| | Tips
for Including More Delicious Fruits & Vegetables in Your Diet
by
Erin Rogers, Health-E-Meals.com Just
about everyone knows that fruits and vegetables are a very important part of a
healthy diet. Even though we know this to be true, many of us still find it hard
to include the recommended 3-5 servings of vegetables and 2-4 servings of fruit
per day in our diets. Once you learn a few easy tricks, soon you'll have no trouble
eating a variety of fruits and vegetables every day. First,
you'll want to become generally familiar with serving sizes. They are not as big
as you might think. Here are the some guidelines for one serving of fruits or
vegetables:
-
1
cup of raw leafy vegetables (such as lettuce or spinach) -
1/2
cup of other vegetables, cooked or chopped raw -
1/2
cup cooked or canned legumes (beans and peas) -
3/4
cup of vegetable juice -
1
medium apple, banana, orange
-
1/2
cup of chopped, cooked, or canned fruit -
3/4
cup of fruit juice -
1/4
cup dried fruit Here
are some practical tips anyone can use:
-
Be
sure to include at least one fruit serving at breakfast, preferably two. Try a
glass of orange juice and a whole piece of fruit, or a smoothie using both juice
and whole fruit. -
Use
snack time to add a serving or two of fruits or vegetables to your daily diet,
such as raw vegetables with some light dip or dressing, or a bowl of chopped fruit
topped with some fat-free yogurt.
-
Include
at least two servings of vegetables with both lunch and dinner. A lunch example
would be to add both lettuce and tomato to a sandwich, and some raw vegetables
on the side. For dinner, try serving 2 sides of steamed vegetables. Or, eat a
bowl of tomato or vegetable soup or gazpacho as an appetizer. Try a pizza with
lots of veggie toppings.
-
Before
you prepare dinner, fix a bowl of fresh veggies to munch on and then place it
on the table with dinner. You'd be surprised how easy it is to down a 1/2 cup
of cherry tomatoes or sliced cucumbers when you're munching away. -
Fill
half your dinner plate with vegetables, and go for seconds on veggies before you'll
allow yourself seconds of the entrée. -
If
you don't have any fresh vegetables or fruit, keep frozen and canned on hand -
they are surprisingly comparable in terms of nutrition. -
Drink
an ice-cold glass of vegetable juice with a meal or for a snack. -
Make
it a point to try a new fruit or vegetable as often as you can - it's a great
way to discover wonderful new favorites! -
Include
fruit in your dessert selections. You can serve it with angel food cake, yogurt,
light whipping topping, chocolate syrup, light ice cream, or all by itself! If
you use all of the suggestions in this list, you'd get 5-6 servings of vegetables
and 3-4 servings of fruit in a day. That doesn't seem so hard, does it? Happy
eating! © Health-E-Meals.com,
2003 This
article may be reprinted with permission if the following resource box is included:
Erin
Rogers, a work-at-home mom of two, is the founder of Health-E-Meals.com, providing
practical healthy living resources for busy people. Visit her website
to sign up for the FREE newsletter, 'Dinners on the Double' - offering a quick
and healthy, no-recipe dinner idea each week. Other available services include
quick and healthy recipes, healthy cooking articles, fitness and motivation tips,
healthy living web links, and lots more! Erin can be reached via email at erin@health-e-meals.com. |
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