Self-Sufficiency - Fruit

Food Self-Sufficiency
This is something that has interested me for years. Is it possible to grow everything we need to eat a healthy and varied meals?

Here's the problem: We are products of modern days. A time when we could get in the car and drive 5 minutes to a fast food joint or convenience store. When we have freezers stocked with pre-made dinners, toaster waffles, and logs of ground beef. When our pantry is stocked with tin cans purchased, and not home-canned. When a quick meal means grabbing carbs and meat with little thought to fresh veggies and fruit. When dessert is cake or something sweet, instead of fresh fruit and homemade cheese.

What would happen if the economy got so bad that we couldn't afford to go to McDonald's or order delivery from Pizza Hut? Or Peak Oil happened so drastically that we ran out of gas? We're actually pretty close to being there.

So how do make the transition to homegrown anything and everything?

I've discovered cold turkey doesn't work for me. When I have a migraine, I just don't feel like thinking about what's in the pantry or refrigerator. I'm sure I'm not alone.

As you may know, this was our first year in a house and our first year as gardeners. We grew soy beans, corn, pumpkins, squashes, cucumbers, tomatoes and tomatoes and tomatoes, and a few other things. We planted fruit trees and berry bushes. We learned so much and put away a lot but honestly, I don't think we could survive on what we successfully grew this year. But next year, in our new house.....

Fruit:
Fresh fruit has essential vitamins and minerals needed for strong bones and blood cells, antioxidants, and fiber. Absolutely required for good health, yet we don't eat much as a USA nation.

I read somewhere that fruit should be eaten at times when you don't eat vegetables, so that they don't compete for digestion. Whether that's true or not, because of the sugar content of most fruits, I usually serve fruit during lunch, and veggies during dinner. Fruit is also a good snack in between meals, especially when served with a protein like cheese or nuts/seeds.

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Here's a list of fruits with Nutritional Values, from: http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art49478.asp - not complete by any means. I mean, where's the avocado and tomato? (Concerns are in parenthesis, but if you grow them yourselves and/or limit usage, you should be ok.)

Apples - flavonoids, fiber, C (pesticides, wax coating)
Apricots - carotenoids, A, C, fiber (preservatives)
Bananas - B6, C, potassium (glycemic)
Blackberries - flavonoids, fiber, C, K, manganese
Blueberries - flavonoids, C, manganese, fiber
Cantaloupe - carotenoids, C, A, potassium
Cherries - flavonoids (pesticides)
Cranberries - flavonoids, fiber, C, manganese
Dates- (glycemic)
Dried fruit - (glycemic, preservatives)
Figs - (preservatives)
Fruit juices - (glycemic)
Grapefruit - carotenoids in pink, flavonoids, C
Grapes - flavonoids, manganese (pesticides)
Guava - carotenoids, fiber, C
Kiwifruit - C, fiber (glycemic)
Lemons - flavonoids, C (wax coating)
Limes - flavonoids, C (wax coating)
Mangoes - carotenoids, A, C (glycemic)
Nectarines - carotenoids, C (glycemic, pesticides)
Oranges - carotenoids, flavonoids, C, fiber (glycemic)
Papayas - carotenoids, C, folate, potassium
Peaches - carotenoids, C (pesticides)
Pears - flavonoids (pesticides)
Persimmons - C (glycemic)
Pineapple - C, manganese (glycemic)
Plums - carotenoids, C
Raspberries - flavonoids, fiber, manganese, C
Raisins - (glycemic, pesticides, preservatives)
Strawberries - carotenoids, flavonoids, C, fiber (pesticides)
Tangerines - carotenoids, A, C (glycemic)
Watermelon - carotenoids, C, A, B6 (glycemic)

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Here are some suggestions for quick fruit-meals that we can do 100% ourselves:
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Chunks of cheddar cheese
Bunches of grapes
Applesauce
Cornbread
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Scrambled eggs
Freshly baked bread
Strawberries, Raspberries, Blueberries
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Cucumber & tomato salad
Walnut muffins
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Cranberry-orange muffins
Baked Chicken
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Soybean flour crackers spread with peanut butter
fruit salad
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On-the-go "snack meal":
Sunflower Seeds, Pecans
Dried peaches and dried mango
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Wow ... that's just what I came up with in a few moments, by looking at my list of plants and animals (cows, chickens). Some, like the orange tree, will need to be a solarium, while the strawberries could be grown indoors on a windowsill or in a corner with a grow-light for year-round consumption.

Your fruit-meal suggestions?

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