Part 1 in this series showed you how to easily incorporate more fruits and vegetables into breakfast, lunch and dinner to get you closer to the 5-9 servings recommended by the government. Here’s some more ways to super-charge the rest of your day and get even more bang out of your eating buck.
Appetizers – start a meal off right
- Try a cold fruit soup – this is wonderful in the summer months, incredibly easy to make and delicious!
- If cold soup isn’t your thing, start with a vegetable fortified hot soup or stew – ½ cup of chopped vegetables or 1 cup of leafy greens (which condense down to almost nothing in soup) equals one serving.
- Think salad – start with dark leafy greens (1 cup equals 1 serving) and add any assortment of other veggies, including broccoli, carrots, celery, cucumber, mushrooms, peppers, tomatoes, jicama or any of your favorites (1/2 cup chopped equals 1 serving).
- Have a slice of melon, a half a grapefruit or an orange as the prelude to a meal.
- Make a veggie appetizer.
Dessert – Finish with fruit
- Prepare fruit desserts such as poached pears or baked apples; homemade apple and/or pear sauce is also delicious – hot or cold.
- Top whatever you are serving with berries, sliced apples, bananas, peaches or plums (1/2 cup berries or 1 medium piece of fruit equals one serving).
- Add half a cup of berries or a piece of chopped fruit to yogurt for a delicious parfait.
- Think cold fruit soup.
- Skip the preparation altogether and just have a piece of your favorite fruit.
Snacks – Munch away
- Snack on grapes, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, sliced kiwi or other bit-sized pieces of fruit.
- Chopped veggies can also be a hit, but don’t limit yourself to carrots and celery; try broccoli, cauliflower, green beans, peas, or bell peppers to mix things up. You can eat them plain or use them in place of chips for dipping – use hummus or vegetables salsa for the dip.
Eating out and on the go
If you have limited prep time, frequently skip meals or eat on the run a lot, you can still squeeze in extra fruits and veggies; it just takes a little extra planning:
- Stock up on dried fruits as well as frozen fruits and vegetables for quick meal preparation.
- Keep a supply of carrot and celery sticks as well as other chopped vegetables stored in water in the refrigerator.
- If you bring your lunch to work, bring raw vegetables as a side dish.
- Instead of coffee or soda, drink fresh fruit or vegetables juice or have a smoothie.
- Stock up on fruit that travel well – apples, oranges, bananas as well as dried fruit and raisins work. Through in some nuts and seeds and you’ve got it made.
- Supermarket salad bars are great in a pinch – you’re in, out and eating in minutes.
Getting in more fruits and vegetables can be easy and fun if you just get into the habit of eating them. There is no shortage of ideas – any internet search will produce thousands of options (see the Optimal Body Balance Recipe Book for hundreds of ideas).
Start getting in an extra serving of vegetables and fruit with each meal and pretty soon, you’ll be wondering how you got along without them.
What are some of your favorite ways to get vegetables and fruit into your (or your spouses, kids, co-workers) day?