Five ways to get 5 a day
It seems simple enough. Eat five servings of vegetables a day and reduce your risk of heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and obesity. Yet most people continue to eat only about 2 servings of vegetables a day--and one of them is usually potatoes.
In recognition of National 5-a-day Month, here's five ways to get more vegetables into your day:
1. Start at breakfast.
You may not think of vegetables as morning fare but breakfast is a great opportunity to add vegetables to your day. Add a slice of ripe tomato to your bagel. Fold some spinach and mushrooms into an omelet. Or wrap scrambled eggs and salsa in a whole-wheat tortilla for breakfast on the go.
2. Double up at dinner.
Instead of a single vegetable with dinner, serve two. For example, you could serve steamed broccoli AND sauteed spinach. Replace white potatoes with sweet potatoes and you've scored 3 super nutritious vegetables in a single meal.
3. Order smarter.
When eating in restaurants, ask if you can substitute a vegetable for the fries that come with your sandwich. If you just can't forego the fries, order a side of vegetables in addition. Eat the vegetables first.
4. Snack smarter.
Raw vegetables (baby carrots, red pepper strips, cucumber spears, etc.) make a satisfying crunchy snack. Reach for these instead of (or in addition to) the pretzels, nuts, or chips and log another serving or two of veggies for the day. Use a fat-free salad dressing as a dip if you like.
5. Make the most of left-overs.
Instead of letting left-over vegetables languish in forgotten Tupperware containers in the back of the fridge, turn them into the next day's lunch. Stir them into some ready-to-serve soup or toss them with lettuce mix for a hearty salad.
 older posts |
home | newer posts  |
| Get creative with mustard and win a spa trip! | | Nutrition Data Blog | | Reminder: Site maintenance tonight! |
Posted by: Dr.C | Nov 28, 2008 11:31:05 PM
If you consume 5 fruits and 5 veggies servings a day and have adequate fat intakes then I wouldn't be too worried about micronutrient losses through cooking processes, fat-soluble vitamins are hard to get deficient and water-soluble vitamins, well you overdue those and you kinda pee them right out...
Posted by: Carla | Oct 10, 2008 11:25:33 PM
What I keep reading is that the RATIO of omega-6 to omega-3 oils is the important issue. Ideally we need to keep this ratio 2-4:1 ... but most people's ratio is more like 12-20:1. This is due in a large part to the over consumption of plant oils. Read the web what omega-6 oils do to the body. Also, read in depth about coconut oil. A lot of experts think it is the best oil in the world for humans. And butter IS healthier than plant oils. Research these in depth with an open mind. Think about what illness have increased since plant oils were introduced to the market.
Posted by: Gregory | Oct 8, 2008 1:58:37 AM
Hello,
Is it good to eat fruits (grapes,apple..etc) after eating lunch directly?
Posted by: Alyssa | Oct 7, 2008 2:37:22 PM
Another thing; yes tomatoes are botanically a fruit; but nutritionally they are a vegetable. In fact; many common vegetables are fruits botanically speaking; all that is required to be a fruit is to have seeds. So peppers; all squash; cucumbers; tomatoes; and I think edible pod peas and green beans are all vegetables. The reason they are put in the "vegetable" category as opposed to the "fruit" category is nutritionally speaking they are more similar to the "true" vegetables than they are to fruit.
Posted by: Alyssa | Oct 7, 2008 2:31:11 PM
Heating vegetables does not kill the enzymes needed to digest them; anything you need to digest foods is naturally created by your digestive tract. But yes; some vitamins degrade at a high temperature so don't cook your vegetables to mush (and they won't taste good that way anyway). Sometimes cooking is necessary to to help your body digest vegetables; otherwise they may pass through your body partially undigested (especially if you do not chew thoroughly) and then you're obviously not getting the nutrients out of them.
As to the person that said this: "Avoid omega-6 rich oils by all means (this is all plant oils except for olive), but don't be afraid of other fats" this is absolutely NOT true; omega-6 fats are one of only two types of ESSENTIAL fats (the other one being omega-3) which are fats you NEED to consume and your body cannot create itself. Omega-3 and omega-6 fats are the ONLY ones you need in your diet. The fats you should be scared of are saturated and trans fats.
As for coconut oil; it is very highly saturated. However; it is plant based instead of animal based and this seems to make it not so bad for your body. I have seen studies that state that coconut oil is beneficial to health; and others that say that coconut oil (at least in the short term) negatively affects your circulatory system the same way as animal sourced saturated fats; so my suggestion is that it is not safe at this point to use coconut oil liberally but is healthier than animal saturated fats.
Posted by: Nina | Oct 6, 2008 11:22:16 PM
Great advice Nadine! Thank you for sharing.Only one small bit from me. Dont store the 'blend', coz you loose most nutrients within 10 to 15 mins.So small quntity as needed and repeat when you want some again. Consume quickly. One is normal breakdown, and the other is oxidation.
Healthy eating!!!!lol
Posted by: Nadine | Oct 6, 2008 3:00:27 PM
RAW and UNPROCESSED!!! I try and keep my precious vegetables as far away from heat (especially the microwave!) as possible. Heat temps over 100 deg. reduce the nutritional value and kill enzymes needed to properly digest vegetables. Try blended... Get a good, strong blender and just throw as many raw green things in there as possible; spinach, kale, broccoli, cabbage, and then some carrots, apples, watermelon and even a beet to sweeten it up. Wet it down with some almond milk and blend really well and you got yourself at least a few of your "5 a day" right there. Get creative with it! The point is to stay away from heat, store-bought dressings and sauces, added sodium(like in V-8, yikes!) and the best thing is that it's not as time consuming as it sounds. Just make a huge batch to last a few days and drink an 8 ouncer a day with your vits! throw some cinnamon in it! Get serious about it and have fun with it! :)
Oh, and about the cocnut oil, you loose all of it's wonderful nutritional value when you heat it past 100 deg. as well. If you heat it high enough to fry your potatoes in it's only as good as any old oil but with a much higher fat content.
Posted by: Tom Embleton | Oct 6, 2008 12:31:40 PM
I microwave 3 quarts of sliced mixed veggies in a glass casserole dish for 5 minutes. After it cools, I divide it among 4-5 tupperware containers. Each one holds about 24 ounces and I eat half of one each day, two on the weekend. The problem is my girlfriend is a meat/potatoes person and sometimes the veggies start to get old.
Thanks for the suggestion of making soup. Great idea...
Now if I can just find a sodium-free ready-to-serve.
Posted by: Ruby Scoggins | Oct 6, 2008 11:42:48 AM
I really appreciate all your hints and information. Thanks
Posted by: Kay | Sep 25, 2008 3:48:19 PM
You said to add a tomato to breakfast, but aren't they fruit?
Posted by: O | Sep 18, 2008 8:38:13 PM
Forgot to mention that coconut oil is also a plant oil which is good (low on omega-6, mostly saturated oils which makes it perfect for your eggs in the morning.
Back to veggies. Ordering a big salad (especially one with lots of different veggies, avocados, cheese and nuts, and asking for extra meat is always an option when the restaurant will not make the substitution.
Posted by: O | Sep 18, 2008 8:25:58 PM
Great article, Monica. I do eat salsa every morning with my scrambled omega-3 eggs, have veggies with both lunch and dinner accompanying meat, as well as a big salad with dinner. So I take about 7 servings of veggies each day. It is easy to replace potatoes or rice or bread with veggies. To make up the calories lost due to this replacement (if you need them!) I snack on cheese and nuts (all carefully measured as they pack in calories).
The only thing I disagree here is using low-fat dressing. Avoid omega-6 rich oils by all means (this is all plant oils except for olive), but don't be afraid of other fats. The base of olive oil and vinegar and/or lemon juice is a starting point to many excellent salad dressings.
