Note: please consult with a doctor or physician before starting a new eating plan

Craving something sweet? Instead of candy or cookies, give fresh fruit a try. The USDA recommends that we eat at least two servings of fruit (and three servings of veggies) each day. Fruits are naturally low in calories and fat, contain no cholesterol and are loaded with vitamins, minerals and fiber. They’re also full of water: most fruits are, on average, about 80 percent water. Thus, eating fruit can also help you reach your recommended daily hydration goal.

So what counts as a serving? One half cup of cut fruit equals one serving. You can also get your serving from one medium piece of fruit, half a grapefruit, ¼ of a small cantaloupe, half-cup berries, a dozen grapes or ¾ cup pure fruit juice.

Here are some fun ways to eat and prepare fruit:

• Add berries, sliced bananas or peaches to your cereal or yogurt at breakfast.
• Make a breakfast smoothie with any and all fruit on hand. In a blender, add fresh blueberries and strawberries, sliced peaches or mango, a banana, a half-cup of orange juice and some crushed ice. Add some plain or vanilla yogurt to make your smoothie like a shake.
• If you pack your lunch, be sure to include an apple, peach or banana. Or cut up a blend of fruits and put it in a tasty fruit salad.
• At dinner, add crushed pineapple to coleslaw; make a salsa with crushed pineapple or crushed peaches; add sliced apples, strawberries or mandarin oranges to a salad; serve a fruit salad for dessert.
• Grill fruit kebabs with chunks of pineapple, peaches, banana and strawberries. Put the fruit chunks on skewers, coat with a light cooking oil spray, grill on each side until golden, about 1 minute each. You can also add chunks of honeydew melon and cantaloupe. Serve with yogurt for a special touch, or just eat plain and savor the flavors.

Another way to get your fruit servings is fresh fruit juice. If you have a juicer, you can squeeze the fruits instead of peeling them and eating them by hand. Great fruits to squeeze in your juicer include oranges, tangerines, grapefruit, apples, pears, strawberries, pineapple and peaches. Experiment and blend a few fruits together: the more you blend together and drink, the more servings you get!

If you don’t have a juicer or if you don’t have time, you can also choose from an array of 100% juice drinks at your local grocery or health food store. Enjoy!

Rebecca Heaton is a sports and fitness writer and editor who contributes to a number of regional sports and fitness publications.