Urban Fruit

   Your 5 a day is important, it ensures you get fibre, healthy carbs and energy, not to mention a whole host of necessary vitamins, and should be made up of different fruits and vegetables every day - the bigger the range of colours, the better.

   The trouble is that fruit can go off quite quickly. It's easy to forget about it. Some fruits last longer in the fridge, but if you're like me, you don't always know which, or how to tell when fruit is ripe. Some fruit is purposely sold before it's ripened so that it will last a little longer, but, as I said, you can't always tell. The sam goes for veg, but I think that they may well last a little longer.

   But it can be disheartening when you forget about your fruit once in a while because you get tied up with other things and forget about the fruit bowl. Who buys 5 a day every day? Very few. You're more likely to buy a bag of apples to last you the week. But forget for 2 days and you're going to end up with rotten apples. Unloved and forgotten.

   My point is that getting your 5 a day is easy enough, but storing it is another. Fresh fruit is delicious and so nutritious but it's also difficult to keep fresh and inviting. So what can you do?

   Well, there are a lot of options, especially lately. It's getting easier to get your 5 a day without these kinds of concerns, and, best of all, these methods haven't been tainted by preservatives! And because healthy foods are finally starting to get the limelight they deserve, there are so many options that there's something for everyone. I wrote about nakd a while ago - twice - but they contain nuts and dates and because of this they certainly don't appeal to everyone. Some people are put off by the texture, the nuts themselves or just the look of them. They're missing out, of course.

    But then there is Urban Fruit. Quite simply: baked fruit. Goodness is sealed in, no preservatives are added, but there's no risk of bruising, bursting or squashing making them easier to eat on the go, and the bags are sealed for freshness. the fruits' lives are prolonged because of the lack of moisture.

   Just like nakd, Urban Fruit's deliciously heathy and wholesome fruit snacks are ready to eat on the go. Toss a 35g packet in your handbag, gym bag, coat pocket, whatever, and you've got a reliable, healthy source of one of your 5 a day without worrying about fruits bruising or rotting. I always get paranoid about an apple bruising in my bag, getting knocked about on my admittedly infrequent travels, and that's what stops me from bringing fruit out with me. But it was easy to bring a packet of mango - not only a large and cumbersome fruit, but also difficult to eat since you have to 'skin' it (this is what I said to the man in the shop last week) - to the WWT centre in Slimbridge last weekend when I was scoping out the plinths for my upcoming art exhibit.

   Each 35g bag counts as one of your 5-a-day and comes in at about 100 calories making them easy to add into a calorie-controlled diet because you know exactly what you're getting rather than guessing from one type of apple to another. There are also 100g bags available that are perfect for sharing and are around 300-350 calories - some of them are just larger bags of small bags of fruit, while others, like Tremendously Tropical, contain a small selection of different fruits like mango, pineapple, banana and coconut. And while the fruit doesn't look as vibrant as it would have when fresh, the taste is absolutely not compromised, and each packet is so satisfying!

   The fruits are wonderful to take on a day out for a healthy snack just in case, but Urban Fruit is also fantastic to bake with! Yes, I know, trust me to take something healthy and make it a little less so, but I made a wonderful baobab and strawberry cake using Urban Fruit and Aduna! It was experimental - while I already knew that baobab cake works gorgeously, I didn't know how pre-baked fruit would do. I was concerned the strawberries would dry up and turn tough, but in fact they softened and added a wonderful burst of flavour to the delicate baobab sponge.

   You can find Urban Fruit in a number of supermarkets like Tesco, Ocado, Waitrose and so on, and are also stocked on Amazon and are a convenient part of Boots' 'meal deal' so you can pick it up with a drink and a sandwich for less! It comes in Magnificent Mango, Smashing Strawberry, Perfect Pineapple, Superberry Blueberry & Blackcurrent, Awesome Apple & Pear, Brilliant Banana and Cheeky Cherry - don't you just love alliteration?

Disclaimer: I was sent this product to review by the brand itself. The quantity and precise products sent were their choice, not my own. All opinions and images are my own, and all appropriate research has been done by myself from a range of sources rather than relying entirely on the product's website, especially where health products are concerned. I do not accept a product to review if I do not believe it is safe or worth my own time, regardless of any kind of reimbursement. I trial the products for an appropriate amount of time before writing reviews to check for wear-and-tear on physical items and side effects from edible (be it supplements or food). If I have negative points to voice, I will voice them, and I never, ever accept product reviews or reimbursement on the promise of a positive review. My reviews are and will only ever be honest.