visser completed clinical research on 10,000 children and the obesity pandemic in Latin America and the United States. He's the director of the Visser Wellness and Research Center in Aruba, as well as CEO of SimplyH, LLC and Simply Toddler, LLC in Los Angeles. Dr. Visser works worldwide to raise awareness of proper nutrition for healthy and fit toddlers and children.