Everywhere you turn we hear more experts telling us to eat more fruits and veggies. But are they really that good for us?
Yes, because they’re full of nutrients (vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, fibre, etc.).
Yes, because people who eat more fruits and vegetables live longer, healthier lives, and they help to protect their bodies and minds from every chronic disease.
Yes, eating more vegetables can help you maintain a healthy body weight, and even lose some weight (as long as you don’t fry them, eat them breaded, or cover them with cream sauce).
Yes, fruits and vegetables contain powerful antioxidants that help to protect our skin from the cellular damage caused by free radicals. Free radicals, smoking, pollution, and sunlight can cause wrinkling and age spots. These antioxidants can help reduce inflammation, prevent infections and boost immunity. Some antioxidants that are known to boost skin health include:
- beta-carotene and carotenoids, found in orange and yellow fruits such as carrots, peppers, cantaloupe, guava, mango, and passion fruit.
- vitamin C is found in citrus fruits, berries, melons, pineapple, mango, and kiwi.
- vitamin E is found in berries, guava, kiwi, mango, nectarine, peaches, and pomegranates.
So the question isn’t “Should I eat more fruits and vegetables?”
The question is “How can I add more to my day?”
I have a few creative and delicious ways to help you eat more fruits and veggies, that I’m sharing with you today!
Before we dive in, let me remind you to always start from where you are. If you’re not used to eating any fruits or veggies at all, then just try to eat two per day to start. Then, build up from there. Don’t get overwhelmed thinking you need to overhaul your entire diet in one day.
Wherever you’re at now with your fruit and vegetable consumption, I challenge you to increase it by two per day.
(And this is where you say, “challenge accepted!” 🙂 )
Now, let’s look at my ideas on exactly HOW to add more fruits and vegetables to your diet:
SNEAK THEM INTO OTHER DISHES
OK, this one may be, “sneaky,” but I used to do this with my kids years ago, and it helps to increase their nutrient intake.
Some dishes are super-easy to enhance with a bit of strategically placed produce. What do you think of these ideas?
- Add ½ apple, a small handful of spinach, or extra berries into your smoothie.
- Dice or shred some carrots, broccoli, zucchini or peppers into your soup.
- Love sandwiches? Why not add an extra slice of tomato, lettuce or cucumber to it?
- Enjoy chicken, tuna, or salmon salad? Dice up a stalk of celery and throw it in.
- Love to bake? Try substituting ¼ cup of sugar for ¼ cup of unsweetened applesauce.
- Do you usually have a small salad? Yup, you guessed it: go for the bigger one.
- Make tomato sauce and toss in some extra mushrooms, peppers, onions, garlic or any other extra veggies. (I added broccoli and cauliflower, then put it in a blender and my kids never knew they were there!)
- Have a smoothie for breakfast or a snack. If you toss in a banana, a handful of spinach and some berries (the darker the better for you), you’re already off to a great start to your day! Smoothies are quick, easy, and yummy! There are many recipes, and you can easily fine-tune them for your whole family to enjoy.
MAKE THEM TASTE MORE DELICIOUS WITH A MEAL
- Steam some frozen veggies and add a touch of olive oil and your favourite herb or spice.
- Use veggies as your sandwich “bread” by making a lettuce wrap. (I love to do this with my hamburger, rather than using a bun, I use 1 or 2 large lettuce like romaine for the bun.)
- Don’t be afraid to spice up your veggies! Try sautéing them for 10 minutes with a drizzle of oil and flavour them with pepper, garlic, ginger or cumin.
EAT THEM AS SNACKS
- Throw a banana, apple or a couple of clementines into your lunch bag.
- Wash, and cut up fresh veggies ahead of time to get them ready to eat for a snack. If you are a fridge grazer, have them right in front of you when you open the fridge door! Making it EASY to have a fruit or veggie snack increases the chance of eating enough.
- Ditch the chips and dip – Instead try some carrot, celery, broccoli, cucumber or cauliflower with a dip like hummus, guacamole, or even your favourite salad dressing.
- Love sweetened yoghurt? Buy plain instead and mix in fresh or frozen berries.
Nut Butter Apple Sandwiches – Slice the top and bottom off of an apple and discard. Then slice the entire apple in rounds. Cut the centre core out of each round. Spread your choice of nut butter on one apple round. Set another round on top. You can sprinkle cinnamon on the butter, raisins or dried cranberries. So yummy!
SO HERE’S YOUR CHALLENGE
Take two of these suggestions and try them tomorrow. Just add two more fruits and veggies to the number you’re at today. Two more, that’s all…easy, right?
And if you’re not a fan of a certain fruit or veggie, I encourage you to try it again. Research shows that sometimes it takes our taste buds several tries before actually beginning to like a new flavour. Try it; you might find some new favourites!
Making the effort to eat more fresh fruit and vegetables is not only beneficial for you, but looking up new recipes to incorporate them into your diet can be fun too! Try asking your friends if they have some healthy recipes that are easy and tasty, and get in the habit of sharing them. You will soon find it easier to increase your fruits and vegetables without needing to think about it as much.
If you’re trying out some new recipes here’s a simple turkey vegetable soup full of vegetables. Feel free to add other veggies that you happen to have on hand. If you don’t have chicken broth, (I didn’t), so I used water and put a few extra spices in. This soup is great to have for leftovers too.
Give these tips a try, you can do it; I believe in you!
