As we all know, fruit is a kind of very healthy food. It is reported that the more fruit you take, the fewer diseases you get. And the dietitians announced that we Chinese people still don't ingest satisfiable amount of fruit. But when is a good time to eat fruit,before the meal or after that?

    Nevertheless, is there anyone who has considered eating fruit at meal? Anything wrong with this patten? Seemingly no reason against it.

    It is said that eating fruit before the meal would be stimulant for the stomach.However, with meal and fruit at the same time, no such kind of problem comes about.

    It is said that eating fruit after the meal would be harmful for digestion.However, with fruit before being full, no such kind of problem comes about.

    In this way, why can't we take fruit at meal? There is no rule that fruit should be seperated from the three meals. Now that it is reasonable to drink fruit juice, eat fruit salad at meal and put tomatoes into the dish, why not eat the fruit at meal? Actually, in many western countries, it is regarded as a necessary part to eat fruit at the dinner table; In many countries with abundant fruit, it's no surprise to find traces of fruit in dishes.

     As a matter of fact, there are quite a few advantages of eating fruit at meal.

    First,reduce the total energy taken at a meal. Because fruit, with its large volum and relative low energy, could substitute some fat dishes and staple food so as to reduce the totale energy taken in. As a result, the obesity can be prevented.

    Second, reduce the total salt taken at a meal. Because while seasoned with fruit, dishes can be exempted from the salt. Substitution of some salty food in a meal can balance the mineral proportion and control the blood pressure.

     Third, provide more active enzymes to help digest other food better.A variety of fruit is rich in protein enzyme, such as pineapple, fig, papaya, mango,kiwi fruit.It is favourable to the stomach for those who have a weak digestion system to eat food rich in protein with fruit.

    Fourth, help the absorbtion of fat-dissolvable  antioxide elements such as carrot elment, tomato elment,lutein by the fat in dishes.

    fifth, increase the proportion of fibre and mineral in a meal, and enrich the flavor and texture of food. You'll be given fresh and enjoyful feeling.

    Sixth, induce the men, many of who don't have the habit of taking something after meal, to have a taste of the fruit served at meal

    Not long ago an old lady told me: "adopting  your  suggestion, I am not so fastidious about the time to eat fruit anylonger and let myself enjoy it to the full. Later I try to eat it at meal.I couldn't feel more comfortable than that before.

    Surely, considerations should be taken into the way of cooking and coordination of various raw materials while fruit being eaten at meal. Generally speaking, here are some tips:

    1. Coordination of its taste, color and flavor.For example, the texture of meat is tough and is usually seasoned with sugar and soy sauce. So pineapple possessing vivid color and richful taste is very suitable for the meat.Kiwi fruit or mango are supposed to match the delicate fish; The mellow papaya can be considered as a good match of cucumber or lettuce  which look green and taste light. 

    2 You'd better not to choose those easily-corrupted fruits while cooking. It is advisable to put easily-corrupted fruits into the soup at the point of boiling. It can kill the oxide enzyme as to keep the fruit fresh in color.

    3 Lest damage fruit's light and healthy feature, it isn't proposed to put too much oil randomly. You'd better cook other raw material before adding the fruit in. And the it should take as short time as possible to cook fruit.

    4 Fruit taste sweet itself.So it isn't recommended to overuse salt while cooking fruit. Meanwhile, there is no need to add sugar anymore. It can be borrowed from the fruit.

    5 Raw materials having sticks, bones or being too tenacious are not suitable to match the fruit. So are those smelly materials.

    6 While making fruit salad, do not put too much mayonnaire which contains fat high to 80%. 

    If you are not good at cooking fruit dishes, it's not a bad idea to cut it into cubes then serve it with other dishes.It tastes delicious as well and is expected to be very popular.