When it comes to eating healthy, the first thing that will come to your mind is to eat less and exercise more. Since you do not have to eat a lot, you lose weight in the process. However, most of them do not know that eating less can be potentially risky. Especially when you abruptly cut down on your food intake.
The best way to become healthy without sacrificing your food intake is to switch over to healthy foods. This means eating more fruits and vegetables than eating processed meat, junk food, and other fatty foods. Suppose you are new to visiting a fruit and vegetable store. In that case, you might have difficulty choosing the best ones—you don’t have to worry because there are several tips to follow when choosing high-quality fruits and vegetables.
Take Note of the Smell
You may have seen chefs on Youtube smelling their produce before putting it in their shopping cart. Some might think that this is just a fancy way of showing off their skills on the video, but, it is an effective method when choosing fresh produce. There are many instances when people would unsuspectingly buy rotten or spoiled produce even if the exterior surface does not look like it.
A simple whiff of the fruits and vegetables can help you determine whether it is still safe to eat or not. Whenever you are choosing fruits, you should expect a sweet and light smell emanating from them. This is a sign that the fruit is still not rotten. On the other hand, if the fruit gives off a strong smell, there is a possibility that it is over-ripe. Rotten fruits are easy to detect because, aside from the smell, it will show on its surface that it has gone rotten.
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Keep an Eye Out for Exterior Damage
Apart from smelling fruits, you should know that vegetables can go rotten too. Usually, frequent fruit and vegetable goers can quickly determine if the product is still fresh or not by its colour and visual cues. If you know that the vegetable is naturally green in colour, it is safe to cook and eat. You will know when your vegetables are going bad if you notice a bit of brown forming on the leaves. There are also small tears that will form, signaling that it is about to go bad. In some cases, the tear on the leaves is caused by improper handling during transportation.
Give the Produce a Light Squeeze
You can do this to many fruits since most vegetables are leafy and thin in texture, so there is no point in squeezing them. When squeezing the fruit, it should have a bit of softness because it signals that it is ripe. The only exception that fruit should be hard is with apples. This fruit should be difficult to squeeze. Fruits that usually soften when exposed to room temperature are bananas, avocados, mangoes, and pears, to name a few. When buying these kinds of fruits, you should not place them out in the open for a long time because they will quickly rot.
Conclusion
Looking for high-quality fruits and vegetables will not be difficult anymore when you have the mentioned tips dialled down. To ensure you get high-quality produce, make sure you choose a well-known fruit and vegetable store like MarketPlace Fresh. These are just one of the many stores that can provide you with fresh produce to add to your daily food intake.