Nature’s fast food

Posted at 6:00 am by Mary Ann Lesh

Jan 4th

“We’ve got sunlight on the sand
We’ve got moonlight on the sea
We’ve got mangoes and bananas we can pick right off a tree” (Rogers and Hammerstein, “There is Nothing Like a Dame” from the musical South Pacific.

It’s always nice to sit down to a complete meal, but the truth is that most of us often need something quick and easy. Fortunately, plants provide a wealth of foods that require little or no preparation and are really at their best and most nutritious when eaten fresh from the tree, bush, or vine. Just wash and enjoy. Some, you can eat with the peeling. Some, like bananas and oranges, come in an easy-to-remove biodegradable wrapper. If you have just a bit of time, you can combine them in salads or fabulous dessert plates. It’s a good idea to clean the surfaces carefully to eliminate bacteria that they might have picked up in the process of bringing it from the farm or orchard to your pantry. Here’s a quick guide to getting these natural fast foods ready to eat.

Cleaning fruits and vegetables

1. If you will eat the peeling, it’s a good idea to scrub it with a vegetable brush.
2. If you’re going to peel it, a good rinse, clean hands, and maybe a clean knife are all you need.
3. For porous foods like lettuce or strawberries, soak briefly (3 minutes or less) in a solution of water and vinegar (plain old cheap vinegar will do the trick)–about 1 part of vinegar to 3 parts of water.
This Modern Survival Blog gives more details on cleaning fruits and vegetables.

Some of my favorites from nature’s fast food menu

apple
apricot
avocado
banana
berries (strawberry / blackberry / blueberry…)
broccoli
cantaloupe
carrot
cauliflower
celery
coconut
cucumber
date
fig
grape

lettuce (all kinds of leafy greens)
mango
mushroom
nuts (pecan / almond / peanut / cashew / walnut…)
orange / tangerine / mandarinpapaya
peach
pear
pineapple
plum
pomegranate
radish
tomato
watermelon
zucchini

Author: Mary Ann Lesh

I have been a teacher, university administrator, and translator in Mexico, Texas, and Massachusetts. I have traveled in Central and South America, Europe, Asia, the United States and Mexico. I grew up in Wichita Falls, Texas, attended Midwestern University, then received a bachelor’s degree in English, education, and journalism from Baylor University. I have a master of education degree and doctoral studies in Spanish literature from Texas Tech, with additional studies in translation, French, Portuguese, website design, and art at the Universidad Autónoma de Guadalajara, Boston University, and the University of Texas at Dallas. I am the mother of three and grandmother of seven. I have lived in Cancun, Mexico, since 2017.

Fruit and Stuff