I must confess to being finicky about fruit. I don’t like most soft fruits because I hate pips in my mouth. Because of this, for most of my adult life, I’ve avoided fruits which, when you add into this the knowledge that I’m a vegetarian then it seems like a very strange thing indeed.

Occasionally I’d buy a melon or a pineapple but after languishing for weeks at the back of the fridge with one slice cut out, it’s usually end up on the compost heap. Sad but true.

Somehow, while I was away from home all of the time and in a desperate attempt to get myself some good nutrition while away, I started buying pre-packed pre-prepared fruit to give myself a boost. I chose carefully – the ones with melon, pineapple, grape, apple, pear…..but not those with strawberries, raspberries, kiwi fruits, passion fruit etc.

Then, a friend came to stay, bringing a big bag of fruit with her and preparing it by chopping it into bits, mixing up a huge fruit salad then spooning out a portion and eating it on a daily basis for breakfast. It was a revelation to me because I’d never even thought of pre-preparing my own fruit salad. That meant I could have things I like in it and not a combination thought up by a retailer. Not only that but I could make sure that what went into mine was not adulterated in any way by chemical preservatives or other nasties.

It works too. It takes me about 10 minutes to prepare. It’ll last 5-6 days in the fridge and I now choose it for breakfast every day. What’s more, I really love it. It’s fresh and tasty and I reckon my portion size probably delivers me with two of my five a day if one is an apple or orange (if you see what I mean). I’ve gone from buying fruit very, very rarely to it being a regular item on my shopping list.

Eureka – it’s funny how you can shift your view on something as basic as this from a chance conversation with a friend.