I know that this is probably splitting hairs, but I get really annoyed when people tell me how ridiculous it is to cut back on fruit (this is, of course, despite the fact that I do eat some fruit and tons of vegetables). What I find strange is that while the food pyramid pushes so many servings of fruit and vegetables daily, there is no real differentiation between the two categories. Technically, a fruit is the fleshy, seed-bearing part of a plant; so eggplant, tomato, cucumber and zucchini fall into this category. A vegetable is a root, stem or leaf of a plant. Why do people insist that the fruit I will supposedly wither away without is only the sugar-filled, top-of-the glycemic index type? Just a thought...

I don't know. It is baffling since you can get the same nutrients from veggies that you get from fruit, including vitamin C and potassium. Honestly, we are a nation of nutritional ignorance. It is like one is speaking a foreign language. I believe that the "food pyramid" is the key to obesity. It is funny, my husband used to insist that we all eat fruit. After beginning this way of eating ( I am the only one truly participating ), fruit is spoiling in our house. I bought 3 bannanas and I am now looking at those 3 rotten bannanas that no one touched. Hmmm, I also see 2 rotten apples. I'll throw then away tomorrow.

I agree black57..My children beg for apples,bananas,etc and most spoil on the counter. But the veges are allways used up like wild.

BlitzedANG, We eat mostly all fresh produce now. Before I began lcing most veggies were canned and they were either green beans or corn, sometimes, peas. Now we eat a wider variety of vegetables and they come from the produce department. I purchased some canned green beans recently and I got yelled at!

I think that since we are all eating healthier now, DH doesn't mind the fact that we are not eating as many fruits.

I always tell people I'm getting my 5 portions or more of fruit and veggies and that I just don't eat the very sweet ones. If they push the subject, I tell them what a fruit is (the ones you list).

My husband used to eat at least 3 pieces of fruit a day-- Maybe a bananna, pear, and an orange--I thought he was being pretty healthy. We could eat about 2lbs of grapes in nearly one sitting! Now we both eat a big salad for lunch everyday with all sorts of veggies and he hasn't seemed to miss the fruit. With all the vegs(although technically I guess most of them are fruit), I really don't think we're missing out on any vital nutrients.

"It is funny, my husband used to insist that we all eat fruit...now fruit is spoiling in our house."...rofl!

Balck57: I cut and pasted your quote because I thought it was so darned funny! Probably because it hit so close to home. "Mr. Fruit Man" always insisted we have bananas, apples, grapefruit, oranges, plums...you name it he wanted it around. Then complained like crazy because it would go bad because, "no one is eating this and it is terrible waste of money. WE have to do something about this!!" He was right! "NO ONE" was eating it! (I guess he thought he could eat a piece or two (maybe) and then it was MY job to eat the rest!) Thanks for the laugh!

frankly, i NEVER ate fruit or veggies before starting this WOE, so it's actually not been a reduction for me. and honestly, i bet that's true for ALOT of americans.

my diet is more balanced nutritionally than it's ever been. again, i think that's probably true for many americans. i know i'm getting more vitamins, minerals and nutrients from food now than ever. not to mention my supplements!

and since i never ate fruit, i don't miss it at all. and i am LOVING all the veggies.

Yes zucchini, tomato, and so on are fruits. They are just fruits with low amounts of naturally accuring sugar. A banana is extreamly high sugar and high GI. We eat fruits, starting with those salad fruits in induction, then adding back in nutricion packed high fiber fruits such as berries, apples, peaches, plums and so on.

American's basicaly took produce and seperated it into if it goes ona salad it's a veggie (though I do like a recipe I found for blueberries in salad or apples and walnuts) and if it's sweet in anyway it gets proclaimed a fruit.

Kind of the same way a peanut became a nut and corn became a veggie.

What always confuses me is where exactly do soy beans fit in, or does that depend on the type and how they are used?

FromVA,

Glad you liked the quote. Our kitchen now is void of ( shall I say ) the sweet fruits. I recently, asked the family if they missed corn because that used to be THE vegetable. They all said "no".

Curly, your comment got me thinking.. what a great way to answer most people's nagging "you can't eat carbs at all" on Atkins.... well, how many servings of vegetables do YOU eat (I would ask).... then mention how many *I'm* eating now. (lets see, I had salad, carrots - okay, not lc, but I was eating out, cabbage, pickles at supper tonight... I think I got more veggies than my mil might have eaten all day... andall in one meal! )

Blessings!

Ladybelle, soybeans are legumes; granted they are protein-rich ones, but basically just beans.

When I think of veggie, I tend to think of the edible stems, leaves, and roots of the plant. So I agree with you corn isn't a veggie any more than wheat is; they are both the fruit of a grass.

We had our two servings of a "fruit" yesterday...eggplant! Which I never cooked on LF. Coated in an egg and CarbCountdown "milk", seasoned and fried in butter, it is delicious. Boiled or steamed, "H" won't touch it.

I thought of something else. Remember the story of the sailors contracting scurvy? We have been taught that citrus fruit, namely oranges, cured scurvy. Well, red bell peppers or strawberries would have been more efficient as these are superior to oranges in vitamin C content.

So preventing scurvy is no reason to eat oranges.

I never knew that eggplant, cucumber and zucchini was a fruit. I knew tomatos were a fruit but the others floored me. Thanks for the info.