Get More Fruits and Veggies Into a Diet
Follow These Simple Tips to Up Your Intake of These Vital Foods
Apr 23, 2009
Food guides recommend anywhere from five to nine servings of vegetables and fruit daily, but few Americans eat at least five servings, let alone nine, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
However, there are several ways to encourage yourself to increase the number servings you receive each day. The following ideas may encourage you to try to up your ante on the number of fruit and vegetables servings your receive each day. You could post this list in your kitchen—or take it with you when you shop for groceries.
Creative Ways to Get More Fruit and Vegetable Into Your Diet
Use ready-to-eat vegetables for snacks, like baby carrots or broccoli florets.
Try vegetable juice. One-portion cans make great snacks for the car or office.
Make Salad into a Meal
Make a salad into a meal. Toss a couple of ounces of chicken, turkey, tuna, low-fat cheese, or legumes into a large vegetable salad.
Roast or grill peppers, onions, zucchini, mushrooms, or eggplant for new flavor.
Use Vegetables As Main Dishes
- Eat more vegetable-rich main dishes. Add vegetables to soups or stews. Mix grated vegetables into casseroles or extra-lean ground beef.
- Add extra vegetables to your sandwich: tomato, sprouts, peppers, spinach, cucumber, grated carrots, or lettuce.
Eat Vegetables in the Morning
- Try having vegetables at breakfast. Add chopped vegetables to an omelette.
- Purchase ready-cut fresh vegetables to use in stir-fries or side dishes.
Fruits and Vegetables As Snacks
- At lunch, take along baby carrots, celery, sliced cucumber, or red pepper. Add fat-free dressing, if desired. Keep these items on hand in a refrigerator at work, if possible.
- Add fruit to your vegetables. Toss apple, pear, grape, melon, kiwi, or orange into spinach or cabbage salad. Or, you can cook your vegetables with fruit.
- Simmer vegetables in broth or juice. Try carrots or beets in orange or apple juice, zucchini in tomato juice, or green beans in nonfat chicken broth.
Fruit As Vegetable
- Use fruit as your “vegetable.” A slice of cantaloupe or mango has some of the same nutrients as carrots.
- Have one fruit serving with each meal. Add fruit to breakfast cereal, take fresh fruit with lunch, use fruit for a snack, or dessert at dinner.
- Drink your fruit. Add a peach, apricot, berries, or banana to yogurt, milk, or buttermilk for a fruit smoothie.
You can find more ideas for healthy eating online at and Fruits and Veggies More Matters
 |
