Eat Your Share of Fruits and Vegetables
Creative Ways to Incorporate These Healthy Foods into Your Diet
Aug 12, 2009
If you are interested in taking preventive health measures to help improve the quality of your life, why not start by making some improvements in your diet! Fresh fruits and vegetables are absolutely essential to achieving a balanced diet and preventing serious illnesses such as cancer and heart disease.
According to the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, cardiovascular disease and cancer rank as the leading causes of death in the United States and in most industrialized countries. Eating fruit and vegetables regularly is associated with reduced risks of cancer, cardiovascular disease, stroke, Alzheimer disease, cataracts, and some of the common problems linked with aging. The journal also states that prevention is more effective than treating these types of chronic diseases. This article looks at some ways to begin to increase your daily consumption of fresh fruits and veggies.
Add Fruits and Vegetables to Your Grocery List
Many people lead such busy lives with so much on their plates that grocery shopping often slips to the bottom of their list of priorities. Families eat out far too often and fast food meals have replaced wholesome home-cooked meals. Trips to the grocery stores may be infrequent. Families that do shop often may only pick up additive-laden and overly processed foods devoid of any nutritious value. Fruits and vegetables are often overlooked.
In order to begin to incorporate more fruits and vegetables into your diet you will have to make a conscious decision to make sure that you have a variety of options. Buy produce on a weekly basis because fresh food will spoil if kept for too long. Scout around for the best prices and plan meals ahead of time so that you know exactly what you are purchasing. Start out with things that you are familiar with and as you get more accustomed to including healthy live food in your diet, branch out and try new things.
Farmer’s markets are wonderful places to purchase colorful fruits and vegetables grown by local farmers. International farmer’s markets offer exotic produce that can be used to make all sorts of creative dishes. Look for organic fruits and veggies if you really want to reap the full benefits that live foods have to offer. WebMD author, Daniel J. DeNoon, quotes food scientist Allyson Mitchell as saying that the micronutrients found in organic fruits and vegetables play a critical role in preventing cancer and heart disease.
Include Servings of Fruit and Veggies with Breakfast and Lunch
You may have to eat breakfast on the run, but that doesn’t mean that it has to consist of unhealthy choices. If you like to eat a bagel and coffee in the morning, why not add a banana or some melon slices to the mix! Brighten your children’s morning with some colorful fruit additions like sliced peaches or ripe strawberries. Fruit smoothies make a quick breakfast option as well as adding fresh or frozen fruit to protein shakes in the mornings. Start your day out right with a healthy serving of fiber filled fruit!
When packing lunches be sure to include fresh fruit or veggies. Children love fun foods like apple and orange slices, grapes, strawberries, apple sauce and boxes of raisins. If you order lunch from nearby restaurants while at work why not start packing items like carrot and celery sticks to snack on in the afternoons. Instead of going to the nearest fast food spot, simply stop by the grocery store to pick up a yummy fruit salad and healthy sub sandwich. You can also make leafy green salads and veggie soups ahead of time.
Give Juicing a Try
Another creative way to begin to incorporate live foods into your diet is to invest in a juicer and begin to put it to use. Juicing fruits and vegetables can reap many wonders for your health and vitality. According to Juicing for Life authors, Cherie Calbom and Maureen Keane, juices made from produce make some of the best dietary supplements available today. The vitamins and minerals obtained from drinking freshly squeezed juice are more potent than any concoction you can find in a bottle!
Create Colorful Vegetable Laden Dinners
When making a lifestyle change that includes more fruits and vegetables in your diet it is essential that you begin to eat at home more often. Cooking your own dinners allows you to control what you are eating. Think color when considering what veggies to add to the menu. Brighten up a rice dish with colorful bell peppers and onions. Use dark green vegetables such as spinach in delicious salads. Stir-fry vegetables such as carrots, broccoli, and cauliflower. Always include one or two side vegetables with every meal and then add some veggies to the main course as well. Here’s to healthy eating!
Sources:
Calbom,Cherie and Keane, Maureen. Juicing for Life: A Guide to the Health Benefits of Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Juicing. New York, Avery Pub Group. 1992
DeNoon, Daniel J. Organic Foods May Fight Disease: Disease-Fighting Factors Fill Sustainably Farmed Foods. WebMD News Archive: March 6, 2003
Hai Liu, Rui. Health benefits of fruit and vegetables are from additive and synergistic combinations of phytochemicals1,2,3,4 American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol. 78, No. 3, 517S-520S, September 2003
 |
