I was one of those people who stopped eating fruit because….SUGAR!! I was convinced if I stopped, then my weight problems would decrease. Did I lose any weight because of this? No. What I did lose out on was valuable nutrition. You may have a legitimate medical reason for not eating fruit, so if that is you, this post is not for you.

I think the revelation about how much sugar we were all consuming because of a glass of orange juice was basically the cause of this fruit-aversion movement, and it was to our detriment.

One of the best fruits you can eat is berries. The Mayo Clinic promotes them as a low-calorie, super food with tremendous health benefits (see article link below). I never really ate berries until recently, unless they were on a spongy cake, covered in berry sauce with whipped cream. I’ve now included blueberries as part of my regular snack foods, along with other berries. My favorite way to eat them is to mix them with lemon flavored, low-calorie Greek yogurt.

Berry Tip: raspberries and blackberries can be easily mashed. For breakfast, sometimes I will mash them up, heat them in the microwave for 10 or 15 seconds and spread the mash on my diet toast with my breakfast. It’s better than dry toast and I get my serving of berries. This is much better than a tablespoon of butter and tastes better than plain, dry, diet toast.

Here are some approximate calorie counts for some fresh berries:

• Blackberries – 30 calories in ½ cup or 43 calories in 100 grams

• Blueberries – 40 calories in ½ cup or 70 grams

• Mulberries – 60 calories per cup or 140 grams

• Raspberries – 32 calories in ½ cup or 53 calories in 100 grams

• Strawberries – 49 calories halved in 1 cup or 45 calories in 90 grams

One of my other go-to snacks is apples. I eat them with the peel, and I cut them up and weigh them, so I am not weighing the core. I don’t mind tart apples so I buy Granny Smith apples because they are less sweet, which to me, means they have less sugar. A Granny Smith apple is about 58 calories per 100 grams. Check out the photo below, courtesy of Imgur, showing the sweetness of many apple types. Note that while I choose to eat Granny Smith apples, I have not found any research stating that there is a significant calorie difference between apple varieties. If you find a comparison, please post in the comment section.

If you are not a fresh fruit fan, but like applesauce, did you know you can make unsweetened applesauce quickly on the stove? We have several ancient apple trees on our camping property. When I make oatmeal, I mainly use unsweetened applesauce and water (instead of milk) so we always have apple sauce in the house. If you prefer applesauce to raw apples, here is how I made mine. I put a little water in a non-stick pan, peel and cut up apples into small pieces, and put them in the pan. I cook the apples on low heat on the stove until they are soft and then mash them up. That’s it. You can easily control how chunky your applesauce is as well.

I also used my unsweetened applesauce as a glaze for my pork roast. One cup applesauce, one tablespoon of honey, three tablespoons of Dijon mustard. I smeared that over the entire roast, wrapped it in tinfoil, and slow cooked it on the outdoor grill for about six hours on low heat (200F to 250F).

What other fruits are low in calories? You’d be surprised. Here are some to consider adding to your daily food intake (note that these are approximate calories):

• Cantaloupe – 34 calories in 100 grams

• Honey Dew Melon – 36 calories in 100 grams

• Peaches – 39 calories in 100 grams

• Plums – 45 calories in 100 grams

• Watermelon – 30 calories in 100 grams

Below are some fruits that have a higher calorie count. I’m not passing judgment on these fruits, because all fruits have nutritional benefits, and you are in control of your calorie intake:

• Banana – 89 calories in 100 grams

• Green or Red Seedless Grapes – 69 calories in 100 grams

• Mango – 60 calories in 100 grams

• Orange – 50 calories in 100 grams

• Pineapple – 49 calories in 100 grams

Be aware that 100 grams can result in a smaller portion for one fruit versus another, so experiment with your quantities.

I’m sure there are more fruits to list but I wanted to include some of the more common fruits to add some variety to our diets. Yes, avocado is technically a fruit and it is high in calories.

The downside of fruit is that most fruits have very little protein. Which means that unless they have a lot of fiber, they may make you feel less full than if you ate some protein. They are also mostly carbohydrates, which many of us on low carb diets are avoiding.

Many people are drinking smoothies these days. There is no denying that they can be very healthy depending on what you put in them. However, the calories can add up really quickly. If you are making smoothies but are only estimating or guessing how many calories you are consuming, I suggest you measure, weigh and log everything you put in your smoothie, especially if you are adding protein powder, seeds and a type of milk. I know of two people who were drinking smoothies and one day I actually totaled up the calories for their smoothies and they were far more than they had guessed, and far more than I’d consume for one meal. That’s fine if you want to drink a meal or a meal and a half in a smoothie. That would not work for me as I want to eat regular meals, not drink. As with all foods “healthy” does not equal “low calorie.”

If carbohydrates are your focus, then you probably need to do additional research on the appropriate serving amount of a specific fruit you wish to eat to stay within your daily carbohydrate goal. Since I’m focusing on a calorie deficit diet for this blog, that is where my focus is.

Other posts in my blog with food-related tips, tricks and dietary information:

I’m Having a Crisis (An Eggxistential One) (publish0x.com)

I Just Wanna Veg…. (It’s Not Easy Eating Green) (publish0x.com)

Meaty Subjects….(Moo, Peep, Oink) (publish0x.com)

https://www.publish0x.com/60-pounds-by-60-years/the-booze-blues-whatcha-drinkin-xevjkyx

The post that explains the calorie deficit diet:

This is How We Do It! (publish0x.com)