Week 3: More Fruits and Veggies

My goal for each meal I eat to contain 50% fruits and/or veggies.  This may be a LOT for some of you.  I know that there are many people out there who will go a week or more without touching a fruit or veggie.  If 50% is totally unreasonable for you at this point, start with 25%.  Anyone should be able to do that.  

Let's take a look at why eating more fruits and vegetables is great for your diet and great for your health and then I'll give you some suggestions on how to get more into your diet. 

Everyone knows that fruits and veggies are good for you but here are some reasons why.  Most are:

• High in vitamins and nutrients
• High in antioxidants (which means they prevent cancer)
• High in fiber
• Low in fat
• Low on the Glycemic Index

Fruits and veggies are great diet foods because they fill you up and take a long time to digest, meaning you'll stay full longer.  This is mainly due to their high fiber content and low GI.  Foods with a low GI go into your bloodstream at a slower rate, reducing the amount of insulin your body produces and thereby reducing hunger cravings.  You can eat as much as you want of most fruits and vegetables without any problems, though for dieting purposes, there are a few you will want to eat in moderation.  

Fruits and Veggies to Eat in Moderation

• white potatoes- no matter how they are cooked.  If you insist on eating potatoes, boil them until just soft or broil them.
• tropical fruits- the warmer the climate a fruit grows in, the more sugar it has.  
• avocados- they are very high in fat, though it is a very good type of fat.  Consider replacing fat you'd normally use with avocados- eg, sliced on a sandwich instead of your mayo
• most root vegetables tend to have a higher GI- one notable exception is the sweet potato

How to Get More Fruits and Veggies into Your Diet

You really don't need to change your diet all that much.  You can add greens to many of the foods you already eat.  Try some of these suggestions:

Breakfast:

• Try a Breakfast Smoothie
• Add berries to your breakfast cereal, yogurt or granola
• Eat your bagel with slices of avocado and tomato instead of cream cheese or butter
• Add your favorite veggies to a breakfast omelet, try skipping th cheese while your at it

Lunch and Dinner

• Load up your sandwich with salad greens, tomatoes, red onions
• Choose vegetable soup instead of a meat or cream based soup
• Choose a side salad when you go out to eat rather than a potato.  Be careful not to load up on cheese, bacon or creamy dressings.
• Try pureeing vegetables and adding them to your tomato sauce.  
• Add mixed vegetables to your ziti or lasagna- peppers, onions, mushrooms and fresh tomatoes all taste great with pasta.
• Get (or better yet, make) a veggie pizza rather than pepperoni or extra cheese
• Make a veggie stir-fry.  This is a quick and easy meal and you can use just about any of your favorites.  

When you plan your meals this week, think about how you can get some more veggies into them and always keep some fruit on hand for snacks.  You can do it!