Getting in your daily recommended serving of fruits and veggies can be tough as a college student. Things get even more confusing when you realize that the foods you thought were veggies are actually fruits.
This sounds gross, but fruits are defined as “developed from the fertilized ovary of a flower.” Veggies, on the other hand, are basically the edible part of a plant that doesn’t happen to be a fruit. We’re setting the record straight with this list of surprising fruits that will make you question your daily veggie intake.
1. Tomatoes
The tomato is probably the most well-known fruit on this list. This is no longer a debate. Venture into the world of the unknown and try out a sweet tomato recipe that won’t make you second guess tomato’s fruit status.
2. Cucumber
Seeds are a dead giveaway that your favorite vegetable or salad topper, in this case, is a fruit. Cucumbers are probably the least—sugary fruit on this list. This is mainly because they have a high water content .
3. Eggplant
Imagine opening up the dessert basket of ingredients on Chopped and inside there’s an eggplant. Not likely, right? Contestants would have to get super creative to work this fruit into their dish.
4. Squash
Squash and zucchini recipes have gotten immensely popular with the introduction of the spiralizer. So much so that we thought of them as a league of their own. It looks like you’ve been replacing starchy pasta with fruit this whole time.
5. Olives
I never really considered olives a fruit or a vegetable. I guess I always thought of them as their own category. Like tomatoes and squash we tend to eat olives in savory dishes, or on their own like you might eat fruit. See what I did there?
6. Peppers
This fruit isn’t a total shocker. After all, the nickname for these bell peppers are “sweet peppers.” I personally wouldn’t count green bell peppers on this list since they are actually just unripe red peppers.
7. Pumpkin
After September rolls around up until Thanksgiving, we are consumed with, and actually consuming, So. Much. Pumpkin. Pumpkin pie, cookies, and lattes are a testament to pumpkins’ fruity roots.
8. Peas
Being green doesn’t automatically make peas veggie. Looks can be deceiving. These little guys also have about a tablespoon of sugar per 1/2 cup. Frozen peas might be the perfect green fruit to switch things up in your usual green smoothie.
9. Avocado
Avocados are an unexpected addition to this list. Like olives, I never really considered avocados to be a vegetable or fruit. I always thought of them as an excellent source of healthy fats and the answer to my plain Tostito prayers. This totally makes sense though since avocados are commonly used in vegan desserts.
10. Corn
These yellow kernels are actually considered a fruit. John Smith had the right idea in Pocahontas when he tried to tell the evil Governor how awesome corn was. I bet neither of them knew that it was a fruit.