The National Cancer Institute, along with the American Heart Association, the American Cancer Society, and the American Diabetes Association all advocate that we eat at least five servings of fruits and vegetables a day for good health.
Sound difficult? Even with the most hectic schedule, you can make room for more nutritious, low-calorie and heart-protective fruits and vegetables in your diet.
Some Fast and Delicious Ideas to Get You Started:
- Store dried fruit in your glove compartment or desk drawers so a sweet snack is always within arm's reach. Dried cranberries, cherries, dates, prunes, apricots, and bananas can tide you over from meal to meal. One-fourth cup of dried fruit counts as one serving.
- Grapes and raisins are portable and fun to eat. They also add tasty texture to almost any salad – whether it's chicken salad, potato salad, or a leafy green side salad. They can add flavor and variety to plain-old cheese and crackers. Frozen red or green seedless grapes make a tasty and cool after-school treat for your kids or for yourself.
- You don't have to skimp on taste to find desserts that are good for you. Baked apples are so easy to make that your kids can help prepare them. Simply core an apple without cutting all the way through, fill with raisins and a little honey, sprinkle with cinnamon, and microwave or bake until soft. One apple packs 4.5 grams of fiber. Bake bananas until black, slice open and sprinkle with brown sugar to yield a delicious custard-like treat.
- Add broccoli, cauliflower florets, bell pepper strips, peas, and/or squash to pasta sauce for a quick pasta primavera. One-half cup of cooked or canned vegetables makes one serving.
- There's more to sandwich garnish than just lettuce and tomato. Bell pepper rings, cucumber, and avocado slices add texture and taste. Add grated carrots or other shredded or chopped vegetables, such as zucchini, to pasta, potato, salmon, or chicken salad.
- Use fruit as toppings for pudding or yogurt. Fresh raspberries, blueberries, strawberries, peaches, and dried fruits add sweetness without fat. Or, blend fresh fruit into a smoothie with yogurt and ice.
- For an easy make-ahead side salad that will last all week, mix tomato, cucumber, and onion slices with vinegar, salt, and pepper and sprinkle with a few drops of olive oil.
- Citrus fruits are high in the antioxidant vitamin C which helps protect your body's cells against carcinogens. Citrus fruits are also good sources of potassium and fiber and are virtually sodium- and fat-free. The next time you prepare a green leafy salad, add sections of grapefruit or oranges.
- Orange vegetables like carrots, sweet potatoes, and winter squash, and fruits like cantaloupe, papaya, and mango are rich sources of antioxidants including beta carotene.
- Sweet potatoes make an excellent addition to lunch – hot or cold. Simply poke a few holes in the sweet potato with a knife or fork, wrap in a wet paper towel and microwave until soft enough to eat. Sprinkle with brown sugar or pepper, or store in the fridge till tomorrow for a leftover treat that tastes good cold.
- Add crunch and color to pasta or potato salad with green or red pepper strips, broccoli florets, carrot slices, or cucumber chunks.
- Bring color or character to your salads by sprinkling in baby carrots, shredded cabbage, or spinach leaves.
- Perk up deli salads like coleslaw, chicken, or tuna with apple chunks, pineapple, or raisins.
- Grill skewers of pineapple, eggplant, nectarines, zucchini, and cherry tomatoes.
- Keep things interesting by combining fruits of different flavors, like red grapes with pineapple chunks.
- Try making spears of fruit by attaching strawberries, grapes, melon slices, or pineapple chunks onto small skewers. Use low-fat or nonfat yogurt for a dip.
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