if you put beautiful apples out in plain sight people will eat them. one well-known hotel chain found this to be true. my daughter and i stayed at the marriott in long beach calif. every day the hotel has a basket filled with red apples and another filled with green apples on their front desk. it’s a visual cue to eat a crisp refreshing apple as a snack. all i can say is i saw people (teens especially) eating apples on the elevator and while walking out of the hotel. apples apples everywhere. i personally enjoyed one every single day that we stayed there. i had to ask: which was more popular … the red or the green? according to the front desk staffer at my hotel red is the winner but green apples appeal to plenty of people too (myself included). i call it the fruit basket phenomenon. it’s the opposite of “out of sight out of mind. ” if fruit is in view where you work and/or live you’re likely to eat more of it. so if you want to eat more fruit (and let’s hope you do) try putting fresh fruit out in plain view at home or at the office. the first step in encouraging your family to eat more fruit is to talk with them about it and problem solve it together. tell your family why you want them to get more fruit and ask them what’s keeping them from eating more. it’ll be important to get your family involved in this process so here are some ideas: • take them shopping with you and have them pick out fruits that they would be more likely to eat • experiment with unique or exotic fruits – who knows what you may end up liking • if you have kids encourage them to cook and prepare food with you – they may be more inclined to eat healthy food if they were involved in the process. • find creative ways to incorporate fruit – try making smoothies or to find dessert recipes centered around fruit • combine fruit with things that they’re already eating like cereal oatmeal yogurt salad or dessert remember you can’t expect your family to eat more fruit if it’s not readily available at home. one of the keys to success will be keeping healthy options like fruits readily accessible while keeping the unhealthy alternatives less available. given a choice between the two people often choose the less healthy option so make it convenient for them by cutting up fruit ahead of time and keep it in plain sight rather than hidden away in a crisper drawer. making an effort to incorporate fruits with each meal or as part of a snack will go a long way but it can be important to get them involved in the process. keep in mind that depending on their age and gender the usda recommends 1 to 2 cups of fruit per day.
how can i encourage my family to eat fruit?