3 Best Ways To Take Advantage Of Fruits

The daily consumption of fruits is one of the habits that contribute to maintaining physical and mental well-being. This variety of foods, in addition to being low in calories, provides vitamins and minerals that are key to health. Do you want to learn different ways to take advantage of fruits?

Although it is best to eat the pieces in their natural state, there are some alternative forms of consumption that can be taken into account when these foods are too ripe or about to spoil. Here are some options in detail.

Better ways to take advantage of fruits

Before discovering how to take advantage of fruits, let’s do a brief review on the properties of this food. And, as detailed in a publication in Advances in Nutrition , fruits contain important bioactive compounds, including phytochemicals, vitamins, minerals, and fibers.

This same publication highlights that fruits, like vegetables and whole grains, contribute to the prevention of chronic diseases, mainly due to their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory capacity. In addition, he points out that the ideal thing is to consume about 4 pieces a day.

But hey, returning to our main topic, we are going to review those methods to take advantage of this food when it is no longer pleasant to eat it in its natural form. Do you dare to try them?

1. Make a fruit jam

Time passes, and you still have the fruits that you bought the week before at the supermarket in the kitchen. You forget to take them with you and every time you come home and open the refrigerator, you despair when you see them there and not know what to do with them. Well, you don’t have to worry about it anymore.

Preparing a rich natural jam is one of the best ways to take advantage of fruits. Especially when they are quite soft. In addition, once you have it ready, you can enjoy its flavor on a toast or other sandwiches. For this you will need:

Ingredients

• 2 and 1/2 cups of orange juice (280 ml).
• 5 cups of strawberries, chopped into pieces (500 g).
• 1 tablespoon of sugar (25 g).

Preparation

• Keep in mind that this recipe will be done in a matter of 5 minutes, maximum.
• First in a saucepan over high heat, add all the ingredients (including the sugar).
• With the help of a wooden trowel, stir constantly.
• When it has reached the boiling point, remove the pot and let the mixture sit for a few minutes.
• Place the jam in a container (preferably glass) once it is warm and refrigerate.

2. Prepare a rich smoothie

Another way to take advantage of the fruits that we have forgotten in the kitchen or in the refrigerator is to prepare delicious shakes or smoothies. We just have to see the pieces of fruit that we have and how we can combine them so that they taste good to us.

For example, the banana is usually the most suitable base for smoothies with strawberries, spinach and the like. However, it is not recommended to mix banana with tangerine, especially if we are going to prepare the smoothie with cow’s milk.

If we want to opt for this combination, we will have to use a vegetable drink (soy, almonds, etc.) so that the tangerine is not cut with the milk.

Once the fruits have been selected, washed, peeled and cut, we place them in the blender along with a little milk (yogurt or vegetable drink, depending on what we choose) and we beat everything until we achieve a homogeneous mixture. Next we will comment on the following recipe so that you can pay attention to the preparation.

Ingredients

• 2 cups of water (220 ml).
• 1 mint leaf to decorate (5 g).
• 2 cups of chopped strawberries (200 g).
• 1 and 1/2 cups of raspberries (150 g).
• 1 cup of chopped blueberries (100 g).
• 1 natural or vanilla yogurt (125 ml).
• 2 tablespoons of dried red fruits (50 g).

Preparation

• Don’t worry, this preparation will be ready in 5 minutes. It is very simple.

• First, put all the ingredients in a blender and then cover.
• Make sure to beat everything and add the water little by little. The idea is that the result is a smoothie with sufficient consistency (that is neither too liquid nor too thick).
• Finally, pour the result into a glass with several ice cubes and the mint leaf. Now is the time to savor your homemade smoothie.

3. Homemade fruit ice creams

Homemade desserts are another way to take advantage of fruits. Now, don’t underestimate a couple of things: what the fruit might look like and the recipes that might come out of it. Next we show you how you can prepare delicious homemade ice creams.

Ingredients

• 2 sweet cookies (15 g).
• 1 glass of yogurt (150 ml).
• 5 frozen strawberries (200 g).
• 1 cup of orange juice (110 ml).
• 2 tablespoons of chopped walnuts (50 g).
• 3 previously frozen sliced ​​bananas (200 g).

Preparation

• First, keep in mind that you need all the frozen fruits. So if the preparation will be done in the afternoon, it is recommended that you have placed the ingredients in the refrigerator the night before.
• Then, with the help of a blender, place the chopped fruits and yogurt.
• Beat for 2 minutes, at minimum speed, and add, little by little, the orange juice. The objective is to achieve a homogeneous and thick mixture.
• Pour the contents into the containers you have arranged and refrigerate for at least 2 hours to get them to become ice cream.

Do you dare to prepare these recipes at home? As you just noticed, they are very simple ways to take advantage of fruits that have lost their freshness. However, they should be eaten in moderation, as they add more calories than fruit alone. Keep this in mind and make it a way to avoid waste.