You Should Eat 5 Serving Of Fruits And Vegetables A Day
The five a day rule refers to the governments recommendation that everyone eat at least five servings of fruits and vegetables each day. At first, five a day seems like a reasonable goal, but most people fail to eat sufficient amounts of these important foods.It is important to remember the many advantages of fruits and vegetables when applying the five a day rule. For one thing, fruits and vegetables taste great, contain fewer calories than many other foods and are full of many important vitamins and minerals. In addition, fruits and vegetables are colorful and beautiful, making them great garnishes and salad toppings.
In addition, fruits and vegetables are easy to prepare, even for the busiest individual. In most cases, fresh fruits require no preparation at all, other than a quick wash and perhaps peeling. The five a day recommendation equates to roughly two cups of fruit and two and a half cups of vegetables every day, based on the average 2,000 calorie diet. This is not a difficult goal to reach, but it is important to keep the five a day goal in mind when grocery shopping, cooking and planning meals.
One great way to get started toward a five a day lifestyle is with a delicious serving of 100% fruit juice every morning. Apple juice, grapefruit juice and orange juice are all excellent choices for both taste and nutrition. Who doesnt enjoy a sliced strawberry or banana with their morning cereal? And fruits and vegetables make great snacks as well. Whether you keep a couple of apples at your desk or a selection of carrot and celery sticks in the fridge, having fruits and veggies readily at hand is a big part of the battle.
Of course variety is extremely important when making any change to your diet, and many dietary changes fail due to boredom. Constantly trying new varieties of fruits and vegetables is a great way to keep yourself interested in your new healthier way of eating. If youve never had kiwi fruit or asparagus, for instance, why not give it a try? Combining attractive colors, shapes and sizes of fruits is another way to provide attractive and interesting meals for yourself and your family. White grapes, red peppers and pineapple chunks can provide a delicious and attractive salad.
Its important to provide variety when implementing the five a day plan, particularly if you are cooking for a family. Try making some interesting new dishes, such as veggie pizza, made with fresh vegetables and whole wheat pizza crust, a fresh vegetable wrap, vegetable stir fry or pasta with fresh vegetables. For those who have a picky eater, try adding some cheese to the veggies, while not the healthiest anyway you can get your little ones to eat veggies is better than none at all.
If you think youre too busy to incorporate five servings of fruits and vegetables a day into your diet, there there are many ready to eat, prepackaged salad kits on the market makeing it easier than ever to create a healthy salad on the go. Just keep a bottle of your favorite low fat or nonfat salad dressing on hand and you can enjoy a healthy salad anywhere and anytime.
Even fast food restaurants have made it easier than ever to eat healthy, with every major chain now offering at least a few healthy menu items. In addition, most grocery chains offer fresh salad bars where you can create your own healthy lunch even if youre pressed for time.
Topping meals and salads with additional fruits and vegetables is a great way to enhance your new five a day lifestyle. Strips of green and red peppers, broccoli florets, sliced carrots and cucumbers are all great additions to pasta and potato salads. And of course carrots, spinach, apple slices, orange slices, nectarines, pineapples and raisins are all great additions to any salad.
These days theres no excuse for not being able to get your USDA recommended daily allowance of fruits and veggies, with so many varieties and quick and easy recipies, not to mention fruit juices and veggie juices available, you will find it much easier than you first thought to get your 5 a day!
Read about benefits of carrots and carrot facts at the Fruits And Vegetables website.
