Fitting in Five Servings of Fruits and Vegetables a Day

The U. S. Dietary Guidelines recommend that adults consume at least five servings of fruits and vegetables each day. This is because fruits and vegetables are full of vitamins and nutrients and because most are quite low in cholesterol, calories, fat, and sodium. Many also contain dietary fiber. All of these qualities make fruits and vegetables a very important part of any healthy diet.

You probably already knew that you should be eating five servings of fruits and vegetables each day. Perhaps you also understood why it is so important to include these foods in your diet. But, if you are an average adult, you are likely having trouble fitting five servings in each day. So, here are some tips you can try to help make sure that you are reaching the goal of eating five servings of fruits and vegetables each day:

Prep some veggies for snacks as soon as you get home from the grocery store. You will be much more likely to snack on some celery sticks or some cucumber slices if they are already chopped and ready-to-eat. Take a few moments and slice a few stalks of celery and put them in a dish of water in the refrigerator-just two medium stalks counts as one serving of vegetables. Prepare a quick salad with one-third of a cucumber (that is equal to a serving; leave the peel on for more nutrients)-simply slice and add vinaigrette, then chill until later. You can also prep carrots (one large carrot equals one serving). Broccoli is another vegetable you can prep ahead of time-one medium stalk, chopped, is a serving.

Also prep veggies for meals as soon as you buy them. Go ahead and chop up some onion and some bell peppers (one medium of either equals one serving). You can slice rings or strips or you can do a dice, and then you can refrigerate them for later in the week or freeze them. Having these vegetables already chopped makes it easy to add them to many different meals.