Are You a Veggie Head or Just Plain Fruity?

Nutrition News Flash

-- By Becky Hand, Licensed & Registered Dietitian

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A recent study randomly selected 508 adults and categorized each of them as either a vegetable lover or fruit lover by using a cross-classification technique, based on their preference ratings for fruits and vegetables and by each participant’s self-perceptions. Vegetable lovers differed from fruit lovers in both their cooking habits and their food preferences as shown by the following chart:

Cooking Habit or Preference	Veggie Lovers	Fruit Lovers
Have guests over for dinner	More frequently	Less frequently
Claim to cook nutritious meals	More frequently	Less frequently
Make new recipes they have never made before	More frequently	Less frequently
Eat spicy food	More frequently	Less frequently
Drink wine with dinner	More frequently	Less frequently
Eat dessert after dinner	Less frequently	More frequently

So where do you fall? Are you the veggie or fruit lover? By focusing your efforts on your food preferences and cooking desires you can easily meet your nutrition needs and your "5 A Day" quota.

Action Sparked for the Fruit Lovers:

Try fruit as a replacement for desserts.
Snack on fruits between meals.
Serve raw fruit slices along with a dip.
Throw in a piece of fruit to have with your brown bag lunch.
Top pancakes, waffles, and cake with fruit.
Stir fruit into your favorite yogurt.
Add dried fruit to your hot cereal.
Enjoy a fruit-yogurt smoothie
Add fruit to chicken and tuna salads.

Action Sparked for the Vegetable Lovers:

Add variety to your meals by trying new veggie recipes.
Impress your family and friends with a new vegetable creation.
Add extra vegetables to your favorite soup, casserole, or stew.
Sauté your veggies in olive oil; add additional spices, herbs, lemon juice, nuts, cheese, or seeds for flavor.
Enjoy raw vegetables and dip with your meal or as a snack.
Start your meal with a new salad recipe.
Add chopped vegetables to tuna or chicken salads.
Add some extra veggies to your pizza.
Top a sandwich with your favorite vegetables.

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About The Author

Becky Hand
Becky is a registered and licensed dietitian with almost 20 years of experience. Through her company, An Ounce of Prevention, she makes nutrition principles practical, easy to apply and fun. See all of Becky's articles.

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Member Comments

GLORIAMAJDI

I love them both but would say I love fruit more than veggies...but seriously, it depends on the fruit or veggie. I would pick most any veggie over a banana any day! I would pick most any fruit over beets any day! - 5/2/2013 4:50:38 PM
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SILVERSTASH

I am the veggie lover all the way and this described me to a T! - 4/29/2013 2:29:55 PM
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TIME2BLOOM4ME

Silly. Really silly. No logic at all to this article other than proof of silliness. - 4/29/2013 10:00:41 AM
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TIMOTHYNOHE

Ridiculous. Half the profile was wrong one way or the other. - 11/14/2012 11:09:55 PM
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TORAMPAUL

I am a fruit lover, not a veggie lover, yet I fit the profile for veggie lovers in all but two of the categories. I'm not sure how accurate that study is. - 9/3/2012 8:08:27 AM
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MRSBAILEY921

i am more of a veggie lover but i fit the profile of a fruit lover...interesti
ng haha. - 8/22/2012 7:06:48 PM
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NANASAMM

I am a fruit lover and this article was right on target for me. I love veggies also but tend to reach for fruit more often. - 8/22/2012 12:11:56 AM
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RWIN777

I love fruits of all kinds!!! I like veggies to, most of them. I find it more challenging to know how to season them where they taste good. The old way....add butter, salt and your good ...but the healthy way, leaving out the butter and extra salt....but not as tasty. Fruit, oh my, I love it but being diabetic, I have to limit the natural sugar as well as other sugars.. otherwise i would be eating fruit like there was no tomorrow! :( miss fruit. - 8/5/2012 6:58:05 PM
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TB4EVER

Bring on the veggies!!!!! - 6/25/2012 9:33:15 PM
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PICKIE98

There is no fruit I ever tasted that I do not love,,in fact I just bought some prickly pears yesterday to try for the first time,, the only veggies I will not eat are squash, sweet potatoes, turnips, rutabaga and artichoke.
My dream meal is a huge,true, chefs salad!! Top it off with fruit and it is nirvana to me!! - 6/15/2012 3:47:30 PM
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GEECHEEGULL

The profile of preferences would make me sound like a vegetable lover but I way prefer fruits. As usual, take surveys with a grain of salt - 1/8/2012 10:16:50 AM
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BOOMER64

both for me and my family. - 11/17/2011 2:53:55 AM
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PANDADOT

I've always loved both fruits and vegetables - I have my parents and their bountiful garden to thank for that! If I go awhile without getting fresh fruits and vegetables (like when I'm traveling), the cravings I get for a big salad or an apple can be so powerful!

But I think between the two, I'm more of a fruit lover. I HAVE to have a piece of fruit after dinner - I got that from my dad, who would always have an orange or some watermelon after dinner. We almost never have dessert - only on holidays, really - but every day, I have a piece of fruit. Come summertime, it's almost always watermelon - I love it so much! My dad and I are currently in a contest, to see who can eat the most watermelon from May 1 - Sept 1. He won last year, so I'm really going for it this summer - so far, I've eaten five! - 6/1/2011 11:12:42 AM
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ASHLEIGHM89

I was a bit skeptical when I first clicked on this article but I fit the characteristics of the fruit lovers perfectly, which surprised me as I didn't really think it would work haha. Interesting! - 4/17/2011 7:52:33 AM
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ANDRAYAYA

Straight veggie head! I could eat them for breakfast lunch and dinner!! - 4/11/2011 8:20:14 AM
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