We are still talking about veggies and fruits this month, and this week I have decided to have some fun and talk a little botany (very little because truly I don’t know that much).
Veggies and fruits have a lot in common, they are all edible parts of a plant and I think we can agree that they are an important part of a healthy diet.
But have you ever thought about what makes a fruit a fruit and a veggie a veggie? Here is the easy answer if it contains or is a seed it is a fruit.
Ok I can hear you already “what about a cucumber?” Answer – fruit. “A pepper”? Fruit. “Pumpkin, zucchini, tomato”? Fruit, fruit and fruit.
I know they aren’t sweet but botanically speaking they are fruits. A fruit being defined as the reproductive part of a plant that contain seeds or, wait for it, ARE seeds. That’s right nuts and peas? You guessed it- fruit!
What about veggies? Good question. A vegetable would be defined as the stem, leaf, root or flower of a plant. So broccoli would be a flower, asparagus a stem, carrot a root, cabbage and spinach are leaves.
The truth is that no matter what you call them this food group is just plain good for you. Eating more is good and we are beginning to understand that eating more of what you might traditionally think of as veggies (including those peppers, cucumbers, zucchini etc.) over fruit is an even better idea. Why? The simple answer is eating less sugar, even the natural type, is a good idea. That doesn’t mean you should avoid fruit, quite the contrary. It just means that when you think about fruits and veggies, think veggies and fruits instead and fill you plate with a second (or third portion) of veggies and have some fruit as well.
For information check out Fruits and Veggies More Matters® at http://www.fruitsandveggiesmorematters.org/.
