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Can you drink your fruit and vegetables? How does juice compare to the whole food?

<div class="theconversation-article-body"> <p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/emma-beckett-22673">Emma Beckett</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/unsw-sydney-1414">UNSW Sydney</a></em></p> <p>Do you struggle to eat your fruits and vegetables? You are not alone. Less than 5% of Australians eat the recommended serves of fresh produce <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/health/health-conditions-and-risks/dietary-behaviour/latest-release">each day</a> (with 44% eating enough fruit but only 6% eating the recommended vegetables).</p> <p>Adults <a href="https://www.eatforhealth.gov.au/food-essentials/five-food-groups">should aim to eat</a> at least five serves of vegetables (or roughly 375 grams) and two serves of fruit (about 300 grams) each day. Fruits and vegetables help keep us healthy because they have lots of nutrients (vitamins, minerals and fibre) and health-promoting bioactive compounds (substances not technically essential but which have health benefits) without having many calories.</p> <p>So, if you are having trouble <a href="https://theconversation.com/want-your-child-to-eat-more-veggies-talk-to-them-about-eating-the-rainbow-195563">eating the rainbow</a>, you might be wondering – is it OK to drink your fruits and vegetables instead in a juice or smoothie? Like everything in nutrition, the answer is all about context.</p> <h2>It might help overcome barriers</h2> <p>Common reasons for not eating enough fruits and vegetables are <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/1747-0080.12735">preferences, habits, perishability, cost, availability, time and poor cooking skills</a>. Drinking your fruits and vegetables in juices or smoothies can help overcome some of these barriers.</p> <p><a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1467-3010.2009.01760.x">Juicing or blending</a> can help disguise tastes you don’t like, like bitterness in vegetables. And it can blitz imperfections such as bruises or soft spots. Preparation doesn’t take much skill or time, particularly if you just have to pour store-bought juice from the bottle. Treating for food safety and shipping time does change the make up of juices slightly, but unsweetened juices still remain significant sources of <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12403253/">nutrients</a> and <a href="https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/00070701111140089/full/html?fullSc=1">beneficial bioactives</a>.</p> <p>Juicing can <a href="https://academic.oup.com/nutritionreviews/advance-article-pdf/doi/10.1093/nutrit/nuz031/30096176/nuz031.pdf">extend shelf life</a> and reduce the cost of nutrients. In fact, when researchers looked at the density of nutrients relative to the costs of common foods, <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/11/5771">fruit juice was the top performer</a>.</p> <h2>So, drinking my fruits and veggies counts as a serve, right?</h2> <p>How juice is positioned in healthy eating recommendations is a bit confusing. The <a href="https://www.eatforhealth.gov.au/food-essentials/five-food-groups/fruit">Australian Dietary Guidelines</a> include 100% fruit juice with fruit but vegetable juice isn’t mentioned. This is likely because vegetable juices weren’t as common in 2013 when the guidelines were last revised.</p> <p><a href="https://www.eatforhealth.gov.au/food-essentials/five-food-groups/fruit">The guidelines</a> also warn against having juice too often or in too high amounts. This appears to be based on the logic that juice is similar, but not quite as good as, whole fruit. Juice has lower levels of fibre compared to fruits, with fibre important for gut health, heart health and promoting feelings of fullness. Juice and smoothies also release the sugar from the fruit’s other structures, making them “free”. The <a href="https://www.who.int/publications-detail-redirect/9789241549028">World Health Organization recommends</a> we limit free sugars for good health.</p> <p>But fruit and vegetables are more than just the sum of their parts. When we take a “<a href="https://hal.science/hal-01630639/">reductionist</a>” approach to nutrition, foods and drinks are judged based on assumptions made about limited features such as sugar content or specific vitamins.</p> <p>But these features might not have the impact we logically assume because of the complexity of foods and people. When humans eat varied and complex diets, we don’t necessarily need to be concerned that some foods are lower in fibre than others. Juice can retain the nutrients and bioactive compounds of fruit and vegetables and even add more because parts of the fruit we don’t normally eat, like the skin, can be included.</p> <h2>So, it is healthy then?</h2> <p>A recent <a href="https://academic.oup.com/nutritionreviews/advance-article/doi/10.1093/nutrit/nuae036/7659479?login=false">umbrella review of meta-analyses</a> (<a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8977198/">a type of research</a> that combines data from multiple studies of multiple outcomes into one paper looked at the relationship between 100% juice and a range of health outcomes.</p> <p>Most of the evidence showed juice had a neutral impact on health (meaning no impact) or a positive one. Pure 100% juice was linked to improved heart health and inflammatory markers and wasn’t clearly linked to weight gain, multiple cancer types or metabolic markers (such as blood sugar levels).</p> <p>Some health risks linked to drinking juice were <a href="https://academic.oup.com/nutritionreviews/advance-article/doi/10.1093/nutrit/nuae036/7659479?login=false">reported</a>: death from heart disease, prostate cancer and diabetes risk. But the risks were all reported in <a href="https://www.cancer.gov/research/participate/what-are-observational-studies#:%7E:text=Observational%20studies%20are%20research%20studies,over%20a%20period%20of%20time.">observational studies</a>, where researchers look at data from groups of people collected over time. These are not controlled and do not record consumption in the moment. So other drinks people think of as 100% fruit juice (such as sugar-sweetened juices or cordials) might accidentally be counted as 100% fruit juice. These types of studies are not good at showing the direct causes of illness or death.</p> <h2>What about my teeth?</h2> <p>The common belief juice damages teeth might not stack up. Studies that show juice damages teeth often <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2019.00190/full">lump 100% juice in with sweetened drinks</a>. Or they use model systems like fake mouths that <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2019.00190/full">don’t match</a> how people drinks juice in real life. Some <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/public-health/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2019.00190/full">use extreme scenarios</a> like sipping on large volumes of drink frequently over long periods of time.</p> <p>Juice is acidic and does contain sugars, but it is possible proper oral hygiene, including <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0300571207000152?via%3Dihub">rinsing, cleaning</a> and using straws can mitigate these risks.</p> <p>Again, reducing juice to its acid level misses the rest of the story, including the nutrients and bioactives contained in juice that are <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352385919300210#:%7E:text=Research%20has%20also%20confirmed%20that,prevention%20of%20oral%20inflammatory%20disorders.">beneficial to oral health</a>.</p> <h2>So, what should I do?</h2> <p>Comparing whole fruit (a food) to juice (a drink) can be problematic. They serve different culinary purposes, so aren’t really interchangeable.</p> <p>The Australian Guide to Healthy Eating recommends <a href="https://www.eatforhealth.gov.au/guidelines/australian-guide-healthy-eating">water as the preferred beverage</a> but this assumes you are getting all your essential nutrients from eating.</p> <p>Where juice fits in your diet depends on what you are eating and what other drinks it is replacing. Juice might replace water in the context of a “perfect” diet. Or juice might replace <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/public-health-nutrition/article/substitution-of-pure-fruit-juice-for-fruit-and-sugarsweetened-beverages-and-cardiometabolic-risk-in-epicnl-a-prospective-cohort-study/B7314F1198109712DE0F2E44D919A6A7">alcohol or sugary soft drinks</a> and make the relative benefits look very different.</p> <h2>On balance</h2> <p>Whether you want to eat your fruits and vegetables or drink them comes down to what works for you, how it fits into the context of your diet and your life.</p> <p>Smoothies and juices aren’t a silver bullet, and there is no evidence they work as a “cleanse” or <a href="https://theconversation.com/lemon-water-wont-detox-or-energise-you-but-it-may-affect-your-body-in-other-ways-180035">detox</a>. But, with society’s low levels of fruit and vegetable eating, having the option to access nutrients and bioactives in a cheap, easy and tasty way shouldn’t be discouraged either.<!-- Below is The Conversation's page counter tag. Please DO NOT REMOVE. --><img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/205222/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /><!-- End of code. If you don't see any code above, please get new code from the Advanced tab after you click the republish button. The page counter does not collect any personal data. More info: https://theconversation.com/republishing-guidelines --></p> <p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/emma-beckett-22673">Emma Beckett</a>, Adjunct Senior Lecturer, Nutrition, Dietetics &amp; Food Innovation - School of Health Sciences, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/unsw-sydney-1414">UNSW Sydney</a></em></p> <p><em>Image credits: Shutterstock </em></p> <p><em>This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/can-you-drink-your-fruit-and-vegetables-how-does-juice-compare-to-the-whole-food-205222">original article</a>.</em></p> </div>

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How do I keep my fruit, veggies and herbs fresh longer? Are there any ‘hacks’?

<div class="theconversation-article-body"><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/senaka-ranadheera-199225">Senaka Ranadheera</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/the-university-of-melbourne-722">The University of Melbourne</a></em></p> <p>We all know <a href="https://theconversation.com/frozen-canned-or-fermented-when-you-cant-shop-often-for-fresh-vegetables-what-are-the-best-alternatives-131678">fresh produce is good for us</a>, but fruit, vegetables and herbs have a tendency to perish quickly if left uneaten.</p> <p>This is because <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2212429219305188">even after harvesting</a>, produce from living plants tends to continue its biological processes. This includes respiration: producing energy from stored carbohydrates, proteins and fats while releasing carbon dioxide and water vapour. (Ever found a sprouting potato in your pantry?)</p> <p>On top of that, fresh produce also <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/journal/agriculture/special_issues/quality_safety_fresh_produce">spoils easily thanks to various microbes</a> – both harmless and ones that can cause disease, called pathogens.</p> <p>Simply chucking things in the fridge won’t solve the problem, as different types of plants will react differently to how they’re stored. So, how can you combat food waste and keep produce fresh for longer? Fortunately, there are some helpful tips.</p> <h2>Freshness and quality begin at the farm</h2> <p>Farmers always aim to harvest produce when it’s at an optimal condition, but both pre-harvest and post-harvest factors will affect freshness and quality even before you buy it.</p> <p>Pre-harvest factors are agricultural, such as climatic conditions, soil type and water availability. <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2212429219305188">Post-harvest factors</a> include washing and cleaning after harvesting, transportation and distribution, processing and packaging, and storage.</p> <p>As consumers we can’t directly control these factors – sometimes the veggies we buy just won’t be as good. But we can look out for things that will affect the produce once we bring it home.</p> <p>One major thing to look out for is bruised, wounded or damaged produce. This can happen at any stage of post-harvest handling, and can really speed up the <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0308814609001411">decay of your veggies and fruit</a>.</p> <p>Moisture loss through damaged skin speeds up deterioration and nutrient loss. The damage also makes it easier for <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2468014119301943">spoilage microbes</a> to get in.</p> <h2>To wash or not to wash?</h2> <p>You don’t need to wash your produce before storing it. A lot of what we buy has already been washed commercially. In fact, if you wash your produce and can’t get it completely dry, the added moisture could speed up decay in the fridge.</p> <p>But washing produce <a href="https://theconversation.com/do-we-really-have-to-wash-fruit-and-vegetables-53039">just before you use it</a> is important to remove dirt and pathogenic bugs.</p> <p>Don’t use vinegar in your washing water despite what you see on social media. Studies indicate <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16496573/">vinegar has no effect</a> on lowering microbial loads on fresh produce.</p> <p>Similarly, don’t use baking soda. Even though there’s some evidence baking soda <a href="https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.jafc.7b03118">can remove pesticide residues</a> from the surface of some produce, it’s not advisable at home. Just use plain tap water.</p> <h2>Location, location, location</h2> <p>The main thing you need is the correct type of packaging and the correct location – you want to manage moisture loss, decay and ripening.</p> <p>The three main storage options are on the counter, in the fridge, or in a “cool, dry and dark place”, such as the pantry. Here are some common examples of produce and where best to put them.</p> <p>Bananas, onion, garlic, potatoes, sweet potato and whole pumpkin will do better in a dark pantry or cupboard. Don’t store potatoes and onions together: onions produce a gas called ethylene that makes potatoes spoil quicker, while the high moisture in potatoes spoils onions.</p> <p>In fact, don’t store fruits such as apples, pears, avocado and bananas together, because these fruits <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/15538362.2013.748378#:%7E:text=%27Malindi%27%20had%20higher%20respiration%20rates,retention%20in%20fruit%20during%20ripening">release ethylene gas</a> as they ripen, making nearby fruits ripen (and potentially spoil) much faster. That is, unless you <em>do</em> want to ripen your fruits fast.</p> <p>All leafy greens, carrots, cucumbers, cauliflower and broccoli will do best in the low-humidity drawer (crisper) in the fridge. You can put them in perforated plastic bags to retain moisture but maintain air flow. But don’t put them in completely sealed bags because this can slow down ripening while <a href="https://ucanr.edu/sites/hdnmastergardeners/files/338860.pdf">trapping carbon dioxide</a>, leading to decay and bad smells.</p> <p>Some fruits will also do best in the fridge. For example, apples and citrus fruits such as oranges can keep fresh longer in the fridge (crisper drawer), although they can stay at room temperature for short periods. However, don’t store watermelon in the fridge for too long, as it will lose its flavour and deep red colour if kept refrigerated <a href="https://ucanr.edu/sites/hdnmastergardeners/files/338860.pdf">for longer than three days</a>.</p> <p>Most herbs and some leafy vegetables – like celery, spring onions and asparagus – can be kept with stems in water to keep them crisp. Keep them in a well-ventilated area and away from direct sunlight, so they don’t get too warm and wilt.</p> <figure><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/cHu10C1DAds?wmode=transparent&amp;start=0" width="440" height="260" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe><figcaption><span class="caption">Experimenting at home is a good way to find the best ways to store your produce.</span></figcaption></figure> <h2>Fight food waste and experiment</h2> <p><strong>Don’t buy too much.</strong> Whenever possible, buy only small amounts so that you don’t need to worry about keeping them fresh. Never buy bruised, wounded or damaged produce if you plan to keep it around for more than a day.</p> <p><strong>“Process” your veggies for storage.</strong> If you do buy a large quantity – maybe a bulk option was on sale – consider turning the produce into something you can keep for longer. For example, banana puree made from really ripe bananas can be <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0023643817300853">stored for up to 14 days at 4°C</a>. You can use <a href="https://theconversation.com/frozen-canned-or-fermented-when-you-cant-shop-often-for-fresh-vegetables-what-are-the-best-alternatives-131678">freezing, blanching, fermentation and canning</a> for most vegetables.</p> <p><strong>Consider vacuum sealing.</strong> Vacuum packaging of vegetables and berries can keep them fresh longer, as well. For example, vacuum-sealed beans can keep up to 16 months in the fridge, but will last only about <a href="https://www.vacpac.com.au/vacuum-sealed-life-expectancy-how-long-will-my-vacuum-sealed-products-last">four weeks in the fridge unsealed</a>.</p> <p><strong>Keep track.</strong> Arrange your fridge so you can see the produce easily and use it all before it loses freshness.</p> <p><strong>Experiment with storage hacks.</strong> Social media is full of tips and hacks on how best to store produce. Turn your kitchen into a lab and try out any tips you’re curious about – they might just work. You can even use these experiments as a way to teach your kids about the importance of reducing food waste.</p> <p><strong>Grow some of your own.</strong> This isn’t <a href="https://theconversation.com/growing-your-own-food-and-foraging-can-help-tackle-your-ballooning-grocery-bill-heres-how-216264">feasible for all of us</a>, but you can always try having some herbs in pots so you don’t need to worry about keeping them fresh or using up a giant bunch of mint all at once. <a href="https://theconversation.com/health-check-are-microgreens-better-for-you-than-regular-greens-73950">Growing your own microgreens</a> could be handy, too.<!-- Below is The Conversation's page counter tag. Please DO NOT REMOVE. --><img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/226763/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /><!-- End of code. If you don't see any code above, please get new code from the Advanced tab after you click the republish button. The page counter does not collect any personal data. More info: https://theconversation.com/republishing-guidelines --></p> <p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/senaka-ranadheera-199225">Senaka Ranadheera</a>, Associate Professor, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/the-university-of-melbourne-722">The University of Melbourne</a></em></p> <p><em>Image credits: Shutterstock </em></p> <p><em>This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-do-i-keep-my-fruit-veggies-and-herbs-fresh-longer-are-there-any-hacks-226763">original article</a>.</em></p> </div>

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Cost of living: if you can’t afford as much fresh produce, are canned veggies or frozen fruit just as good?

<div class="theconversation-article-body"> <p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/evangeline-mantzioris-153250">Evangeline Mantzioris</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-south-australia-1180"><em>University of South Australia</em></a></em></p> <p>The cost of living crisis is affecting how we spend our money. For many people, this means tightening the budget on the weekly supermarket shop.</p> <p>One victim may be fresh fruit and vegetables. Data from the <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/media-centre/media-releases/australians-consuming-fewer-vegetables-fruit-and-less-milk#:%7E:text=Paul%20Atyeo%2C%20ABS%20health%20statistics,278%20to%20267%20to%20grams.%E2%80%9D">Australian Bureau of Statistics</a> (ABS) suggests Australians were consuming fewer fruit and vegetables in 2022–23 than the year before.</p> <p>The cost of living is likely compounding a problem that exists already – on the whole, Australians don’t eat enough fruit and vegetables. <a href="https://www.eatforhealth.gov.au/guidelines/australian-guide-healthy-eating">Australian dietary guidelines</a> recommend people aged nine and older should consume <a href="https://www.eatforhealth.gov.au/food-essentials/five-food-groups/fruit">two</a> serves of fruit and <a href="https://www.eatforhealth.gov.au/food-essentials/five-food-groups/vegetables-and-legumes-beans">five</a> serves of vegetables each day for optimal health. But in 2022 the <a href="https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/health/health-conditions-and-risks/dietary-behaviour/latest-release">ABS reported</a> only 4% of Australians met the recommendations for both fruit and vegetable consumption.</p> <p>Fruit and vegetables are crucial for a healthy, balanced diet, providing a range of <a href="https://theconversation.com/were-told-to-eat-a-rainbow-of-fruit-and-vegetables-heres-what-each-colour-does-in-our-body-191337">vitamins</a> and minerals as well as fibre.</p> <p>If you can’t afford as much fresh produce at the moment, there are other ways to ensure you still get the benefits of these food groups. You might even be able to increase your intake of fruit and vegetables.</p> <h2>Frozen</h2> <p>Fresh produce is often touted as being the most nutritious (think of the old adage “fresh is best”). But this is not necessarily true.</p> <p>Nutrients can decline in transit from the paddock to your kitchen, and while the produce is stored in your fridge. Frozen vegetables may actually be higher in some nutrients such as <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25526594/">vitamin C and E</a> as they are snap frozen very close to the time of harvest. Variations in transport and storage can affect this slightly.</p> <p><a href="https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/jf504890k">Minerals</a> such as calcium, iron and magnesium stay at similar levels in frozen produce compared to fresh.</p> <p>Another advantage to frozen vegetables and fruit is the potential to reduce food waste, as you can use only what you need at the time.</p> <p>As well as buying frozen fruit and vegetables from the supermarket, you can freeze produce yourself at home if you have an oversupply from the garden, or when produce may be cheaper.</p> <p>A <a href="https://www.growveg.com.au/guides/freezing-vegetables-and-herbs-the-garden-foodie-version/">quick blanching</a> prior to freezing can improve the safety and quality of the produce. This is when food is briefly submerged in boiling water or steamed for a short time.</p> <p>Frozen vegetables won’t be suitable for salads but can be eaten roasted or steamed and used for soups, stews, casseroles, curries, pies and quiches. Frozen fruits can be added to breakfast dishes (with cereal or youghurt) or used in cooking for fruit pies and cakes, for example.</p> <h2>Canned</h2> <p>Canned vegetables and fruit similarly often offer a cheaper alternative to fresh produce. They’re also very convenient to have on hand. The <a href="https://nchfp.uga.edu/how/can#gsc.tab=0">canning process</a> is the preservation technique, so there’s no need to add any additional preservatives, including salt.</p> <p>Due to the cooking process, levels of heat-sensitive nutrients <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/jsfa.2825">such as vitamin C</a> will decline a little compared to fresh produce. When you’re using canned vegetables in a hot dish, you can add them later in the cooking process to reduce the amount of nutrient loss.</p> <p>To minimise waste, you can freeze the portion you don’t need.</p> <h2>Fermented</h2> <p><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6723656/">Fermentation</a> has recently come into fashion, but it’s actually one of the oldest food processing and preservation techniques.</p> <p>Fermentation largely retains the vitamins and minerals in fresh vegetables. But fermentation may also enhance the food’s nutritional profile by creating new nutrients and allowing existing ones to be <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9352655/">absorbed more easily</a>.</p> <p>Further, fermented foods contain probiotics, which are beneficial for our <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10051273/">gut microbiome</a>.</p> <h2>5 other tips to get your fresh fix</h2> <p>Although alternatives to fresh such as canned or frozen fruit and vegetables are good substitutes, if you’re looking to get more fresh produce into your diet on a tight budget, here are some things you can do.</p> <p><strong>1. Buy in season</strong></p> <p>Based on supply and demand principles, buying local seasonal vegetables and fruit will always be cheaper than those that are imported out of season from other countries.</p> <p><strong>2. Don’t shun the ugly fruit and vegetables</strong></p> <p>Most supermarkets now sell “ugly” fruit and vegetables, that are not physically perfect in some way. This does not affect the levels of nutrients in them at all, or their taste.</p> <p><strong>3. Reduce waste</strong></p> <p>On average, an Australian household throws out <a href="https://www.ozharvest.org/food-waste-facts/">A$2,000–$2,500</a> worth of food every year. Fruit, vegetables and bagged salad are the <a href="https://www.ozharvest.org/food-waste-facts/">three of the top five foods</a> thrown out in our homes. So properly managing fresh produce could help you save money (and benefit <a href="https://endfoodwaste.com.au/why-end-food-waste/">the environment</a>).</p> <p>To minimise waste, plan your meals and shopping ahead of time. And if you don’t think you’re going to get to eat the fruit and vegetables you have before they go off, freeze them.</p> <p><strong>4. Swap and share</strong></p> <p>There are many websites and apps which offer the opportunity to swap or even pick up free fresh produce if people have more than they need. Some <a href="https://www.charlessturt.sa.gov.au/environment/sustainable-lifestyles/community-fruit-and-vege-swaps">local councils are also encouraging</a> swaps on their websites, so dig around and see what you can find in your local area.</p> <p><strong>5. Gardening</strong></p> <p>Regardless of how small your garden is you can always <a href="https://www.gardeningaustraliamag.com.au/best-vegies-grow-pots/">plant produce in pots</a>. Herbs, rocket, cherry tomatoes, chillies and strawberries all grow well. In the long run, these will offset some of your cost on fresh produce.</p> <p>Plus, when you have put the effort in to grow your own produce, <a href="https://mdpi-res.com/sustainability/sustainability-07-02695/article_deploy/sustainability-07-02695.pdf?version=1425549154">you are less likely to waste it</a>.<!-- Below is The Conversation's page counter tag. Please DO NOT REMOVE. --><img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/229724/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /><!-- End of code. If you don't see any code above, please get new code from the Advanced tab after you click the republish button. The page counter does not collect any personal data. More info: https://theconversation.com/republishing-guidelines --></p> <p><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/evangeline-mantzioris-153250"><em>Evangeline Mantzioris</em></a><em>, Program Director of Nutrition and Food Sciences, Accredited Practising Dietitian, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-south-australia-1180">University of South Australia</a></em></p> <p><em>Image credits: Shutterstock</em></p> <p><em>This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/cost-of-living-if-you-cant-afford-as-much-fresh-produce-are-canned-veggies-or-frozen-fruit-just-as-good-229724">original article</a>.</em></p> </div>

Food & Wine

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"A night in hospital and a trip to the burns unit later”: Concerned mum's warning against popular fruit

<p><em><strong>Warning: This article contains images that some readers may find distressing.</strong></em></p> <p>A mother has taken to the internet and shared photos of her son’s severe burns that came as a result of him playing with a popular fruit. “A night in hospital and a trip to the burns unit later.” She began in her Facebook post.</p> <p>Her son Otis was playing happily outside with a lime in the sunshine, but the next day horror ensued.</p> <p>“It wasn’t until the next day that we noticed a rash appeared.” The mother said.</p> <p>The parents had assumed the rash must’ve been an allergic reaction to the lime juice, however, the rash quickly developed into a “horrific burn,” she added.</p> <p>The parents took Otis to the hospital where they were informed their son was suffering from a condition called phytophotodermatitis.</p> <blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/Cku5QH2thxE/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"> </div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"> <div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style="width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"> </div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/Cku5QH2thxE/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by Tiny Hearts (@tinyheartseducation)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p>Phytophotodermatitis, more commonly known as margarita burn, is a little-known condition which causes burns to the skin when a chemical called furocoumarin reacts to sunlight.</p> <p>The chemical is found in limes, citrus fruit and some plants.</p> <p>“The small lime he had been innocently playing with - had now burnt his skin horrifically!“ The mum said. “If our story can help raise awareness into phytophotodermatitis at least something good has come out of our horrific experience!”</p> <p>The woman has urged parents to be on the lookout for this little-known skin condition.</p> <p>To minimise the risks of phytophotodermatitis, <a href="https://www.healthline.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Healthline</a> suggests washing hands and other exposed parts of the skin immediately after being outdoors, wearing gloves when gardening, putting on sunscreen before going outdoors and wearing long-sleeved tops and pants in wooded areas.</p> <p><em>Photo credit: Getty</em></p>

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How ‘ugly’ fruit and vegetables could tackle food waste and solve supermarket supply shortages

<p>The world is facing a significant food waste problem, with <a href="https://www.fao.org/3/i4068e/i4068e.pdf">up to half of all fruit and vegetables</a> lost somewhere along the agricultural food chain. Globally, around <a href="https://www.fao.org/3/ca6030en/ca6030en.pdf">14% of food produced</a> is lost after harvesting but before it reaches shops and supermarkets.</p> <p>Alongside food prices (66%), food waste is a concern for 60% of people that participated in a <a href="https://www.food.gov.uk/research/food-and-you-2/food-and-you-2-wave-5">recent survey</a> published by the UK Food Standards Agency. <a href="https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201617/cmselect/cmenvfru/429/429.pdf">Other research</a> suggests that as much as 25% of apples, 20% of onions and 13% of potatoes grown in the UK are destroyed because they don’t look right. This means that producers’ efforts to meet stringent specifications from buyers can lead to <a href="https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201617/cmselect/cmenvfru/429/429.pdf">perfectly edible produce being discarded</a> before it even leaves the farm – simply because of how it looks.</p> <p>Aside from the ongoing environmental implications of this food waste, UK shoppers currently face <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/mar/04/food-tsar-blames-shortages-on-uks-weird-supermarket-culture">produce rationing in some supermarkets</a> due to <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2023/02/28/british-supermarkets-are-rationing-fruit-and-vegetables-amid-shortages.html">shortages of items like tomatoes, cucumbers and raspberries</a>. Any solutions that increase locally grown produce on shop shelves could improve the availability of fresh food, particularly in urban areas.</p> <p>When imperfect fruit and vegetables don’t make it to supermarket shelves, it can be due to <a href="https://cases.open.ubc.ca/insistence-on-cosmetically-perfect-fruits-vegetables/">cosmetic standards</a>. Supermarkets and consumers often prefer produce of a fairly standard size that’s free of blemishes, scars and other imperfections. This means fruit and vegetables that are misshapen, discoloured, or even too small or too large, are rejected before they make it to supermarket shelves.</p> <p>In recent years there has been a growing trend of selling such “ugly” fruit and vegetables, both by <a href="https://my.morrisons.com/wonky-fruit-veg/">major</a> <a href="https://www.waitrose.com/ecom/content/sustainability/food-waste">supermarket</a> <a href="https://www.tescoplc.com/news/2021/wonky-veg-5th-anniversary/">chains</a>, as well as <a href="https://wonkyvegboxes.co.uk/">speciality</a> <a href="https://www.misfitsmarket.com/?exp=plans_rollback">retailers</a> that sell <a href="https://www.oddbox.co.uk/">boxes</a> of <a href="https://etepetete-bio.de/">wonky produce</a>. And research has shown that 87% of people say they would <a href="https://www.thegrocer.co.uk/fruit-and-veg/nearly-90-of-consumers-would-eat-wonky-fruit-and-veg-according-to-new-survey/670155.article">eat wonky fruit and vegetables if they were available</a>. But other research indicates consumers can still be picky and difficult to predict. One study <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0950329316302002?via%3Dihub">showed</a> consumers are likely to throw away an apple with a spot, but would eat a bent cucumber.</p> <h2>Getting ugly produce into baskets</h2> <p>So how can producers and retailers boost the amount of non-standard fruit and veg that not only reaches our shelves, but also our plates? <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0377221723000668">Our recent research</a> suggests a separate channel for selling ugly produce would increase profits for growers, lower prices for consumers and boost overall demand for produce.</p> <p>For growers, a dedicated channel – either independent or set up by a supermarket – to supply wonky fruit and veg creates a new line of business. For retailers, this provides an opportunity for further revenue over and above current sales of standard produce to shops. When selling both types of product to a single retailer, the ugly items might be undervalued compared with the standard-looking products. Our research also shows that selling the ugly produce through a dedicated channel is likely to increase total demand for fruit and vegetables, while also decreasing on-farm loss.</p> <p>Having two parallel channels for selling produce (the main one and the dedicated “ugly” channel) would increase competition. This benefits shoppers by lowering prices for regular and ugly produce, versus selling both types of products alongside each other in one shop.</p> <p>On the other hand, the growing market for ugly fruit and vegetables could be an economic threat to traditional retailers. It encourages new entrants into the market and could also limit the availability of “regular” produce because growers could become less stringent about ensuring produce meets traditional cosmetic standards.</p> <p>But there is a way for traditional retailers to add ugly produce into their product offerings alongside other produce without affecting their profits. By building on existing consumer awareness of the environmental benefits of ugly food, they could also compete in this growing segment. This would benefit their bottom lines and help consumer acceptance of misshapen fruit and vegetables, possibly leading to less food waste and shortages like those UK shoppers are experiencing right now.</p> <p>Boosting demand for imperfect fruit and vegetables across the supply chain will require all participants to get involved – from grower to seller. Here are some steps the various parties could take:</p> <h2>1. Educating consumers</h2> <p>Education about the environmental and economic impact of food waste could happen through marketing campaigns, in-store displays and even social media.</p> <h2>2. Reducing cosmetic standards</h2> <p>Supermarkets and other major food retailers could revise their cosmetic standards to accept a wider range of produce, including imperfect fruit and vegetables. This would help reduce food waste by making sure more produce is able to be sold.</p> <h2>3. Direct sales</h2> <p>Farmers and growers could sell non-standard produce directly to consumers through farmers’ markets or subscription services. This allows consumers to purchase fresh, locally grown produce that might not meet cosmetic standards for supermarkets but that is just as nutritionally beneficial.</p> <h2>4. Food donations</h2> <p>Supermarkets and growers could donate produce rejected for how it looks to food banks, shelters and other organisations that serve those in need. This would help reduce food waste while also providing healthy food to those who might not otherwise have access to it.</p> <h2>5. Value-added products</h2> <p>Produce that doesn’t meet cosmetic standards could also be used to create other products such as soups, sauces and juices. In addition to reducing food waste, this would create new revenue streams for growers and retailers.</p> <h2>6. Food composting</h2> <p>Anything that cannot be sold or otherwise used should be composted. This would help reduce food waste while also creating nutrient-rich soil for future crops.</p> <p>By implementing these solutions, the supply chain can reduce the amount of ugly or imperfect fruit and vegetables that are wasted, while also providing consumers with healthy, affordable produce, even in times of supply chain shortages.</p> <p><em>This article originally appeared on <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-ugly-fruit-and-vegetables-could-tackle-food-waste-and-solve-supermarket-supply-shortages-201216" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>.</em></p> <p><em>Images: Getty</em></p>

Food & Wine

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5 natural ways to eliminate fruit flies

<p>Houseguests don’t come much more unwanted than fruit flies. But how do you show them the door, without having to empty half a can of Mortein in the process.</p> <p><a href="http://www.nowtolove.com.au/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Australian Women’s Weekly</strong></span></em></a> has outlined several all-natural solutions:</p> <p><strong>1. Detergent trap</strong></p> <p>Simply add a drop of detergent to a quarter of a glass of wine and leave it overnight next to your fruit bowl. The fruit flies will drop in for a little tipple, and die in the process.</p> <p><strong>2. Apple cider vinegar</strong></p> <p>One to two tablespoons of apple cider vinegar in a small bowl near your kitchen bench will attract any pesky fruit flies, and trap them in the process.</p> <p><strong>3. Fruit trap</strong></p> <p>Make a DIY fruit trap with a few pieces of fruit combined with two tablespoons of balsamic vinegar in a small bowl. Cover with plastic wrap, piercing a few holes with a fork. The flies will be attracted to the fruit, sneak in the holes and be trapped.</p> <p><strong>4. Essential oil spray</strong></p> <p>A homemade solution with a few drops of tea-tree or eucalyptus oil combined with oil will prevent future fruit flies from coming (and smells a whole lot better than Mortein).</p> <p><strong>5. Sink drain</strong></p> <p>Pour a bucket of boiling water mixed with detergent down your sink. This will kill any fruit fly eggs, and eliminate any fruit flies living in that area.</p> <p>Do you have any all-natural ways to get rid of fruit flies?</p> <p><em>Image: Getty</em></p>

Home Hints & Tips

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The fastest way to cut fruit and veggies

<p>Whether you cook a little or a lot, after any time spent in the kitchen, you’ve probably wondered if there’s an easier way to cut fruit and vegetables. The answer is yes: there is.</p> <p><strong>1. The onion</strong></p> <p>The onion is the bane of all preppers’ existence. They’re hard to hold, they make you cry, and many of us would be lying if we said we’ve never cut our fingers in the process. So the fastest way to cut an onion? Half the onion, lengthwise. Cut off the onion’s ends and peel off its skin. With each half’s flat-side down, dice the onion. No tears necessary.</p> <p><strong>2. Cherry tomatoes</strong></p> <p>This method is pretty ingenious. Place the tomatoes on a plate and top with another plate, holding the tomatoes in between: firmly, but not so firmly that you squish them. Using a sharp knife, cut in between the two plates from one end to the other. Your tomatoes will be cut in half and you didn’t even have to look at them while you did it. It’s almost magic.</p> <p><strong>3. Kiwi fruit</strong></p> <p>Cut each end off of the kiwi fruit and use a spoon to peel the kiwi’s flesh off, circling around the fruit. Then place the kiwi on its side and slice into disks!</p> <p><strong>4. Capsicum</strong></p> <p>Capsicums couldn’t be easier. Cut the top and bottom off the capsicum and, using your hand, pull out its insides. Cut the pepper in half lengthwise. Rinse off any remaining seeds and slice into strips.</p> <p><strong>5. Mangoes</strong></p> <p>If you’ve never seen a mango cut before, odds are your first attempt is going to be wrong. Mangoes have a long pit down their centre. Cut the cheeks off along either side of this vertical pit. In each cheek half, cut a grid into the mango (lines going up and lines going down, creating squares) then push from the peel side to pop the cubes so they’re standing up. Cut off the remaining delicious mango flesh that is around the pit. And that’s how it’s done!</p> <p><em>Image: Getty Images</em></p>

Food & Wine

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Battler fruit and veg market owner slams big chains for profit chasing

<p dir="ltr">A local grocer has been hailed a hero after calling out Woolies and Coles for unnecessarily increasing the price of fruit and vegetables. </p> <p dir="ltr">Johnny Kapiris owns St Bernards Fruit and Veg Market in Rostrevor, Adelaide. He recorded an angry video of himself slamming the big chains for their ridiculous price hikes. </p> <p dir="ltr">"Every f**ker in Australia is using inflation for an excuse to jack their f**king prices up," he said.</p> <p dir="ltr">"You know why? Because they're money-hungry f**ks".</p> <p dir="ltr">Johnny went on to show the prices of some of his products he selling with mandarins for just 99 cents a kilo, bananas for 99 cents a kilo and a punnet of strawberries for $4.99</p> <p dir="ltr">The prices of these products at a Coles or Woolies supermarket go for $2.80 a kilo, $3.50 a kilo and $6.50 a punnet respectively. </p> <p dir="ltr">Johnny admitted that inflation is being factored into the increased prices, as well as expensive fuel and the recent flooding.</p> <p dir="ltr">But he argues that the big supermarkets can afford to lower their prices and accept a lower profit just as he has done instead of keeping their shareholders happy. </p> <p dir="ltr">"Inflation is real but some people are playing on it,” he said. </p> <p dir="ltr">“There's plenty of specials you can put on to bring the basket spend down, which I believe they [supermarket chains] are not doing."</p> <p dir="ltr">"There are only a handful of us who are really interested in our customers."</p> <p dir="ltr">Despite accepting less profits, Johnny is being rewarded in a way that no other person can be - by having loyal customers coming back. </p> <p dir="ltr">"We're a family owned business and we're hands-on in the shop. I know my customers by name and I know what they want,” he said.</p> <p dir="ltr">"It's that tight community feeling."</p> <p dir="ltr">"There are a lot of pensioners here and how can they afford $12 for a lettuce? That's just unheard of."</p> <p dir="ltr"><em><strong>Warning: Expletives used throughout <a href="https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=922530765808223" target="_blank" rel="noopener">video</a>.  </strong></em></p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Images: Facebook</em></p>

Food & Wine

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Clever hack for banishing fruit flies from your kitchen

<p>There’s nothing worse than trying to keep a clean kitchen, only to be greeted by a swarm of pesky fruit flies.</p> <p>Once they arrive, it seems like nothing will ever work to get rid of them.</p> <p>According to Good Housekeeping, fruit flies can lay up to 500 eggs at a time and even worse, those eggs hatch within 24 hours.</p> <p>Now one clever Sydney woman has revealed her genius hack for bidding them farewell once and for all, with a cheap and effective method that she happened to come across quite by chance.</p> <p>“I realised I could use red wine when I left a glass out and came back in the morning and it had a bunch of flies in it,” she told Yahoo Lifestyle.</p> <p><img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/02/fruit-fly-hack2.jpg" alt="" width="676" height="452" /></p> <p>“I didn’t realise that wine would work so well – I’d tried traps with apple cider vinegar and dish soap before but it’s never worked as well as this."</p> <p>Fruit flies are attracted to ripe and rotting fruit and vegetables, things like beer and wine, bins and cleaning rags, so the mixture was the perfect solution.</p> <p>She first took a glass jar and filled it three-quarters of the way up with water. While from the photos it might look like there is a lot of wine in the mixture, it’s actually 90% water.</p> <p>She then added a few splashes of red wine and some dish soap.</p> <p>Then, she sealed the top of the jar with glad wrap and poked a few holes in the top with a fork. She then secured the whole thing together with a rubber band to keep it all in place.</p> <p>Now, the jar with the mixture lives on her windowsill next to her fruit bowl and the results speak for themselves!</p> <p><em>Images: Yahoo</em></p>

Food & Wine

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Should doctors prescribe fruit and vegetables?

<p><em>Image: Getty </em></p> <div> <h2>New research suggests that providing healthy foods in a medical context can help some conditions.</h2> <div class="copy"> <p>We all know that fruit and vegetables are good for us, but are they so good that medical programs should prescribe them? A new study by Australian researchers suggests they should.</p> <p>A review carried out by the George Institute for Global Health, NSW, and Friedman School of Nutrition Science &amp; Policy at Tufts University, US, examined 13 programs that either subsidised or directly provided healthy foods as a form of medical treatment. They found that overall, participants in the programs ate more healthy foods and improved in a few different health indicators.</p> <p>“Collectively, we saw a positive impact on the health of patients in these programs, even though there were quite different ways in which they provided the healthier foods and measured the outcomes,” says Jason Wu, program head of nutrition science at the George Institute.</p> <p>“We found the effect of healthy food prescriptions on blood glucose was comparable to what you would expect to see from some commonly prescribed glucose-lowering medications – this adds weight to the growing evidence that food can also be medicine.”</p> <p>The researchers say that healthy food prescriptions could be beneficial for people who have limited access to these foods in particular.</p> <p>Roughly half of the study participants were experiencing food insecurity, while three-quarters had existing medical conditions.</p> <div class="newsletter-box"> <div id="wpcf7-f6-p152223-o1" class="wpcf7"> <div class="wpcf7-response-output" aria-hidden="true">“People experiencing food insecurity are less able to manage chronic diseases owing to mental and financial strains, such as high costs of medications and other out-of-pocket health-related expenses,” says Saiuj Bhat, a clinician involved in the study.</div> </div> </div> <p>“Boosting the intakes of healthier foods like fruit and vegetables has even greater potential to improve the health of more vulnerable people.”</p> <p>Fruit and vegetables have been the focus of these health food prescriptions for now, but the researchers suggest that more work should be done investigating the effect of other healthy foods like nuts, beans, whole grains, and fish.</p> <p>The researchers are now running a study with 50 food-insecure patients in Sydney, in which each patient is being prescribed a box of these foods each week.</p> <p>The review is <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://doi.org/10.1093/advances/nmab039" target="_blank">published</a> in <em>Advances in Nutrition.</em></p> <p><strong>Read more:</strong></p> <ul> <li><a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/biology/confused-about-what-to-eat-here-s-a-doctor-s-recommended-meal-plan/" target="_blank">Here’s a doctor’s recommended meal plan</a></li> <li><a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/society/packaged-foods-where-healthy-is-relative/" target="_blank">Packaged foods: where healthy is relative</a></li> <li><a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/health/nutrition/taxing-sugar-is-good-for-all/" target="_blank">A sugar tax is good for all</a></li> </ul> <!-- Start of tracking content syndication. Please do not remove this section as it allows us to keep track of republished articles --> <img id="cosmos-post-tracker" style="opacity: 0; height: 1px!important; width: 1px!important; border: 0!important; position: absolute!important; z-index: -1!important;" src="https://syndication.cosmosmagazine.com/?id=152223&amp;title=Should+doctors+prescribe+fruit+and+vegetables%3F" alt="" width="1" height="1" /> <!-- End of tracking content syndication --></div> <div id="contributors"> <p><a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/health/should-doctors-prescribe-fruit-and-vegetables/">This article</a> was originally published on <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com">Cosmos Magazine</a> and was written by <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/contributor/ellen-phiddian">Ellen Phiddian</a>. </p> </div> </div>

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Healthy and easy recipe with the grandkids: Four-layered fruit cake

<p><strong>Feeds:</strong> 8–10 birthday buddies</p> <p><strong>Ingredients</strong></p> <ul> <li>1 round seedless watermelon</li> <li>1 rockmelon</li> <li>1 honeydew melon</li> <li>Blueberries, strawberries and redcurrants for decoration (optional)</li> </ul> <p><strong>Tools</strong></p> <ul> <li>1 long cook’s knife</li> <li>1 chopping board</li> <li>1 x 16-cm round cake tin</li> <li>1 plate</li> <li>1 x 11-cm round cookie cutter</li> <li>1 x 9-cm round cookie cutter</li> <li>1 x 6-cm round cookie cutter</li> <li>birthday candles toothpicks (optional)</li> </ul> <p><strong>How to make</strong></p> <p>1. Ask Mum or Dad to cut off both ends of the watermelon with a long knife. Sit the watermelon flat on the chopping board and place the cake tin on top. Using the cake tin as a guide, ask Mum or Dad to help you cut a round shape from the watermelon, approximately 10 cm deep. Transfer the watermelon round to the plate and keep any leftover watermelon to eat later.</p> <p>2. To make the second layer of the cake, ask Mum or Dad to cut the ends off the rockmelon and sit it flat on the chopping board. Use the 11-cm cookie cutter to cut out a circle, approximately 4 cm deep. Place the rockmelon round in the centre of the watermelon round.</p> <p>3. Next, ask Mum or Dad to cut the ends off the honeydew melon. Sit it flat on the chopping board and use the 9-cm cookie cutter to cut out the third layer of the cake. Transfer the honeydew melon round to the top of the rockmelon.</p> <p>4. Finally, use the 6-cm cookie cutter to cut out a small circle of rockmelon from the leftover rockmelon and then place this at the very top of your cake.</p> <p>5. Add your candles and feel free to decorate the cake with blueberries, strawberries and redcurrants, using toothpicks if you’d like.</p> <p><em>Recipes &amp;amp; Images taken from <a href="http://www.booktopia.com.au/kindy-kitchen-jessica-rosman/prod9780733334382.html">Kindy Kitchen by Jess Rossman &amp;amp; Nettie Lodge</a>, ABC Books, RRP: $16.75 – <a href="http://www.booktopia.com.au/kindy-kitchen-jessica-rosman/prod9780733334382.html">GET 16% OFF* The RRP – Order your copy now.</a></em></p> <p><em>Republished with permission of <a href="https://www.wyza.com.au/articles/entertainment/healthy-fun-with-kids-in-the-kitchen">Wyza.com.au.</a></em></p>

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Brace yourself! Veggie and fruit prices set to skyrocket in Australia

<p>The global coronavirus pandemic is starting to impact the fruit and vegetable industry in Australia, with fears that there will be a 25 per cent hike in the price of fresh veggies over the summer.</p> <p>This is due to the strict travel restrictions that cut off access to seasonal harvest crews, with NSW being short 90,000 workers.</p> <p>“We usually use backpackers. And we have not had one person,” Orange farmer Guy Gaeta told<span> </span><a rel="noopener" href="https://7news.com.au/travel/food-wine/fruit-and-vegetable-prices-set-to-skyrocket-in-australia-due-to-labour-shortage-c-1723615" target="_blank"><em>7NEWS</em></a>.</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr">Fruit and vegetable prices are set to soar by up to 25 per cent across Australia this summer due to a COVID-induced labour shortage. <br /><br />More on this story: <a href="https://t.co/lgc7kaIb1O">https://t.co/lgc7kaIb1O</a> <a href="https://t.co/ZPkF42Dvbr">pic.twitter.com/ZPkF42Dvbr</a></p> — Sunrise (@sunriseon7) <a href="https://twitter.com/sunriseon7/status/1336049257384570881?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 7, 2020</a></blockquote> <p>Gaeta has been a cherry farmer for 35 years and has been forced to call in contractors this year, which costs producers more and passes on the price increase to customers.</p> <p>“We’ve exhausted virtually all of the domestic workforce that actually want to work on a farm and now we’re desperately trying to get people in from overseas,” NSW Agriculture Minister Adam Marshall said.</p> <p>CEO of NSW farmers Pete Arkle said the reality is that they won’t have enough people to pick this season’s crop.</p> <p>“It’s tragic to see crops wilting on the vines or rotting on trees,” he said.</p>

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Why you NEED to put your fruit and veggies in the dishwasher

<p>A woman has gone viral after sharing her food hygiene hack – washing fruit and vegetables in the dishwasher.</p> <p>In a TikTok clip, the user @smilelop showed how she removed dirt and bugs from her produce.</p> <p>She arranged a variety of fresh food products on the top shelf and bottom drawer before pouring in a capful of distilled white vinegar in the detergent compartment.</p> <p>She then set the machine running, and the video cut to seemingly washed and clean crops.</p> <blockquote style="max-width: 605px; min-width: 325px;" class="tiktok-embed" data-video-id="6824889367530704133"><a rel="noopener" href="https://www.tiktok.com/@smilelop" target="_blank" title="@smilelop">@smilelop</a> <p><a rel="noopener" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/cleanvegetables" target="_blank" title="cleanvegetables">##cleanvegetables</a> <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/cleanfruit" target="_blank" title="cleanfruit">##cleanfruit</a> <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/tiktoktips" target="_blank" title="tiktoktips">##tiktoktips</a> <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.tiktok.com/tag/vinegar" target="_blank" title="vinegar">##vinegar</a></p> <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.tiktok.com/music/PONETE-ASÍ-6792622683843513093" target="_blank" title="♬ PONETE ASÍ - melojnico">♬ PONETE ASÍ - melojnico</a></blockquote> <p>The video has now been viewed more than a million times, but some viewers on the comment section were sceptical of the hack.</p> <p>“I literally don’t know why this would be necessary,” one wrote.</p> <p>“I mean a light vinegar solution is good to kill bacteria and some fruit has wax film on it, but dishwasher? Come on girl,” another replied.</p> <p>According to <a href="https://foodsafety.asn.au/fruit-and-vegetables/">the Food Safety Information Council</a>, washing fruits and vegetables under running water and drying them can help remove loose soil and remove many bacteria and viruses. The council also advised practicing safe hand washing and hygiene before preparing food or cooking.</p>

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A simple delight: Mini fruit tartlets

<p>Serves 8</p> <p>These mini fruit tartlets can be "dressed up" or "dressed down" depending on the situation. <br />Serve with beautiful fresh berries for a dinner party or half a peach or slices of pear or kiwi for a casual cup of afternoon tea. The tarts will travel well in a sealed plastic container and easy are to prepare ahead of time for your next picnic. Here are more ideas on <a href="https://www.wyza.com.au/articles/lifestyle/food-and-wine/how-to-pack-the-perfect-picnic.aspx">how to pack the perfect picnic.</a></p> <p>Recipe as seen on: <a href="http://www.dailygourmet.co.uk/">dailygourmet.co.uk</a></p> <p><strong>Ingredients</strong></p> <p><strong>Shortcrust pastry</strong></p> <ul> <li>200 g plain flour</li> <li>100 g unsalted butter, cut into small cubes</li> <li>3-4 tbsp cold water</li> </ul> <p><strong>Creme patissiere</strong></p> <ul> <li>300 ml semi-skimmed milk</li> <li>1 teaspoon vanilla extract</li> <li>3 egg yolks (free range)</li> <li>2 tbsp plain flour</li> <li>100g caster sugar</li> <li>Tartlets</li> <li>Mixed fruits of your choice (strawberries, blueberries, grapes, etc.)</li> </ul> <p><strong>Directions</strong></p> <p><strong>Pastry</strong></p> <p>1. Sift the flour into a large mixing bowl, add the butter.</p> <p>2. Rub the butter into the flour with your hand, until it starts looking like breadcrumbs, work quickly to prevent the dough becoming warm.</p> <p>3. Add the water slowly to the pastry and mix with a cold knife until it starts forming a dough, you can add more water if the pastry is too dry. </p> <p>4. Wrap the dough in cling film and put into a fridge for 30 minutes. </p> <p>5. Roll it out with a rolling pin.</p> <p><br /><strong>Creme patisserie</strong></p> <p>1. Warm the milk in a small saucepan (don't bring to boil).</p> <p>2. In a large bowl whisk the yolks and sugar, when smooth sift in the flour, combine together.</p> <p>3. Add the warm milk (slowly) to the mixture. Whisk continuously.</p> <p>4. Put the mixture back into the saucepan, gently bring to boil whisking continuously until thick and creamy. Remove from the heat and leave to cool.</p> <p><br /><strong>Tartlets</strong></p> <p>1. Preheat your oven to 180°C (160°C fan assisted).</p> <p>2. Line the pastry in your mini tart tins, prick the base with a fork, put it into the oven and blind-bake it for 12 minutes (to blind-bake it, cover the pastry with baking paper and fill it with baking beans).</p> <p>3. Remove the beans and the paper, bake for another 12 minutes, until the pastry is golden.</p> <p>4. When baked, remove from the oven and put on a wire rack to cool completely.</p> <p>5. Fill the bases with creme patisserie, smooth the surface out with a spoon or spatula.</p> <p>6. Arrange your selection of fresh, sliced fruits on top and serve.</p> <p><em>Republished with permission from <a href="https://www.wyza.com.au/recipes/mini-fruit-tartlets.aspx">com.au.</a></em></p>

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Mango and berry fruit salad with rosé syrup

<p>Take the heat off the day with this sweet and refreshing fruit salad.</p> <p>Serves: 6-8</p> <p>Prep time: 20 mins + 3 hours chilling</p> <p>Cooking time: 25 mins</p> <p><strong>Ingredients:</strong></p> <ul> <li>4 Calypso® mangoes, chilled</li> <li>2 x 125g Perfection Raspberries</li> <li>2 x 125g Perfection Blueberries</li> <li>250g strawberries, hulled, halved</li> <li>175g mulberries, blackberries or boysenberries</li> <li>1 pomegranate, halved, arils removed (see tips)</li> <li>Vanilla ice cream and little meringues or shortbread, to serve</li> </ul> <p><strong>Rosé syrup      </strong></p> <ul> <li>500ml rosé</li> <li>1 cup white sugar</li> <li>3 sprigs fresh mint</li> </ul> <p><strong>Method:</strong></p> <ol> <li>To make the syrup, combine the rosé and sugar in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir until the sugar dissolves. Bring to the boil and simmer gently for 20 minutes until the syrup reduces an thickens slightly. Pour into a heatproof jug and add the sprigs of mint. Refrigerate for 3 hours.</li> <li>Cut the cheeks from the mango. Using a large spoon, carefully scoop the flesh out in 1 piece. Slice the mango crossways and arrange over a large serving platter. Scatter over the berries and pomegranate arils.</li> <li>Pour the chilled syrup over fruit. Serve with ice cream and meringues or shortbread.</li> </ol> <p><strong>Tips:</strong></p> <ul> <li>To remove the arils from pomegranate, roll the pomegranate on the bench to loosen the seeds. Score around the middle and tear open into halves. Hold each pomegranate half over a bowl, seeds facing down and tap the skin with a wooden spoon, squeezing a little to release the seeds and juice. Remove any white pith.</li> <li>For an alcohol-free syrup replace the rosé with cranberry, pomegranate or apple juice.</li> </ul> <p><em>Recipe by </em><em>Calypso</em><strong><em><sup>®</sup></em></strong> <em>Mango.</em></p>

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New fruit scare: Needle found in ALDI grapes

<p>A year on from the strawberry contamination crisis, another warning has been raised yet again as an ALDI shopper found a needle in her freshly purchased grapes.</p> <p>In a Facebook post shared on Sunday, the woman claimed she discovered a short needle poking through a grape she bought from an ALDI store in the Melbourne suburb of Caroline Springs.</p> <p>“Please check all your grapes before eating especially if your giving them to your kids!” she wrote. “Police &amp; store has been contacted!”</p> <p>The post has been shared more than 7,100 times and received over 3,200 comments at the time of writing.</p> <p><iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fchloe.borg.5%2Fposts%2F10214536576438273&amp;width=500" width="500" height="726" style="border: none; overflow: hidden;" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" allow="encrypted-media"></iframe></p> <p>Victoria Police confirmed that it had received the report and was “currently investigating” the case.</p> <p>“Police have been told a needle was located in a grape bought from a store in Caroline Springs on October 6,” a statement from the police read.</p> <p>“The community is reminded that anyone found to be contaminating food products can be charged with a serious indictable offence with penalties including up to 10 years in jail.”</p> <p>Police urged anyone with information to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.</p> <p>An ALDI spokesperson told <em><a href="https://au.news.yahoo.com/mum-terrified-after-horrific-find-in-aldi-grapes-231607860.html">Yahoo News Australia</a> </em>it was working alongside police to find the person responsible for the offense. “Food tampering, involving the deliberate interference with food is a criminal offence and we work with authorities on all reported incidents,” the spokesperson said in a statement.</p> <p>Last year, Australia was rocked with a nationwide strawberry contamination scare that began in south-east Queensland in September. More than 180 reports of fruit contamination were made across the country, many of which were found to be fake or copycat crimes.</p> <p>In November 2018, a 50-year-old farm supervisor was <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-11-11/strawberry-needle-scare-woman-arrested-in-queensland/10486418" target="_blank">arrested and charged with seven counts of contaminating goods</a>.</p> <p>Police alleged that the woman, who was working at the Berrylicious/Berry Obsession fruit farm near Brisbane, was planting needles in strawberries in one of the initial cases of contamination.</p>

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Spring fruit salad with tangy coconut crème

<p>Serves 6</p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">This is a classic fruit salad with a unique twist - it is like a fruity coconut crème pie - and is absolutely delicious!</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Be Well Week recipes developed by Bowel Cancer Australia nutritionist, Teresa Mitchell-Paterson.</span></p> <p><strong>Ingredients</strong></p> <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">3 mandarins, peeled, pith removed and chopped </span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">1 ripe pawpaw or papaya, peeled and chopped </span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">½ ripe pineapple, chopped</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Zest of 2 blood orange (use the zest of the blood oranges below) </span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">2 blood oranges, peeled, pith removed and chopped </span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Coconut cream</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">4 tbsp coconut syrup </span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">6 mint leaves for decoration</span></li> </ul> <p><strong>Directions</strong></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">1. Combine all chopped fruits in a large bowl</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">2. Add 4 tablespoons of coconut syrup and mix through the combined fruit</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">3. Leave to marinate for 30 minutes or overnight in the fridge</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">4. Whip coconut crème to form stiff peaks</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">5. Gently fold through orange zest (leave 1 tbsp aside to sprinkle at end)</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">6. Serve cold topped with coconut crème and sprinkled with colourful orange zest and one mint leaf</span></p> <p><strong>Tips</strong></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Want to add more fibre? Add a tablespoon of roasted crushed nuts and seeds on top. Delicious!</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Vegetarian and Vegan with 2-3 grams fibre per serve without nuts, 4-5 grams fibre with nuts.</span></p>

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