Adding more fruits and vegetables into your regular diet is a great way to improve your nutrition and overall health. These superfoods are rich in vitamins, fiber, and antioxidants which collectively strengthen our immune system while lowering our susceptibility to various diseases.
In spite of our best efforts, it can sometimes be hard to pack all the recommended servings of fruits and veggies into the day. These 4 healthy tips can help you get started:
1. Get A Snack Attack.
Snacks might have gotten a bad rap these days but healthy snacking does have a range of benefits. If you make all your snacks revolve around vegetables and fruits and you won’t have to worry about meeting your daily servings ever again.
Start by keeping a bowl of fruits within easy reach on your work desk or counter at home to munch on during the day. You can even carry dried fruits or pre-cut veggies in snack-size bags for a quick pick-me-up. For a tasty treat, make your own chips from roasted bananas, baked zucchini, cucumber and sweet potatoes or just about any vegetable that catches your fancy
2. Sip On A Smoothie.
If you’re finding it hard to choke down a bunch of fruits or veggies daily, try drinking them instead. Smoothies give you the chance to unleash your creativity and become your own health drink mixologist as you experiment with different combinations.
You can opt for crazy combos like a banana, mango, coconut slushie or an ultra-creamy avocado, melon, pineapple drink with some low-fat yogurt. Some vegetables also make great fiber and nutrient-filled smoothie additions- think kale, carrots, cucumber, spinach, etc. So feel free to blend up a batch and either freeze them in portions for later use or pour into a mason jar to sip on-the-go.
3. Grate Your Way To Goodness.
Another easy way to increase your intake of fresh vegetables and fruits is to grate them directly into your food. This way you can also ensure your kids get their quota too.
There are many variations of this, such as cutting up pineapples, mangoes or papaya and adding them to yogurt or tossing grated apples, chopped bananas or chopped berries to cereal to make your own breakfast muesli. Alternatively, you can grate zucchini and carrots for a quick salad. Or you can try grating or spiralizing veggies as side dishes for cooked fish, poultry or other meat courses. Grated vegetables also go really well with a variety of sandwiches.
4. Pump Up The Flavor.
Eating raw or plain steamed vegetables can get old really fast. So, you need to learn to dress them up to tingle your taste buds. For instance, try roasting vegetables instead of steaming. This can help draw out their flavor. You can also try baking pears, apples and other fruits then serving them with honey or cinnamon for a delicious dessert. Something I personally enjoy is raw vegetables with a variety of healthy dips, so feel free to break out the hummus or salsa!
Getting enough fruits and vegetables into your regular diet isn’t too hard. With a little creativity, you’ll easily meet the recommended servings every day.