Dubai Cookery & Baking

25 Ways to Eat More Vegetables and Fruits

Fruits and vegetables should be part of any good diet but fitting in all those servings can prove to be a challenge. Here are 25 fun, easy tips to make sure that you get your 5 to 9 a day, every day!

1. Buy fresh fruit and vegetables regularly. Visit the grocery store at least once a week so you'll always have fresh, healthy food on hand
2. Keep frozen and canned fruit and vegetables on hand
3. Mix vegetables such as celery, onion and zucchini into meatloaf, burgers, chili, casseroles and omelettes
4. Add fruit to your yogurt or cereal
5. For kids, decorate plates with fruit or vegetables to make a smiley face and include a pure juice carton in their lunchbox
6. Drink your fruits and veggies - have a glass of fruit juice daily. Freshly squeezed from a juicer is best
7. Leave a bowl of fresh fruit out where it can be seen. Keep the non-refrigerated and refrigerated fruits and vegetables on a shelf at eye level. You're more likely to eat what you see
8. Dress up fruits and vegetables to make them appear more appetising. Eat fruit like bananas, pineapples or strawberries with chocolate pudding, or buy a yogurt or cream cheese dip for fruit. Dip vegetables like cauliflower, broccoli and carrots in ranch dressing or vegetable dip, and eat celery with cream cheese
9. Include berries in your morning pancakes
10. Add strawberries, apples or oranges to a salad or make a dessert out of bakes apples or pears
11. Snack on apple slices with peanut butter or caramel dip, chopped carrots and dip, chips and salsa or frozen fruit juice bars
12. Include a fruit or vegetable in every meal and snack
13. Blend together fruit for a nutritional breakfast smoothie
14. Add vegetables and salads to your lunch
15. Order extra vegetables on pizza
16. Use extra tomato sauce in pasta dishes
17. Grill fruit with chicken or eat fruit with ice cream for dessert
18. Buy pre-cut fruits and vegetables for convenient snacks
19. Mix one large chopped apple with a pound of lean ground turkey or chicken. Season with sage and rosemary and flatten into healthy breakfast sausage patties
20. Toss a handful of beans or crunchy sprouts on your salad. Or, if you have a sweet tooth, add chopped apples or raisins
21. Try veggie instead of meat lasagna
22. Add frozen broccoli, green beans, corn or peas to pasta
23. Make some soup. You can stick with the basics like tomato or vegetable soup or be creative and mix up some minestrone or veggie chili
24. Add lettuce, tomato, onion, sprouts, cucumber, etc. to sandwiches
25. Choose beans, coleslaw, corn on the cob, or a side salad instead of French fries