Boost Your Health with Five-a-Day: The Power of Fruits and Vegetables

Do you have some days where you must stop and ask yourself, “When was the last time I ate a vegetable?” It is okay; this is a judgment-free zone, and you are not alone. The Western diet makes it way too easy to skip the fruits and vegetables and go for the quick and easy options. This can be a slippery slope when it comes to long-term health and preventing deficiencies. Fruits and vegetables pack a punch when it comes to the nutrients our bodies need to do almost anything, all the way down to the molecular level.

The Importance of Five-a-Day: The Benefits of Fruits and Vegetables

Fruits and vegetables are the proverbial powerhouses of vitamins and minerals. These two food sources are the best way to get your daily dose of what you need, combined with complex carbohydrates, lean proteins, and healthy fats. Vitamins and minerals are essential to life, and the only way we get the majority of them is through our diet. When we do not consume a diet with a variety of foods, we can become deficient in these essential nutrients. 

When it comes to chronic illness prevention, a key factor in your overall wellness is diet. Fruit and vegetable intake has been linked to better health outcomes and reduced risk of chronic disease. Due to the vast number of vitamins and minerals as well as fiber content found in fruits and vegetables, it is important to get the right amount each day. Getting vitamins and minerals directly from foods is the most bioavailable way for our bodies to process and use these nutrients. When we do not consume the appropriate amount of these nutrients, our body will take them from what it deems a “less important” area to provide a life-sustaining function. 

The vitamins and minerals contained in fruits and vegetables are the reason consuming at least five per day prevents chronic disease. Fiber can help lower blood pressure, antioxidants like Vitamin C and beta-carotene reduce inflammation and oxidative stress, potassium, magnesium, and calcium all help with cardiac function, and so on.

Beyond the Basics: Creative Ways to Incorporate Fruits and Vegetables

While adding more fruits and vegetables to your diet is a great plan, actually doing it is a whole other story. I cannot tell you the number of adults I have worked with who claim to hate vegetables. This is generally not the case, as we usually find a tolerable handful. A great way to get more vegetables or fruits into your diet is to “sneak” them into dishes. This works wonders if you don’t love vegetables or if members of your family do not. 

You can hide fruits and vegetables in some of your favorite recipes:

1. Baked goods are a great way to incorporate fruits or vegetables. For example, you can replace certain ingredients with zucchini, avocado, banana, blueberries, spinach, pumpkin, and sweet potato. The trick is finding foods that blend well with these flavors. I have linked recipes for each of the fruits or vegetables listed above. Having personally tried a handful of these, I can attest that the flavor and deliciousness are not compromised.

2. There are many ways to​​ include fruits and vegetables in your entrée recipes, such as Mac and cheese, Meatloaf, Burger patties, Lasagna, Spaghetti, and Broccoli bites (no hiding what’s in this one). All these recipes involve grating, pureeing, or chopping the hidden ingredients to blend better within the dish. 

3. Another superstar in the fruit and vegetable industry is the smoothie. You can pack a lot of nutrients into different smoothie recipes as well as have an almost endless flavor profile. The other great thing about these delectable drinks is that many vegetables have very neutral flavors and can be masked by other ingredients. If you use spinach, kale, or avocado, you will have a green smoothie, but then the fun names come into play. Have you ever had a Dinosaur smoothie, Hulk, Green Lantern, Yoda, or Grinch smoothie? Just make sure you add some protein to round out the nutrition profile for some recipes that are all carbs.

4. One way that I get my fruit and vegetables in is through salads. For some reason, I am drawn to a mixed blend of these colorful bounties from nature. Add some protein, nuts, cheese, and a yummy dressing, and you have yourself a dish that isn’t just delicious but also packed with a rainbow of nutrients. If you are bored of the same old salad, change the type of lettuce you use, use roasted vegetables instead of raw, add hummus or avocado, or change the cheese.

Tips for Success: Making Fruits and Vegetable Intake a Habit

Trying to get in five servings of fruits and vegetables per day is a great goal and one that is important to try to reach. It can be difficult at first, but a plan is always a helpful way to achieve your goal and make it a habit. One thing you can do is create a grocery list with fruits and vegetables right at the top. Hit the produce section first thing when shopping, starting with familiar fruits and vegetables. What helps populate a grocery list is planning meals ahead of time. Meal prep, even just on paper, can keep you focused on your goals and help you remain on your budget.