Fruits & Veggies Month
According to the nonprofit Produce for Better Health Foundation, a whopping 90 percent of Americans don’t eat enough fruits and vegetables on a regular basis. That’s why they created the Fruits & Veggies More Matters Month, a month-long campaign in September to promote eating, you guessed it, more fruits and vegetables.
But getting a sufficient amount in every meal (including snacks) can often be challenging. That’s why we’ve come up with the following tips to help you find fun and creative ways to eat more fruits and vegetables every day!
Fill Up The Plate!
The first step to eating more fruits and vegetables is to simply put more on your plate, while reducing your intake of protein and grains. According to the MyPlate eating guidelines developed by the USDA, half your plate should consist of fruits and vegetables while the other half should be grains and protein.
Sneak Them Into Other Foods
There are lots of ways to sneak more fruits and vegetables into your meals. Simply adding some fresh berries to your breakfast cereal, for example, or making some zucchini bread or spinach.
Check out our video called Sneaky Greens for some other ideas:
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Satisfy Your Sweet Tooth With Fruit
If you crave desert after a meal or something sweet for an afternoon snack, it can be tempting to turn to ice cream or other sweets. But instead of ice cream, try buying some sorbet, which often has less additives, sugar, and often chunks of fruit (that still counts!). Or simply eat some fresh fruit instead of a cookie or other sugary desert. Even in winter, you can always buy frozen fruit that can be defrosted and eaten.
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Drink Up!
If you drink juice that’s 100% fruit juice, you’re already getting an extra serving of fruit! Of course, we’re also always big fans of smoothies as a meal substitute.
But who says what you drink doesn’t have to be fun? You could also use a serving of fresh fruit in, say, a punch or even a classic Bloody Mary, While we don’t suggest turning to alcoholic beverages to get your daily fruit serving, if you’re going to be drinking a cocktail why not spruce it up with some fresh fruit, This Food Network article has some really good ideas to get you started.
Schedule an appointment with one of our nutritionists and our team of specialists will develop a personalized plan for you.