Fruits & Vegetables - Tips on Getting Your 5 Daily Servings
To start, here is what one serving of fruits and vegetables literally means:
1/2 cup of fruit, 1 medium piece of fruit, 1/4 cup of dried fruit, 3/4 cup of 100% fruit or vegetable juice, 1 cup of leafy vegetables or 1/2 cup of cooked or raw vegetables
Tips to help you get your 5 daily servings of fruit and vegetables.
1/2 cup of fruit, 1 medium piece of fruit, 1/4 cup of dried fruit, 3/4 cup of 100% fruit or vegetable juice, 1 cup of leafy vegetables or 1/2 cup of cooked or raw vegetables
Tips to help you get your 5 daily servings of fruit and vegetables.
- Start with vegetables - Before you put anything else on your plate, start with a salad, a heap of green beans, broccoli, or any vegetable that you like. After you’ve eaten your vegetables, add the other components of the meal.
- Breakfast - Mix sliced fruit or frozen berries with yogurt or cereal. Add sautéed peppers, onions, mushrooms, and asparagus to an omelet.
- Make a super salad – Use lettuce; add a sliced tomato, a diced apple, and a quarter cup of raisins or dried cranberries and you’ve just increased that to four servings.
- Keep it convenient - Either slice vegetables yourself and keep them in the fridge or buy precut vegetables. Don’t shun canned fruits, either. Try canned peaches on ice cream or mandarin orange segments in salads. Frozen vegetables are another excellent shortcut. Throw them into soups or stews without defrosting. Buy bags of frozen chopped onions and peppers for quick starts to dinners.
- Sandwiches - Layer lettuce, tomatoes, beans, onions, and other vegetables on sandwiches and wraps
- Drink them - Although you don’t get the same amount of fiber in canned fruit or vegetable juice as you do in the whole fruit, it’s still a good way to get a serving or two a day. Throw a banana, a cup of berries, and a container of nonfat yogurt into your blender for a three-fruit-servings smoothie. Sprinkle flaxseeds on top for even more cholesterol-lowering power. Hot vegetable soups are a great alternative in winter time.
- Get them on pizza - Order a vegetable pizza and you’ll get sweet, roasted vegetables with every slice.
- Keep dried fruit on hand - For a snack that is easy to take with you when you're away from home.
- Use them for desserts - Try baked apples or pears topped with cinnamon and honey for a delicious dessert. Cranberry, cherry or even pumpkin pie can be very delicious as a dessert. Top fat-free ice cream, ice milk, or sherbet with sliced bananas, strawberries, raspberries, or blueberries.
- Hide them - Add grated carrots to lasagna or spaghetti sauce. And as a healthier option use potato puree to thicken soups in place of cream.
- Use them as condiments - Salsas are all the rage these days. Don’t stop with tomato salsas. Fruit salsas (pineapple, onion, and mint, or cantaloupe, balsamic vinegar, and brown sugar) make wonderful accompaniments to pork, fish, and chicken. Try jarred chutneys for an easy option.
- Give ’em a roast - Roasting vegetables such as onions, carrots, turnips, bell peppers, eggplant, and even asparagus is a wonderful way to bring out their natural sweetness. Just spray the vegetables and pan with cooking spray, or drizzle on a bit of olive oil, then roast until done. Grilling is another way to bring out the flavor in vegetables.
- Get them in burgers - Veggie burgers, that is.