The government wants you to grill fruit for the Fourth of July

Forget hamburgers and hotdogs — the U.S. Department of Agriculture is pushing people to grill up pineapple slices, peaches, nectarines and other fruit for their big July 4th feast.

"Throw some grilled pineapple on the grill & get ready to enjoy nature's candy," USDA's "MyPlate" website tweeted out this week.

If pineapples aren't your thing, you can try other fruit.

"For something sweet, toss halved peaches or nectarines on the grill and sprinkle with cinnamon," USDA suggested.

If you don't want to mess with big, sloppy pieces of fruit, you can cut them into smaller pieces. "Try grilled fruit kabobs!" USDA ventured.

USDA hosted a "Twitter party" this week to talk about creative, healthy ways to use their grills. "Have you tried grilled romaine, avocado, or pineapple?" USDA asked.

Another tweet suggested grilled watermelon slices. "The natural sugars caramelize [to] give them great flavor!" tweeted nutrition expert Elizabeth Somer.

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