Fruit Harm Reduction

There are worse things than a bowl of frozen berries. Many worse things.

We all have our stress reactions. Go-to coping mechanisms that may or may not be helpful in the long term but that make us feel better in the short term. Or we think they do. I already do yoga, meditate, take walks in nature (or what passes for it in West Philly) and nurture a beloved pet. I also seek social connection and giving back by volunteering weekly at the Project MEOW (Make Every One Wanted!) cat shelter, as of late volunteering with Elis for Rachael, and doing service to my Zendo and Zen teacher (who is in her eighties and struggling with a knee that needs to be replaced.) I try, okay, I try! But when I am confronted with terrifying realities that are beyond my control, I want dried fruit.

Mango would be ideal, but raisins, crasins, dried apricots, papaya, dried bananas, dried apples, dried blueberries… just pick a fruit and dry it and I’d eat it. I’d probably eat dried tomato, as technically tomatoes are a fruit.

Dried fruit, unfortunately, concentrates the sugar in the fruit and often contains added sugars, so it can cause blood sugar spikes and can pack a big calorie punch for a small amount of food. So it is really best for me not to eat a ton of dried fruit. Especially at times when the current stresses, fears and horrors both in the immediate environment and in the larger world are not about to end any time soon, it is time for a dried fruit harm reduction strategy.

Harm reduction, for those of you who don’t know, is the basic idea that people are going to engage in dangerous behaviors no matter what, so it is best to encourage them to engage in these behaviors as safely as possible. People drive cars, so seat belts are mandatory. People go out in the sun, so they are advised to wear sunscreen or a hat. People are going to use drugs, no matter what, so it is best to find ways that they can do so safely and minimize the harms of drug use, rather than compounding harms by throwing them out of the house, into prison, or otherwise making their lives miserable.

Eating dried fruit is safer than driving, getting a sunburn, or using most things that are considered “drugs,” including alcohol. But as outlined above, dried fruit can cause me some difficulties. I also have some trouble stopping once I start with the dried fruit. I am not the kind of person who eats one dried mango slice a day and makes a six ounce container last two weeks. I am the kind of person who eats it all on the way home from the corner deli, then has a bad sugar rush and crash.

Yet it tastes so good, and stress, sadness, fear and other difficult emotions make it harder to exercise the executive function necessary to moderate dried fruit consumption.

Does anyone else have a dried fruit thing?

I have come up with a very good dried fruit harm reduction plan that is both healthy and seems to hit the dried fruit buttons without the sugar rush and calorie punch.

Frozen fruit. I love frozen fruit. And I like it… frozen. A real fruit popsicle, pourable out of a bag in the freezer into a nice little bowl, microwaved for just a minute in my very weak microwave to make the fruits not precisely ice but still frozen, with some Swerve sugar replacement on top. Hits the spot.

If you have not tried frozen fruit, I recommend it. It goes beautifully on top of Greek yogurt (fruit on the top, when you apply the fruit, is much more reliable than fruit on the bottom yogurts, which have been known to disappoint) and can also be eaten on its own. It can contain tons of nutrients and keep you from going insane and gobbling up the entire dried fruit section of a store in one short walk.

For those who find themselves drawn to Swedish fish, gummy bears, Twizzlers and other fruity candies, dried fruit is the same idea without the sugar and the gumminess, and with real fruit nutrients.

For those who prefer alcohol, I don’t know what to tell you, except maybe try some frozen fruit? It’s way cheaper than alcohol, it’s not a controlled substance, you don’t need a prescription or to go to a state store (we only have state owned liquor stores in PA) and it’s much better for your liver.

For those who love chocolate, particularly with peanut butter, I have a no-sugar, low carb alternative that also hits that spot that I will blog about soon.

As I genuinely pray for peace in our world, freedom for all hostages and that generations of war somehow come to an end, I feel sad and sometimes hopeless. My own friends would tear each other apart over some of the issues in world events today. It’s hard to hope for peace between people who have actually had family members and friends killed, but hope and pray I can.

Sometimes when I am sad or afraid, I hold paws with my cat and carefully think through all the people I love. I am grateful that they are in my life, no matter how far away, or even for those who have died, that I was able to share a bit of this short mortal life with them. I pray for their health and happiness, and sometimes turn my attention to little problems, problems that can be solved or that I can help with.

I am grateful on a daily basis to live in relative safety (though my neighborhood can be dangerous - it’s one of the ones that was looted in Philly a few weeks ago) and to have a healthy and loving cat to protect. I cuddle up with her at night and run through our blessings, and try to send peace and love outward to all beings.

But when the fear and the stress and the sense of helplessness overwhelms me, there’s always dried fruit.

Try it. You may like it.