Fruits and vegetables are an important part of an overall healthy eating plan because they’re typically high in vitamins, minerals and fiber and low in calories and saturated fat. Most fruits and vegetables also have no or little sodium.
No matter what the people health concerns – preventing cancer, heart disease, diabetes, obesity, high blood pressure, whatever – the bottom-line massage from every health organization (including the American Heart Association; the American Cancer Society; the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute; and the USDA) is to eat more fruits and vegetarians.
In the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans guidelines recommend two cups of fruit and two-and-a-half cups of vegetables per day.
Yet more than 90 percent of Americans fail to consume the recommended amount. Ideally, they should include a hefty portion of fruit and veggies in every meal and snack.
Below are some tips to help boost the intake of these carbohydrate-rich foods that not only fuel the muscles but also protect the body good health:
*Breakfast: Eat melon, grapefruit or other fruit. Add bananas, raisins or berries to the cereal.
*Whip together a fruit smoothie for breakfast: orange juice, banana, frozen berries
*To egg (white) omelet, add diced pepper, tomato, mushrooms
*Add blueberries or sliced banana to pancakes; top with applesauce
*If fresh fruit is not available, use canned peaches, raisins or frozen berries
*Put leftover dinner veggies into lunchtime salad or soup
*Keep within easy reach grab-and-go snack, such as small boxes of raisins, trail mix dried fruit, frozen 100 percent juice bars, cherry tomatoes, baby carrots and celery sticks.
*Add shredded carrots to casseroles, chili, lasagna, meatloaf or soup
* Snacks: Keep raw veggie sticks handy, such as green or red bell peppers, green beans, celery or carrots.
Fruits and vegetables
