I never much liked vegetables as a kid. Even now, the range of vegetables I really enjoy is pretty narrow. Some years ago, though, I got an idea from a friend’s mom: Her son, my boyfriend at the time, refused to eat vegetables at all. So she served him fruit. A lightbulb went on: Fresh fruit offers many of the same nutritional values as vegetables — fiber, water, vitamins and minerals, phytochemicals. So if you hate vegetables, try fruit.

Think about the attributes of fresh fruit: crispness and crunch, flavors that bloom in the presence of tart acids (lemon juice, vinegar) and spices (have you tried freshly ground black pepper with strawberries?).

Try fresh fruit in places you might not have thought of before. Yesterday, I had a tuna sandwich with a slice of crisp apple instead of lettuce. I’ve put pitted cherries in chicken salad. Or try a tart apple in a cheese sandwich.

Fruit, fresh or dried, uplifts green salads — or make a fruit salad with a tart vinaigrette instead of the usual sweet dressings.

Think outside the green.