Guest Post: Veggie Monster

I’m super excited to give you guys another guest post today, this time from Paije, aka the veggie monster.  I’ve got tons of (fun) stuff to do during this long weekend and am so glad I can rely on Paije to provide a post for me.  I can always rely on her to have me craving fresh homemade food by the time I’m done reading one of her posts and today is no exception and with summer finally in sight, I think this is a fabulous and relevant post!  The stage is all yours, Paije

Hey guys! I’m guest posting for Lauren today.

For those of you that don’t know me, my name is Paije and I blog over at Veggie Monster. I am soo honoured to get to guest post because Lauren is definitely one of my favorite bloggers!!

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If you couldn’t guess from the name of my blog, I kinda have a thing for veggies 😉 In a big way. I obvs have no problem getting my 8-10+ servings of veggies a day but I DO, however, have a problem eating enough fruit! I only eat 1 or maaaybe 2 servings a day, usually by themselves as a snack or 1/2 a banana in my smoothie or oatmeal. Can you say BORING?? And not very creative either.

When I started researching how to get more fruit into my diet I realized there is soo sooo many different ways to incorporate fruit into my meals 🙂

Here are some of the awesome ways:

1.Homemade Popsicles

I used to loove these homemade popsicles my mom would make us as kids. I can’t believe I’ve forgotten about them! Yogurt with fresh fruit and frozen until set. YUM!!

Soo many different combos: Plain greek yog with strawbs/cherries/peaches/blueberries/blackberries, etc.

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2. Grilled Fruit

Pineapple is my faaavorite fruit and it is amazing grilled!! Grilling fruit releases their natural sugars, softens their skin and tastes amazing! Eat it as a dessert/breakfast topped with yogurt/ice cream + granola or use it as a burger topping! Soo good! Other fruits that taste phenom grilled are peaches, pears, nectarines, etc.

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3. Salsas

There are soo many great fruit salsa recipes out there. Mango, strawberry, peach, kiwi, the list goes on and on!! They are an amazing accompaniment to fish/chicken/veggies and are crazyawesome with chips (big scoops are best!), eggs, nachos or as a salad topper.

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4. Homemade fruit roll-ups

I don’t know about you but I used to looove fruit roll-ups as a child. I don’t eat them now (hello cavities) but the grown up version is a million times better and a million times healthier! Again, soo many different flavor combinations: strawberry, apple, raspberry, cherry, nectarine, etc.You name it, it can be made into a fruit roll-up!

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5. Juices

I bought a juicer 2 years ago when I did a raw food cleanse and have not touched it since! Laame. Juicing is one of the EASIEST ways to crush fruit (and veggies)! One of my fave juices is just plain fresh strawberry juice 🙂

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There are soo many other ways to eat fruit, too! Smoothies, fruit spreads, chutneys, syrups, and slow cooked sauces are incredible also!

Eating seasonally is also really important! Not only is it fresher, tastier and more nutritious, you are also helping support local growers and you’re not paying A TON for fruit that comes from around the globe!

Some fruit in season right now:

apricots, grapefruit, kiwi, lemons, limes, pineapple and strawberries

What do you think? Are you a fruit monster? What’s your favorite way to eat fruit??

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I must put homemade fruit popsicles and fruit roll-ups on my to do list for this summer!  When it’s fresh fruit, I’m kind of a purist.  There’s nothing better than a fresh juicy peach in the middle of the summer, but grilled pineapple is a close second.

Thank you so much, Paije!