Shannon Center Weekly Nutrition Tip – Tips for Fruit and Vegetable Daily Consumption

Are YOU eating five a day?

How many servings of fruits and vegetables do you consume in one day? The recommended amount is 5 to 9 servings! Many people fall short of this goal. Here are some example serving sizes and ways you can sneak some more fruits and veggies in your diet!

Fruit: size of tennis or baseball, or 6 oz. juice

Vegetables: 1/2 cup cooked or 1 cup raw

What you need:

• Snack sized baggies
• Reusable plastic containers for fruits and small containers or dipsFruit/Vegetables of choice, fresh or frozen
• Low fat or light yogurt or Greek Yogurt
• Light Italian dressing
• Light Ranch dressing
• Light vinaigrette dressings
• Low fat cheese cubes
• Egg Beaters
• Wheat tortillas
• Salsa

1. Dice up green peppers, tomatoes, onions, broccoli, spinach, etc. and put into small baggies or containers or buy frozen bags of each to keep handy in freezer. Throw in an Egg Beater scramble in the morning for a quick veggie omelet. Wrap in a wheat tortilla with some salsa to add some fiber.
2. Chop up your fruit and vegetables and put into snack sized serving baggies or containers so in the morning they are ready to go. Also buy small salad dressing containers to add in dips.
3. Make a fruit kabob (great for kids!). Put cut up fruit and low fat cheese cubes on a wooden kabob. Dip in low fat yogurt.
4. Throw one piece of fruit and 1 light yogurt in blender for a quick smoothie.
5. Instead of a plain sandwich with bread and meat, add lettuce, tomato, spinach, onion, etc. to add more volume and fiber. (Don’t forget the whole grain bread and lean low salt lunchmeats from the deli).
6. Try to have a salad each night at dinner
7. Make a rule to bring at least one fruit or vegetables with you to work each day to snack on in between meals.
8. Add vegetables to chicken kabobs over brown rice with a salad for a quickie dinner.

The key is preparation! Those fruits and vegetables are not going to cut themselves! When you get home from the store, cut up all your produce so it’s more accessible throughout the week.

Enjoy!

Kelly Devine Rickert MS RD CSSD LDN​

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