We all know the importance of adding more fruits and vegetables to our diet daily. This is not an earth-shattering revelation. It’s basic. If it is so essential, why don’t we eat more health-promoting, blood-alkalizing, life-changing fruits and vegetables than we should?
The answer is straightforward. We either don’t know how many fruits and vegetables to consume daily, or we don’t know how to fit them into our healthy lifestyle eating plan. Today, we will discuss a strategy to help you tackle both scenarios.
Most of us have no clue how many servings of fruits and vegetables we’re supposed to eat daily. And if you do know, you probably don’t know exactly how much of each type is a serving. This may be particularly helpful to those of us who are not foodies. We don’t sit around thinking about how many fruits and vegetables we will eat daily. Nevertheless, this is important, and if you want to improve your wellness, adding more fruits and vegetables to your diet is an excellent place to start.
Let’s solve the mystery with a few basic examples:
- 2 cups of leafy greens are equal to 1 cup of vegetables
- A ½ cup of dried fruits is equivalent to 1 cup of fruits.
- One big fruit (apples, oranges, peaches, bananas, cucumbers, tomatoes, etc.) is equal to 1 cup of fruit
- It takes 6 – 8 pieces of smaller fruits to equal 1 cup
Knowing how to measure portion sizes is a great place to start, but we must eat many fruits and vegetables, especially vegetables. According to this study, eating ten portions of fruits and vegetables was linked to:
- Twenty-four percent reduced the risk of heart disease.
- Thirty-three percent reduced the risk of stroke.
- Twenty-eight percent reduced the risk of cardiovascular disease.
- Thirteen percent reduced the risk of cancer.
- 31 percent reduction in premature death
Easy peasy, right? While it may sound tricky, you can create a sustainable habit of eating more fruits and veggies daily. So, this is how I did it. If I did it, so can you.
And here are my four tips to help you increase your daily intake of fruit and vegetables with ease:
- Plan ahead
All this was hard for me because, as I said earlier, I am not a foodie. I felt like thinking about what I would eat for Tuesday’s lunch and prepping for it on Sunday was ridiculous. It seemed like a vast, boring waste of time. But after embracing this method for a few weeks, I naturally and effortlessly increased my intake of fruits and vegetables while saving time and money.
Here’s what I discovered. Meal prep doesn’t have to require a Herculean effort, whereby you end up with 27 identical plastic containers of the exact macros (protein, carbs, and fats) on point and ready to freeze for the month. For those of us who may be less food-obsessed but still craving the benefits of healthy lifestyle hacks, try washing, chopping, slicing, and storing your fruits and vegetables ahead of time and pop them in the fridge or freezer. This is a tremendous time-saver. Just imagine, during your busy week, a new delicious homemade soup recipe calls for chopped onions, celery, and carrots; you’ll be halfway there. I guarantee this will stop any fast food and take away urges dead in their tracks. Just imagine how much more manageable and healthier it would be to add chopped spinach to your omelet or a handful of berries to your plant-based yogurt. Fruit popsicles or fruit kabobs are delicious and fun ways to add nutritional value to your meals.
This tiny hack also makes it easier to roast vegetables, giving them a quick stir in some healthy avocado oil, adding a bit of herb and spices, and the heat will enhance their flavor and may even enhance their nutritional value. You can roast almost any vegetable in the oven or stovetop. And you can even mix and match and create your unique healthy recipes. These roasted veggies can also add a tasty powerful nutritional punch to any soup, salad, or bowl.
2. Eat more salad
You are speaking of salad. Always have a small salad alongside your main meal for lunch and dinner. Salads may be the most versatile meals ever invented. You can do classic salads or add some protein like free-range chicken or tuna; you can add beans, chickpeas, corn – whatever your heart desires.
Salads help you consume fewer calories while filling you up and reducing the risk of burnout in the late afternoon because salads contain ingredients loaded with fiber, vitamins, and minerals that keep your metabolism going longer while boosting concentration and energy levels.
3. Eat more soup
Nothing says comfort food and nutrition like soups. All year, soups have satiate hunger pangs while providing you with your daily supply of fruits and vegetables. And they can be made in virtually an infinite number of ways. Try setting a simple goal of making one soup loaded with vegetables once a week. Not only will you add more veggies to your meal plan, but you’ll also be able to enjoy this soup for quite a few days during the hectic workweek.
4 Yes, you can enjoy eating your dessert
We sometimes crave something sweet after a meal because our blood sugar levels drop at certain times during the day. But instead of reaching for that Almond Joy candy bar or bucket of store-bought ice cream, grab a healthy fruit that will provide you with fiber, vitamins, and minerals.
It’ll decrease that craving while keeping you alert and focused during the afternoon, as opposed to that tired feeling that comes over us when we’re drained and feel out of sorts from a sugar crash. You can cut up different types of fruit to make a fruit salad or put them in a blender to make a deliciously nutritious smoothie. You can have another kind of dessert every day of the week to satisfy your sweet tooth without piling on the calories.
Eating well is part art, part science. It means you eat a good amount of fruits and vegetables, lean organic, free-range, grass-fed meat and wild-caught fish (if you are nonvegan or nonvegetarian), good sources of healthy fats while reducing the amount of packaged junk foods, processed foods, and unhealthy preservatives.
Like most goals in life, we need a plan to see them through. Hopefully, this article provided you with tips to incorporate into your well-balanced, nutritious, excellent lifestyle to reap even more health and wellness benefits and feel amazing!
Be well + prosper,
Elaine xx