The power of produce
In most years, I hear the phrase “the power of produce” and associate it with the great annual report presented at Southern Exposure, This year, it has another, more personal connotation for me.
Starting in early December, I began tracking my food every day. I had been exercising five or six times a week for about six months before that, and I’d been enjoying some great encouragement around health overall as part of the Viva Fresh Clean Eating Challenge, and I’d even been exploring for a while how my eating habits were connected to a whole lot of things besides feeling hungry … but right around the holidays was when I really became much more intentional about how I was fueling my body.
There have been so many components to my health and wellness journey in the last three-plus months, but increasing my consumption of fresh produce has definitely been a pivotal one.
I’ve started having cherry or grape tomatoes as part of my breakfast most days. Chicken burgers made with mushrooms, eggplant and garlic are now my go-to for lunches. Strawberries and citrus have become my new default options for snack time and dessert. Broccoli and cauliflower are weekly purchases now. Blackened tilapia slathered in seasoned avocado is my new favorite dinner.
I can still eat other foods, but produce has a new role for me as the foundation of my diet. When I rely on produce as the main component, I have space to add other (potentially more indulgent) items as I choose to, but fruits and vegetables are what let me keep moving in the direction I want to go.
Since changing my eating habits, I’ve not only lost a significant amount of weight – new jeans are arriving this weekend! – but my ease of movement has increased, I’ve seen my performance in workouts climb, and my quality of life and confidence are at a level they haven’t been in years.
Best of all, it is a sustainable path that I’m on. As long as I keep fruits and vegetables at the center of my diet, I can keep eating other foods I enjoy but don’t need all the time, and that flexibility is essential.
Quality of life – being physically and mentally strong so I can enjoy to the fullest extent my time with family and friends – is the whole goal, and produce has been huge in helping me get to a place where I can do that so much better.
That’s one consumer’s story, and I share it just to put one more face to the importance of what the produce industry does every day. You’re not just selling fruits and vegetables. You’re helping people, when they are ready, to change their lives.
Yikes – that was pretty sappy. But it’s true. No wonder so many people love this industry!
Ashley Nickle is editor of PMG and The Packer's retail editor.
