We all know that eating more fruits and vegetables is good for our health. However, the reality is that many people find it difficult to include enough of them in their diet and many have difficulty following the recommendations of Canada’s Food Guide which suggests that half of our plate should be fruits and vegetables.
At the beginning of the school year, we are giving you 6 tips to make your life easier and try to meet this challenge a little better every day.
1) Make sure you have fruits and vegetables that do not require preparation
We want to make sure we put the odds on our side by having fruits and vegetables on hand that can be eaten easily without any additional steps such as “cutting” or “cooking”. So get fruits and vegetables that can easily be added to meals or snacks without adding extra time that could demoralize you. For example:
- Mini cucumbers
- Cherry tomatoes
- Mini sweet peppers
- Baby carrots
- Pre-cut salad mix
- Grated carrots
- Apples
- Oranges
- Bananas
- Prepared fruit and vegetable platters
2) Plan your meals and snacks accordingly
Too often we plan our meals knowing exactly what protein we will prepare, but we forget about planning our fruits and vegetables. Planning is key, because if everything is not in your fridge or planned for the next meals, there is little chance that we will find them on our plate, or at least, in sufficient quantity. Do not hesitate to put them at the center of your plate, cook several varieties at once in the same meal and add them in combination with a source of protein during your snacks.
3) Prepare your fruits and vegetables in advance
This step will definitely help you eat more fruits and vegetables. Indeed, especially when we are hungry, this is the step that could make all the difference to add raw vegetables to our after-work snack rather than “falling” directly into the box of crackers which is ready-to-eat in the pantry. It will also be easier to add them to your lunches and will reduce the time needed to prepare your dinner.
4) Change your environment to put fruits and vegetables forward
Our brain is prone to making a lot of decisions every day. To simplify its life, it likes shortcuts. So, if fruits and vegetables are “hidden” in the fridge or difficult to access, we will not be inclined to eat them. So don’t hesitate to put them forward: on your counter, at the front in the fridge or on shelves in the pantry that are at eye level. You can use the same logic to place foods that you would like to eat less often in the background or on shelves that are less accessible.
5) Have reserves for when “there is not much left in the fridge”
For many, it is not the first meals after grocery shopping that are deficient in fruits and vegetables. In fact, some experience this problem when they have stretched their grocery shopping a little too much and therefore eat meals with less greenery! Several fruit and vegetable options have a longer shelf life in order to be good stopgaps in this type of context and allow us to continue to have more balanced meals. For example:
Frozen vegetables to grill in the oven, fry in a pan, cook in an air fryer, make sauces, or even soups (Ex: beans, Asian vegetables, broccoli, carrots, spinach, peas, etc.)
Frozen fruits to make smoothies, add to our yogurts, oatmeal or favorite desserts (Ex: bananas, strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, peaches, pineapple, etc.)
Canned vegetables to add as sides or in your sauces (Ex: peas, mushrooms, beets, roasted peppers, hot peppers, olives, hearts of palm, beans, grated carrots, etc.)
Canned fruits to add to breakfast, dessert or snacks (Ex: peaches, pears, pineapple, fruit salad, tangerines, etc.)
Vacuum-packed fruits and vegetables to have fresh fruits and vegetables for longer (Ex: beets, or other mixes available in your grocery store, or made at home)
Homemade or store-bought compotes (available in ready-to-drink format) to eat them directly as snacks or add to your morning oatmeal or favorite sweet recipes
Dried fruits to add to your favorite snacks, recipes, lunches or salads (e.g.: dried pineapple, dried cranberries, dried mango, dried apricots, dehydrated apple, dehydrated strawberries, raisins, etc.)
6) Cook your more damaged fruits and vegetables
Finally, if you were not able to use all the fruits and vegetables you had bought, give them a second life before they can be recovered by cooking them in soup or puree. You can then consume them in the following days or even freeze them to simplify your life later by finding them at the base of your next recipes.
In summary, eating fruits and vegetables is an easy recommendation to understand, but not always easy to apply. I hope that these few tips will help you in your daily life to experience the benefits of consuming more of them. Enjoy your meal
Par : Joanie Séguin, Dt. P.
Nutristionniste, Clinique Hexa Physio
