Insider’s Viewpoint: Use Fruit and Vegetables to Meet Your 2015 Diet Goals

Many people reflect on their diet and what they can change at the start of the year. By focusing on fruits and vegetables you can do a lot to meet many nutrition and diet goals…including the important goal of adding more fruits and veggies to your day! Here’s how …

6 Ways Fruits & Veggies Help Maintain A Healthy Diet

1. 1. Vegetables
      Fiber for appetite control

      Increase your intake of raw and cooked vegetables and you will be filling up on low-calorie, fiber-rich food. Packed with fiber, vegetables will keep you fuller longer while allowing you to stay within your caloric needs and promoting an ideal body weight.

 

1. 1. Fruits
      Satisfy your sweet tooth!

      Craving sweets? Trade in a decadent dessert for low-calorie fruit, which satisfies while also helping you stay within your caloric needs for the day. Fruit can be enjoyed warm or cold, is easy to pack for work or school, and comes in a variety of flavors and textures that are sure to fulfill your desire for something sweet.

 

1. 1. Eat Colorful Produce
      A colorful variety of fruits and veggies will help you meet vitamin and mineral goals.

      Maybe your 2015 diet goal is to eat “healthier”? If so, ensure you are meeting your daily recommended value for a variety of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants as part of this broad goal by consuming more colorful fruits and vegetables. The way nature meant it, fruits and vegetables are preferred over artificial supplements for meeting your daily recommended value of vitamins and minerals.

 

1. 1. Snacks
      Control that 3pm crash!

      If you are trying to improve your diet, then the snacks you choose between your meals is critically important. To control blood sugar, appetite, fatigue (and even your mood!), choose snacks that are balanced with a bit of carbohydrate along with protein and/or fat. Fruits and vegetables are the perfect ingredient for healthful snacking. Apples and low-fat cheddar cheese, grapes and a small handful of nuts, a trail mix of dried fruit along with seeds, or a banana with almond butter are just a few snack ideas to try.

 

1. 1. Balance Your Plate
      Round out your healthful plate with raw and cooked vegetables.

      An ideal, balanced plate includes a serving of fruit or vegetables, carbohydrate and protein. Improve your eating habits by working toward having a balanced plate for all of your meals. Choose in season produce for affordable options that may be local to where you live. Also, stock up on frozen and canned produce for the times you can’t get to the market.

 

1. Budget
   Save on your food budget and your caloric “budget.”

   Reduce calories by adding vegetables in place of other higher calorie, more expensive ingredients to omelets, meatloaf, casseroles, and more. Individuals hesitant about vegetables will likely will find this method of consuming vegetables more enjoyable and may even learn something new about the ease of cooking with produce. Recipes with Lots of Fruits & Veggies

Emphasize produce in your diet and you will not only meet your daily recommended intake of fruits and vegetables, but you will likely meet many other nutrition goals too!