#gethealthy Week 4: Getting Out Of Your Fruit and Veg Rut

It's the last week of the #gethealthy January Challenge and with these weekly goals in place, it's quickly made me realise how easy it is to fall into foodal habits - whether good or bad.

This week's goal was to eat more fruit and vegetables. Now, I've always been a fruit and veg fan, I can't get enough of the stuff - twice a week I go to the local market to stock up on the stuff.

But this week, when I was at the market, I took some time to have a proper look around. And this was when I realised that I tend to just buy the same fruit and veg every week.

Nothing wrong with that I guess - it's better than no fruit and veg after all. But I saw so many things that I have never bought, or rarely buy - the simple reason being that I just wouldn't know what to do with them. And that's just a bit of a silly attitude to have, isn't it?

So how do you get out of such a fruit and veg rut?

Well, there's two simple ways I'd like to suggest, the next time you're shopping for fruit and veg.

1) Buy one piece of fruit/veg that you've never or rarely bought before
2) Choose a piece of fruit/veg that you normally buy - with the intention to create a new dish with it

Ok, so maybe they both sound a bit simplistic - but it's just a suggestion for the first step you might choose to take. For example, with the first one, it's not about finding a completely obscure vegetable that you've never even heard of - just something that you might have shied away from before.

For me, one of the veggies I want to try properly is rhubarb - I've never tasted it before (that I can't remember), and the sight of it at the market with its big poisonous leaves always scares me. But it's not in season at the moment so this experiment will have to wait!

Of course, there's other ones I plan to try, but for the timebeing, I want to leave you with something I made following the second step - choosing a fruit/veg that I normally buy (in this case, blueberries), and creating a new dish with it...

Grilled Paprika Pork with Blueberry Sauce

Print-friendly recipe

Serves 2:

4 lean pork steaks (250g)
2 tbsp paprika
1.5 tbsp honey
1 tbsp olive oil

100g fresh blueberries
4 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp honey

Some steamed rice and veggies to serve

1) Put the paprika in a large bowl with the honey and olive oil. Add the steaks, mix well and leave to marinade for 15 minutes.
2) Switch on the grill to the highest setting and transfer the steaks to a grill tray. Grill for about 4-5 minutes on each side until cooked through.
3) Meanwhile, gently heat the vinegar and honey in a small pan. Add the blueberries, gently pressing them to heat through.
4) Pour the blueberry sauce over the grilled pork, and serve with some steamed rice and fresh veggies.

You might also find a bit of fruity inspiration from these salads and curries to experiment with, to work more fruit into your diet.