Noticing lxxxii - fruit

I am reading a book about habits, and the current chapter is discussing how, back in the late 80s, the American Cancer Institute partnered with California agribusiness to study the correlation between mortality and consumption of fruits and vegetables. The findings told us that five servings of fruits and vegetables a day will significantly improve our health and longevity. They then studied how many people already included these in their diet: about 11 percent. Ten years later, after a concerted program to educate people on the advantages of more fruits and veggies, they resurveyed—and the percentage still stood at 11 percent! People knew how to eat better. But they didn't translate that knowledge into new behaviors.

Reading about that this morning caught up with me this afternoon when I was standing in the kitchen wondering what to snack on. I spotted the two mangos and two kiwi fruits I bought the other day at the market, in a spurt of optimism. I have a very bad habit of impulsively buying fruits, convinced that they'll help me eat better, and then completely forgetting that they're there in the fruit bowl. Fortunately, David usually eats them for me, so they don't go bad. But I don't get that salutary daily dose of fruit. (I'm much better about vegetables: I prefer savory to sweet.)

Today, though, I grabbed one of the mangos and the kiwis, and I set to work, peeling and dicing. Then I remembered the blueberries and raspberries in the fridge (another impulse buy). Perfect! Within ten minutes, I had a delicious fruit salad—much better to snack on than a chunk of Jarlsberg cheese, which is my habit for a snack. Either that or a handful of nuts.

And even better, there's still a bowlful of fruit in the fridge. Tomorrow I can just open the door and find bliss!

Now, if only I can make a habit of it . . .