Fruit or Vegetable?

Believe it or not.... I've been watching your entries. Keep up the great work! Of the hundreds involved in the challenge, I've seen entries ranging from kale to butter and beans to bacon. But the question I get the most is... "Is ________________ a fruit or vegetable?" I will break it down for you, but don't get too caught up in that quandary. I bet if its close, you are still making a great choice in your nutrition. What is the difference between a fruit and a vegetable? Botanically speaking, a fruit is a seed-bearing structure that develops from the ovary of a flowering plant, whereas vegetables are all other plant parts, such as roots, leaves and stems. By those standards, seedy outgrowths such as apples, squash, avocados, beans, pea pods, corn, cucumbers, nuts, olives, peppers, sunflower seeds and tomatoes are technically fruit. While roots such as beets, potatoes and turnips, leaves such as spinach, kale and lettuce, and stems such as celery and broccoli are all vegetables. The outlook is quite different in culinary terms, however. A lot of foods that are (botanically speaking) fruits, but which are savory rather than sweet, are typically considered vegetables by chefs. This includes such botanical fruits as eggplants, bell peppers and tomatoes. The fruit vs. vegetable debate can sometimes reach such a fever pitch that the law must step in. In the 1893 United States Supreme Court case Nix. v. Hedden, the court ruled unanimously that an imported tomato should be taxed as a vegetable, rather than as a (less taxed) fruit. The court acknowledged that a tomato is a botanical fruit, but went with what they called the "ordinary" definitions of fruit and vegetable — the ones used in the kitchen. Chard, leeks, kale, savoy cabbage,brussels sprouts, spinach, parsnips, broccoli, cauliflower are all great winter vegetables to incorporate in the 31 day Challenge! It is never to late to begin a positive change in your life.