Simple Tips: How to Add More Fruits and Veggies Into Your Diet

Everyone knows that they probably should be eating more fruits and veggies, but often times it can be hard to find ways to add them into what you are already eating. The USDA recommends about 2-3 cups of vegetables and 1-2 cups of fruit per day depending on age, sex and level of physical activity. This much can be hard to get at times, especially if you’re eating out a lot or eating pre-made meals. It’s especially tough to get that level of vegetables in your diet and that tends to be what people struggle with more so than getting fruit in their diet. To determine if you are getting enough fruits and veggies, create a food journal and track what you are eating for 1-2 weeks. If you do this and you notice that you are struggling to get the recommended level of fruits and veggies, try the following tips:

1) Add a vegetable source and a fruit source to each meal

This is probably the most obvious tip for getting more fruits and veggies into your diet. It just takes a little creativity to figure out how to find a source of fruits or vegetables for each meal. However, if you do spread out your fruit and vegetable intake throughout the day it will make that 3 cups per day seem a lot more manageable. Think about it this way; If you try to get ½-1 cup of fruits and/or vegetables per meal, you’ll meet your needs with just 3-4 meals. That’s a little less intimidating than trying to force down 3 cups worth of broccoli at one meal. For me, breakfast has always been the hardest meal of the day to add vegetables to. I like to have eggs and oatmeal most mornings. Its easy to add fruit to my oatmeal, but I’ve struggled to find vegetables I like and that go well with my breakfast. One solution that I found was to add kale or spinach to my eggs if I scramble them. I’ve also added things like bell peppers, onions and red cabbage which have all been tasty. Experiment with vegetables you like and have fun with it. There is really no one answer or food that will work for everyone. The only things that matter are that you get enough fruits and veggies and that you enjoy what you’re eating.

2) Make fruits and vegetables your go-to snack choice

This is a simple and pretty self-explanatory one. If you’re someone who likes to snack a lot (And let’s be real, who isn’t?) then try to swap out chips and crackers for a vegetable or fruit. Some of my go-to snack choices are carrots or celery with hummus, apple slices with peanut butter and orange wedges. Not only are you getting a source of fruits and vegetables, most of these options are lower in calories. If you decide to add a dip or something to put on the vegetable or fruit like hummus or peanut butter, make sure it is low in sugar.

3) Get creative with salads

I love salads; mostly because of all the toppings I can add to them. I tend to make giant salads and pile on the toppings. The nice part about salads is you can add a lot of vegetable and even fruit sources as toppings. You can use a salad as a side dish or even as the main dish if you make a bigger one. Some of my go-to toppings include: bell peppers, carrots, red cabbage, green apples, avocado, walnuts and feta cheese. Again, find what vegetable toppings you like and get creative with it. Just make sure you use a dressing that isn’t loaded with sugar.

4) Try making a smoothie for your post-workout meal

This is something I started doing because I was just getting tired of the taste of post-workout shakes and I felt like I wasn’t getting as much as I could out of my post-workout meal. The two biggest things your body needs after a workout are carbohydrates and protein. A smoothie is a great way to tackle both of these needs. Fruit is filled with sugar (a carbohydrate) and fiber, and if you add a protein powder you’ve got a perfect post-workout meal. This is a great way to get fruit as you can just add a variety of frozen fruit. I’ve found that if you don’t also include a fresh banana in there, it just doesn’t taste the same. You can also add some vegetables to this. I like to throw in some kale or spinach into it. The thing about smoothies is that you won’t taste any of the green stuff at all. Again, get creative and find what you enjoy.

Here is my go-to recipe for post-workout smoothies:

1 Banana

1 ½ Cup Frozen Mixed Berries

½ Cup Frozen Pineapple

1 tbsp Flax Seed Meal

2 Scoops Whey Concentrate from Naked Nutrition

2 tbsp Peanut Butter

1 tbsp Agave Syrup

2 Cups Almond Milk

1 Cup Kale

This recipe has between 700-800 calories with about 35 grams of protein, 40 grams of carbs and 25 grams of fiber. If you end up trying it, let me know what you think!

5) Get a vegan or vegetarian cook book

This is a game changer. I am not someone who would consider themselves vegan or vegetarian by any means, but I can’t tell you how much I recommend getting a vegan or vegetarian cookbook. If you are running out of ideas of dishes that have a lot of veggies, you need to get a vegan or vegetarian cook book. There are so many delicious dishes out there that use a wide variety of vegetables and can be added on as side dishes. You can even add meat to some of them if you really can’t live without it. I have been using Thug Kitchen (aside from the great recipes, it has some of the funniest PG-13 instructions out there) since I was in college and haven’t found a dish in the book that I don’t like. Honestly, I do end up adding meat to a lot of the dishes but either way they have all been tasty.

Give some of these tips a try and see if it helps you get more fruits and vegetables in your diet and if you have any other personal tips, feel free to leave them in the comments.