Food Fact Friday: Fruit or Vegetable?

I thought this was so interesting...and seriously disturbing. All these years, thinking I was being so good and putting vegetables on my pizza.

8 sneaky fruits that you probably thought were vegetables:

1. Avocados

Sometimes called the Alligator Pear, avocados are the fruit from the Persea Americana, a tall evergreen tree that can grow up to 65 feet in height. They are a good source of vitamin K, dietary fiber, vitamin B6, vitamin C, folate, copper, and contain more potassium than a medium-sized banana. Blend your avocado with two other mystery fruits--bell pepper and tomato--to make everyone's favorite dip: guacamole.

2. Cucumbers

Cucumbers are high-water fruits that belong to the same family as watermelon, zucchini, pumpkin, and other types of squash. A very good source of vitamin C and molybdenum, cukes are also a good source of vitamin A, potassium, manganese, folate, dietary fiber, magnesium, and silica. Tasty suggestion: turn those cucumbers into dill pickles.

3. Eggplant

One of the aforementioned nightshades, eggplants are available in a variety of colors: lavender, jade green, orange, and yellow-white. They also range in size and shape from that of a small tomato to a large zucchini. Eggplant is a very good source of dietary fiber, potassium, manganese, copper, and thiamin (vitamin B1); a good source of vitamin B6, folate, magnesium, and niacin; and also contains phytonutrients such as nasunin and chlorogenic acid.

4. Okra

Immature okra pods are used for soups, canning, and stews or as a fried or boiled vegetable. This seed-filled green capsule is high in dietary fiber, vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin K, thiamin, vitamin B6, folate, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, manganese, protein, riboflavin, niacin, iron, zinc, and copper. Roasted okra is highly recommended.

5. Potatoes

Another nightshade, potatoes are also the most widely cultivated vegetable, I mean, fruit in the world. They provide vitamins like niacin, riboflavin, thiamin, and vitamin C and minerals such as calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, sodium, and sulfur. They also provide the main ingredient for home fries.

6. Peppers

Plump, bell shaped nightshade fruits that come in purple, green, red, yellow, and orange. An excellent source of vitamins C, A and B6, try them marinated.

7. Squash

Summer squash comes in three varieties--zucchini, crookneck, and pattypan--and is an excellent source of manganese and vitamin C. Wash your summer squash under cool running water, cut off both ends, and then cut it to fit the needs of your particular recipe. Winter squash--e.g. butternut, acorn, hubbard, and pumpkin--provides an abundance of vitamin A. Before cooking winter squash, wash it and then cut it in half and remove the seeds and fibrous material in the cavity

8. Tomatoes

This nightshade fruit is popular, versatile, and comes in over a thousand different varieties. Tomatoes are loaded with nutrients: an excellent source of vitamin C, vitamin A, and vitamin K; a very good source of molybdenum, potassium, manganese, dietary fiber, chromium, and vitamin B1; a good source of vitamin B6, folate, copper, niacin, vitamin B2, magnesium, iron, pantothenic acid, phosphorus, vitamin E, and protein. 

Were you as shocked as I was by this list? 

Okay, I knew about avocados and tomatoes, but eggplant?! Bell peppers?! ZUCCHINI?! Those are all my favorite "vegetables"! How the heck am I supposed to get in all my servings now? I wonder if it was better being ignorant...

read the article here

image from here