Produce

Fruit Tips and Vegetable Tips!

Eating enough produce daily just might be the biggest diet tip ever! Yeah, yeah, yeah! Most of us turn up our noses, and tune out. We know this, but those foods are so boring and life is short! We are too busy to do all the prep work that those fruits and veggies require! It’s overwhelming!

It’s much easier to just grab processed foods at the market, and at local restaurants we love! Problem is they are high fat and high calorie and our waistline is paying the price! Does that sound like you? Try these tips for home use, or when ordering out!

Lifestyle Solutions for Including More Produce in Your Diet:

• Change your Thinking: A diet full of produce is the easiest way to control your weight! They are full of fiber, all things great for health, and nature’s great diet food because they contain so few calories! The more you eat, the less you’ll weigh! No special diet needed, just the real food!


• Choose a salad or soup for lunch daily: This is such an easy tip. Even fast food restaurants offer side salads on their menu. Soups and salads contain lots of fiber which will fill you up. You will eat less. Choose salads that are full of vegetables and fruits, and eliminate the crunchy toppings which are more caloric. Choose a low fat or fat free dressing because they can turn an innocent salad into a diet bomb! Choose soups that are full of vegetables with a broth base and not a cream base! Many supermarkets offer vats of wonderful veggie soups for lunches!


• Top Sandwiches with tons of Veggies: Get creative on this one. We all know the lettuce and tomato combo, but that is so unexciting! Try red and green peppers, onions, cucumbers, spinach, cabbage, green beans, zucchini, eggplant or any other vegetable that you can slice. Don’t be afraid to request additional veggies on your sandwiches! Most restaurants will try and please every whim!


• Choose Menu Items that are Full of Vegetables: There are so many lunch and dinner choices that are loaded with vegetables. Try to acquire a taste for stir fries. They are simple to prepare and once you have the basic idea down, you can vary your meat choice and choices of veggies. Buy a huge variety of veggies and choose 3 different ideas for a different stir fry daily. Pair them with different herbs and meats. The trick is to avoid overcooking any of the veggies, because crunchy is what you want. Cook the veggies separately. Rather than using oil, it’s easy to stir fry by adding a bit of water. Keep adding more water to avoid burning! This is a quick meal that is much faster than fast food!


• Fire up the Grill: Grilled produce is awesome. Chunk up different options and let your family fix their own Kebobs! This is a fun way to make a fast meal and get kids choosing unique fruits and veggies. Great ideas are peppers, onions, peaches, nectarines, melons, pineapple, zucchini, squash, eggplant, tomatoes, mozzarella balls, or any even lettuce! You are only limited by your lack of imagination! Vegetable combos steamed in foil packets are also amazing!


• Snack on Fruits and Vegetables: Produce makes great grab and go snacks. Rather than purchasing sugary processed bars or fruit snacks that contain sugar as the first ingredient, simply grab the real food. Plan where you are going to eat your snack. If you usually eat your snack in the car, apples, bananas, grapes, dried fruits, peppers, carrots, or sliced cucumbers, are great choices. Who wants to wear the drippings of a juicy peach for the rest of the day or drive with sticky fingers! If you eat your snack at your desk, juicy fruits are refreshing!


• Develop the Habit of Practicing Meatless Monday: This is a great way to start the week off right by fixing meals that are laden with fruits and vegetables! It helps to make up for any weekend overeating that you might have done! Find out more about Meatless Monday!
  


• Practice the Half Plate rule for every meal out or at home: The new "my plate guidelines" recommend this, but this rule has been around a long time. It is such a simple way to eat. Eyeball your meal. Half of your plate should be fruits and vegetables, heavier on the veggies though. If you consistently eat like this, weight control will be easy. If you fill the rest of your plate with 1/4 lean protein, and 1/4 grain that is it! Be sure and get the grains under control because that is where many of us fail too!


• Visit your Local Farmers Market for Fresh Produce: Farmer’s Markets are springing up everywhere. There is a movement to buy your food locally and to know your farmer. You can find out if he uses pesticides, (See Dirty Dozen list) and fruits and veggies are usually picked that day, so they are super fresh! Your whole car will smell like a farm on the drive home, which never happens driving home from the supermarket! Fresh products taste so much better too!


• Be a great example! The best reason to include more fruit and veggies in your diet, is to teach your kids how to eat right. Kids who grow up living on them will continue those habits when they leave home. Childhood obesity is rampant in this country and we need to give our kids a fighting chance! See My Healthy Kids Section!!

Filling your meals half full of seasonal produce is the easiest tip that I know for weight control or weight loss! Consciously thinking and planning this is a healthy diet habit that will benefit you and your family!

Seasonal Produce

Pages will be coming soon with information and tips on many of the fruit and vegetables listed below! (also....check out my Healthy Vegetable Recipes and my Seasonal Food page!)

Year Round Produce