Post 2 "Real" vs. "Fake"

Pineapple. Pear. Cherry. Peach. Orange. These are all fruits that as a kid I ate in their "real" form as "real" foods are defined by Michael Pollan. He also talks about the Western Diet and how it's damaging our health. Agreeing with Pollan, David Gutierrez talks about the Western Diet and its link with heart disease. My mom always had the house full of these fruits as well as apples, kiwis, and bananas, and I always reached for these foods on a daily basis. At the time it was just a tasty treat after practice or play, but as I got older I realized that my mom had a purpose for putting those out on the counter.

As I grew and began to understand the concepts of cost, timeliness, and laziness, I found the processed fruit section in stores. I tried my first "fake" fruit cup when I was in high school during sports. It was originally my friend's who decided that he didn't want it on a long bus ride. He seemed surprised that I had never had one before.

The "fake" peaches that I consumed smelled kind of like a peach syrup, and there was a lot of sugar in that little cup. It was a very convenient way to eat peaches though, being that there was no juicy mess, no hurting teeth after you accidently bit too far in and caught the pit, or no skin to chew on. The peaches tasted a lot sweeter than the ones Mom used to bring home, and they looked kind of mushy being cramped in that tiny cup. They still tasted satisfactory though.

This "fake" food provides some nutrients probably, but nowhere near the vitamins gained by eating the "real" alternative. The packages don't argue that their processed food is as good or better, at least not with fruit that I can recall. Nevertheless, the "real" food is the way to go.

Now that I'm in college, I have a counter full of processed fruit in cans, cups, and bags. The main reasons I buy processed fruit are based on cost, convenience, and storage. When I get out on my own place though after college, I plan to switch back to the way that my mom tried to instill in me: "real" fruit.