How to eat more fruits and veggies

Few foods are as healthy as fruits and vegetables. Ounce for ounce they contain more beneficial nutrients - including fiber, vitamins, minerals, enzymes, and phytochemicals - than any other type of food! Yet many people have a hard time getting the recommended 5-10 servings per day of these great foods. Here are some practical tips for anyone who need to "bump up" their fruit and veggie intake...

From LifeScript.com:

5-A-Day Quick Tips

It’s no secret that fruits and vegetables are nutritious and healthy, so why don't people get enough to fulfill their daily dietary needs? Time and convenience top the list of why we don't eat enough of these amazing foods, but we have the 10 keys that will get the recommended 5-A-Day fruits and vegetables into your diet – without any strain on you!

1. Size Matters

When you're trying to be 5-A-Day savvy, the first thing you need to know is how much a serving size of fruit and veggies actually is! One serving of vegetables is equal to 1 cup of raw leafy veggies; ½ cup cooked or chopped raw vegetables; or 3/4 cup of vegetable juice. One serving of fruit is equal to 1 medium whole fruit; 1/2 cup chopped, cooked, or canned fruit; 1/2 cup of dried fruit or 3/4 cup fruit juice.

So, what does a cup of fruit looks like visually? Use these 3 quick references to eyeball a serving of fruit

* 1/2 cup = 1 fist
* 1 cup = 1 baseball
* 1 medium fruit = 1 tennis ball

2. Individual Needs

A petite, inactive woman and a body-building man have very different nutritional needs, and therefore require different intakes of fruits and vegetables to maintain optimum health. For every 600 extra kcals that you eat over the 1,600 kcals/day minimum, you need to add one extra fruit and one extra veggie. Use this simple guide to figure out if you need more than 5-A-Day to satisfy your body’s needs:

* Kids, inactive women, and elderly who eat roughly 1,600 kcals/day need to aim for 3 veggies and 2 fruits daily.
* Teenage girls, active women & men who eat about 2,200 kcals/day need to aim for 4 veggies and 3 fruits daily.
* Teenage boys, active men, and extremely active women who eat about 2,800 kcals/day need to aim for 5 veggies and 4 fruits daily.

3. Starting your day

Besides being the best time to rev up your metabolism for the day ahead, breakfast is also a great time to get a head start on your 5-A-Day goals! Orange juice and other 100% real fruit and vegetable juices, such as low-sodium V-8 juice, will supply 1 serving of fruit or veggies. Plus, drinking calcium-fortified orange juice is the tangiest way to get your daily calcium requirements started. Try adding fresh fruits or berries to hot or cold cereal, home-made muffins, or whole-grain pancakes for an easy and tasty way to eat more fruits.

4. Lunch-it-up

Lunch is the perfect time to feast on a veggie-packed salad, especially in place of chips, fries or other low-nutrient foods. One cup of dark green leafy lettuce (preferably not ice-berg) equals 1 serving of veggies, plus adding a variety of toppings, such as tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, carrots, sprouts, snow peas, and anything else that sounds good will add another full servings of veggies. You can also top sandwiches with crunchy vegetables, or supplement your salad with hot soup, which not only warms you “heart and soul” but also can supply up to 2 servings of veggies in just one bowl.

5. Snack-time

Bring whole fruit or cut-up fruits and veggies for lunchtime snacks. This is easy to do day after day if you keep cut fruits and veggies in the fridge and dried fruit in baggies for grab-and-go lunches. Plan to eat at least one type of fruit or veggie for your "after lunch and before dinner" snack, which will satisfy your afternoon hunger, and also give you energy to help you breeze through the afternoon. Apples work great for an afternoon snack, especially with peanut butter to top it off!

6. Do-it-for-Dinner

Dinner is a great time to have cooked veggies and maybe even salad, especially if you missed one for lunch. Cut up and grill fruits and veggies on skewers for added color and flavor to any BBQ. Add fruit in at dessert time, such as fresh fruit parfaits, fresh berries on angel food cake with low-fat whip, or sugar cookies with frosting and fresh sliced fruit for a dessert both kids and grownups will enjoy! You can put fruit on any dessert!

7. Eating Out

It’s not at all difficult to eat fruit and veggies when you're eating out. You can buy salads and fruit at most fast-food restaurants nowadays, helping to balance out the higher fat, fried options on the menu. Try a garden-burger or Boca-burger for lots of veggies and nutrient-rich soy. Add veggies to your pizza toppings for a healthy alternative to pepperoni, and ask for veggies or fruit in place of fries if your dinner automatically comes with them. If you're at a cocktail party, stay close to the veggie trays and fruit bowls, and if you're going to be drinking, try a virgin Bloody Mary for a tomato-rich drink that packs a lot of Lycopene.

8. Fun treats

Keep kids – and yourself for that matter – interested in fruits and veggies by getting creative. Make fruity smoothies with low-fat yogurt to cool them off on a hot afternoon. Create your own popsicles by pouring 100% fruit juice into popsicle molds, and let the kids help with this one. Keep veggie dips, such as low-fat ranch, and fruit dips, such as low-fat yogurt or light caramel dip, handy to throw in kid’s lunches, or even in your own!

9. Keep it Handy

Always have fresh, washed fruit handy and ready to eat, such as a fruit bowl on the dining table, or cut fruits and veggies in the fridge. Keep dried fruits and canned fruits handy in the pantry, and always have 100% fruit and vegetable juice in the fridge, ready to drink. Buy ready-to-eat prepackaged veggies at your local grocery store that can be popped in the microwave to steam and are ready in just minutes. Also, pre-washed salad mixes can save you a bunch of time and energy if you're in a rush to get dinner on the table.

10. Mix it up!

Don't just eat the same old thing time after time after time! Try different combinations of veggies, such as adding artichoke hearts to salads, or sautéing broccoli along with zucchini, summer squash and red onions for a steaming, tasty addition to your meat and potatoes meal. Try different combinations of fruit, such as strawberries and kiwis with yogurt dip one week, and blackberries and blueberries topped with yogurt and granola the next week. You have the ability to be as creative with these combinations as you wish, making eating fruits and veggies far from boring, and full of excitement!

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