Right now, if you find yourself looking to be healthier by loading up on fruits, full of vitamins and minerals to support your immune system, you're far from alone. The question is, how do you make sure that the fruit you're choosing is the best of the bunch? Whether it's a ripe melon, perfect grapefruit, or rarer selections like passion fruit or Soursop, the founder of Full Moon Fruits, wants to help you get the best fruit you can buy.

Full Moon Fruits is a delivery box service that curates and sends out a variety of different fruits and delivers them to your door – either as a one-off order or a monthly subscription service. One fun option is their "mystery box" that lets them choose the combination of fruit for you.

Founder and fruit enthusiast, Matt – who prefers to go by "SourMatt" – spends most of his time in the produce market, and loves nothing more than helping consumers gain a deep understanding of how to buy fruit, including a range of exotic and fresh fruit, from the Caribbean Soursop with its powerful cancer-fighting compounds, to the rare but sweet pink-hued pineapple, to tart yet delicious passion fruit.

He now educates the brand’s 138,000 Instagram followers about fruit consumption and counts celebrities like Tabitha Brown, Lonzo Ball, and Faze Clan among his customers.

This fruit lover traded making music for selling melons

After working in the music industry and seeing firsthand how few artists were reaching for healthier foods, especially when they were busy creating new music in the studio, Matt set out with one goal in mind: To educate as many people as possible about the benefits and complexities of fruit in order to make adopting a whole food diet less daunting.

“A lot of people were second-guessing what they were doing and were not sure how to embrace a new perspective or get healthy,” said Matt, who notes that he would often bring a plate of fresh fruit into a studio session with an artist, and a few negative reactions to this opened his eyes to the lack of education we have around fruit and healthy food.

Founded in November of 2020 – during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic – Full Moon Fruits presented a solution to a common problem: Make fresh, nutritious fruits as accessible as possible to customers all over the US.

The value of the purchase doesn’t end when the package is delivered, but FMF guides customers exactly how to store, eat, and enjoy their product, to ensure they’re getting the highest value out of it. When you order a box of Full Moon Fruits, it arrives with a printed card with a QR code that links to a web page showing exactly how to care for and use the fruit.

4 tips to buy the best fruit and get the most out of the fruit you buy

1. Always choose vine-ripened fruit

Ensure that the fruit you’re choosing was ripened on the vine: This goes for every fruit on the planet. Oftentimes retailers cut corners and take the fruits off the vine before they’re fully ripened, which doesn’t allow us to maximize the nutrients and flavor. If the fruit looks far from being ripe and has stayed on the shelves for a while, skip it.

2. The most beautiful fruit is not the most delicious

While that shiny, kelly green striped watermelon may look like the best fruit in the bin, Matt notes that looks can be deceiving. You should actually be choosing the most matte, dull watermelon with a big yellow spot, which means the fruit was ripened on the vine. Matt jokes that the ugliest fruit is generally the most delicious, which probably contrasts starkly with what we would assume.

3. Know exactly where you’re buying from

Many grocery stores and retailers are cutting corners when it comes to fruit, and buying low-quality products in huge quantities to maximize their profits.

Find a retailer that you trust who can tell you exactly where their dragonfruit or apples come from to be assured that you’re getting top quality. Depending on where you live, this could look different - perhaps there's an organic family farm in your area or a fruit vendor that you trust and can ask important questions to. If you can’t find a trusted retailer in your area, Full Moon Fruits ships nationwide.

4. Don’t fear freeze-dried

Freeze-dried fruit is a great way to get the same quality of nutrients as fresh fruit while boasting the additional benefit of being shelf-stable. Some varieties of freeze-dried fruit can last up to 25 years if stored correctly, making them an incredible choice to stock up on. During winter months, keep freeze-dried fruit on hand for a nutrient-packed snack that you can bring on the go which can help to boost your immunity. One of my favorite freeze-dried fruits is the pink glow pineapple, a beautiful fruit that has a hint more sweetness than its yellow counterpart.

5. Boost your immunity naturally

This winter, defend your immune system with plants like sea moss and the Soursop fruit. Sea moss, or Irish moss, is a type of sea plant rich in vitamins and minerals, including B12 and zinc; early studies indicate it helps boost immunity and can reduce flu-like symptoms. Soursop has been revered as "the miracle tree" since its fruit is loaded with antioxidants. Soursop has been shown to help protect against cellular damage caused by free radicals which leave the body vulnerable to illness, aging and cancer.

For more nuances like this, follow Full Moon Fruits’ Instagram page for a regular dose of fruit education.

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