Many who have a sweet tooth struggle with snacking. Whether you reach for cake, candy, or Kringle you want the craving satisfied swiftly and sweetly, right? However, there is a healthier sweet treat option. Why not try fruit to satisfy a sweet tooth?
It’s 2 pm - you worked through lunch and now you are starving. What is quick, easy, and convenient? A Snickers bar is just a vending machine away and everybody knows Snickers satisfies. Or you’re not hungry at all, just watching TV. You know there is a bag of Skittles in the kitchen cabinet and you can already taste that rainbow. Neither one is a healthy choice but they are both sweet and easy to grab and go.
Most people know that fruit is a healthier option and that everyone needs to eat more fruit because it’s good for us. After that we tend to overthink how much are we supposed to eat. Or we figure it’s just a pain to prepare and inconvenient to purchase. So we fall into our old, unhealthy habits.
So how much fruit are we supposed to eat every day? The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) makes the following recommendations, based on age and gender:
Daily Recommended Servings
19 to 30 years old = 2 cups
31 to 50 years old = 1 ½ cups
51+ years old = 1 ½ cups
19 to 30 years old = 2 cups
31 to 50 years old = 2 cups
51+ years old = 2 cups
What does that look like? You can hold the entire day’s worth of fruit servings in your hands. For those who overthink it’s really not that much.
Fruit is incredibly easy to prepare. Rinse grapes. Scrub an apple. Your snacks are good to go.
Convenient to Purchase
Although finding a banana in a vending machine is not as common as a candy bar, fruit is still pretty convenient to purchase. When you walk into a grocery store what is the first department you see? Typically, it’s the produce department. All of those fresh fruits and vegetables are ready and waiting for you. You stop into the grocery store at least once a week anyway. So pick up your healthy snacks!
Let’s talk about what these snacks do for us or to us. Some of the vitamins and minerals different fruits will provide your body are: vitamin A, vitamin B, vitamin C, potassium and many others. And they are low in calories for those who are watching their weight.
- Medium-size apple (72 calories)
- Medium-size banana (105 calories)
- Medium-size peach (73 calories)
- Medium-size pear (96 calories)
- 1 cup blueberries (83 calories)
- 1 cup grapes (100 calories)
- 1 cup strawberries (46 calories)
Compared to Candy
Candy provides a quick sugar rush and, later, a huge crash. These treats provide little more for us than calories with no nutritional value.
- Skittles (231 calories)
- Snicker bar (250 calories)
- Reese's Peanut Butter cups (2 cups = 210 calories)
- Kit Kat (230 calories)
The next time you feel the need for a sweet treat, reach for fruit to satisfy a sweet tooth!