Tips to eat more fruit and veg
In my previous post I made the case for eating more, and also a greater variety of fruit and veg. Think greater energy, better health and more resistance to illness.
But getting in more, and a greater variety, of fruit and veg can be easier said than done as we all live busy lives and typically find adding something else to think about difficult! Therefore, I would like to share with you some ideas to you supercharge your diet with wonderful fruit and veggies.
Make Smoothies
Smoothies are a fantastic way to increase your fruit and veg intake and variety because you can pack so much in there! A typical smoothie might contain banana, some berries (frozen work well), maybe some almond milk, but you can go much more wild than this! Consider adding a greater variety of fruit like melon, mango, kiwi, pineapple… there are so many options.
And yes, I did also say veg! Green leafy veg in particular is easy to hide in a smoothie as it does not change the taste much. Spinach works particularly well as do swiss chard, romain lettuce., beet greens, carrot tops, collard greens..you get the idea. When adding veg, just be sure to give your smoothie some extra whizzing time to ensure a smooth consistency. And of course, not need to stop with adding greens, you can experiment for example with sweet pepper, courgette, carrot, sweet potato, broccoli and cucumber. For these, you may want to start slow, adding just a little at the beginning as they will have a greater effect on the consistency and flavour of your smoothie. I feel a post all about smoothies coming on!
Use frozen veg and fruit
Many people assume that because frozen veg/fruit is not fresh, it is not as good as non-frozen. Actually this is a misconception. Frozen veg and fruit could actually be considered as more fresh, as it is generally frozen closer to harvest and therefore retains more of its nutrients than veg and fruit that has travelled across the word to get to your supermarket shelf. So while I am not saying ditch fresh veg and fruit and only eat frozen, I am saying don’t overlook frozen. Frozen veg and fruit is great because it does not go off. This means you can have a good stock in your freezer to get out when your fridge dwelling supplies start to dwindle.
Frozen greens work well in smoothies, frozen peas, mushrooms and sweetcorn are great added to stews, frozen courgette, tomatoes and onions can work well in soups. Really the only limit is your imagination. And frozen fruit of all kinds can be wonderful flavourful and cooling additions to smoothies (taking the prep work of washing and cutting out too, win win!).
Eat the rainbow
As I mentioned in my previous post, the many colours of different fruit and veggies reflects their differing nutritional contents, and so eating a good range is very supporting to your health. One way to build your awareness of increasing more variety in your diet is to have in mind trying to eat as many colours of the rainbow with every meal. The idea is that you try to include fruit and veg from each of the following colour groups with each meal:
Red
Oranges and yellows
Green
Blues and purples
Whites and browns
By paying attention to this you will soon become aware of what your dietary tendencies are, and this will help you make more diverse food choices. I for example find I eat a lot in the green, orange and yellow categories, so I make an effort to also add the other colours to my shopping cart and meals.
Roasting, not just for potatoes
Roasting does not have to be restricted to potatoes. You can get so much more creative than this, adding carrots, sweet potato, squash, mushrooms, parsnips, tomatoes, sweet pepper, cauliflower, broccoli…. really, apart from greens, I cannot easily think of a vegetable that would not work well roasted. Roasting is a great way to add variety to your vegetable intake, and add some rosemary, garlic, maybe a bit of paprika and you end up with a delightfully aromatic dish that did not require hours of preparation. Serving with humous and a drizzle of lemon can finish off your roasted veg and make you feel like you are eating like royalty!
I hope these ideas will give you some inspiration and practical ideas for how you can add more fruit and veg to your diet. This can really be an exciting adventure for your taste-buds, and so great for your health :)
Fabia x
