5 Ways to Eat More Fruits & Vegetables

Sometimes it can seem really difficult to get enough fruits and vegetables in my meals. I get frustrated trying to think of new ways to eat them. However, I have realized over time that the simplest ways to include more fruits and vegetables into your diet are normally the easiest to do. You don’t need complicated recipes or crazy fad diets, just some simple steps and you won’t even notice the change you make.

1. Prep your produce as soon as you get home from the grocery store.

After grocery shopping most of us our tired and don’t want to clean and prep our produce, however, it is so much easier to grab some grapes or strawberries as a snack when they are ready to go. I love meal prepping so prepping snacks and even chopping things for the next meal always makes me feel so much more prepared when I go to cook or even just grabbing lunch from the fridge. One of my favorite things to have for lunch is a spinach wrap filled with some lunch meat, cheese and chopped peppers and having those peppers ready to go makes making lunch so much simpler.

2. Eat one smoothie a day.

Smoothies are a great way to incorporate all types of fruits and vegetables into your diet. I love to make a smoothie for breakfast or a snack. You can pick your favorite fruits, add some spinach, some milk or water and some protein to make a delicious drink. It’s a great way to get kids to eat more fruits and vegetables as you can let them choose what they want in their smoothie.

3. Make one vegetarian meal a week.

I love meat and most of my dinners have meat in them, but I have come to really enjoy vegetarian meals as well. One of my favorite things I have made this past year was a butternut squash risotto and it was so delicious that I still think about it on a regular basis. I lost the cookbook with the recipe in the fire but am searching for another copy of it (it’s an older cookbook) and I will have the recipe soon! Remember it doesn’t have to be fancy to be a meatless meal it could be as simple as making cheese quesadillas with peppers and onions instead of chicken quesadillas.

4. Use vegetables with your favorite dips instead of chips.

What’s your favorite dip? Ranch, hummus, salsa or guacamole? I love all of those and when I want to incorporate more fruits and vegetables in my diet it’s super easy to use cut up peppers, apples, pears or carrots as your dipping vessel. Plus when you already have those prepped it’s easy to grab the hummus and some pepper strips and enjoy your afternoon snack.

5. Keep your freezer stocked with frozen fruits and vegetables.

Buying fresh fruits and vegetables can be expensive, so it is really important to utilize the frozen world of fruits and vegetables. I like to keep these stocked to make smoothies and to make quick sides to go with dinner. There are now so many options in the frozen section that you can really find just about anything you want.

It can seem really daunting when you are trying to add more fruits and vegetables to your daily meals, but it can actually be really easy. Pick one of the five tips above and try it for a week or two and see how you do, I bet you will find yourself eating a lot more fruits and vegetables. Then you can add the other tips and before you know it you won’t feel like you are missing any fruits and vegetables in your diet. Let me know how my tips work for you.