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Night Elf
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Okay, I've never paid attention to Weight Watcher's recommendations but since I'm trying to make some healthy changes, I thought I'd give it a try. They recommend 5 servings of veggies and fruits. Do you do that? How? I only eat canned veggies and very little of that. Maybe a couple of tablespoons at dinner. Occasionally I have a spinach salad but I don't use anywhere near a serving size of any ingredient except maybe the spinach. I do not eat any fresh fruit. How do you work these into your day? Do you have some for each of the 3 major meals of the day? I'm trying to figure out how to work these into my current diet and I'm stumped. I do have fresh veggies I like. I am just sure I don't eat a serving and the idea of several in a day just seems overkill.

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We do veggie omelets and fruit OR green smoothies for breakfast. I often have a salad for lunch, slightly obsessing about the whole salad in a mason jar thing with pinterest, but that's my own weirdness. For dinner, we often have a side salad and a cooked veggie side. Snacks are generally fruit and nuts.  What are you normally eating if not fruit and veggies?

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The last time I did WW, most fruits and veggies were free...so that definitely encouraged people to eat them.  (Before that, they were low or no points.)

 

If I'm eating eggs for breakfast, I'll add in peppers and onions to the mixture.

 

It's easy to eat a cutie/tangerine or half a banana or some strawberries at breakfast time.

 

For lunch/dinner....if you have one serving of frozen veggies and add in a piece of fruit for dessert, you're done. :)

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A normal day might be:

 

Breakfast: a small glass of juice (one a day usually counts towards fruit/veg in most calculations) and a piece of fruit and/or an omelette made with veggies = 2 or 3

 

Lunch: soup including veg (carrots, celery, onion, etc) or a sandwich containing a whole large sliced tomato.  Raw veg (carrots, celery, etc.) on the side.  Or a big salad with added cheese, ham, etc and whole grain bread on the side = 2 or 3 veg

 

Snack: mandarins or apples = 1 fruit

 

Supper: A steamed/stir-fried/roasted veg that takes up one third of the total plate area. A main dish will also often contain veg, such as pasta carbonara with frozen peas = 1 or 2 veg

 

So that's between six and nine fruit/veg right there.

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It might be helpful to google for some serving size charts. A large apple for example is actually considered 2 servings (or 1/2 of the apple is considered one serving).

 

2 1/2 cups total of vegetables are recommended for adult women. (minimum - of course you can have more!)

 

I always have a fruit at breakfast.  Often that is an apple which I smear with peanut butter and have as my bread replacement.  It gives me crunch and fiber.

 

I usually have a salad at lunch.  In addition to greens I add raw or cooked veggies to the salad.

 

I always have veggies at dinner.  Often it is a vegetable mix in a stir-fry.

 

You might consider switching to frozen vegetables.  I've heard that they are a bit healthier than the canned.  

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I don't eat anywhere near those recommendations but I do eat some vegetables and fruit every day:

 

- frozen berries and yogurt.  My husband takes this every workday in his lunch.  Sometimes I have them as part of breakast with muesli and yogurt.  I buy a bag from Costco every month or two. 

 

- green salad most days, or coleslaw (either from a head of cabbage or a bag of pre-shredded stuff)

 

- fresh berries in season

 

- apples or applesauce

 

- there is always a side of vegetable in some form with dinner, current favorites are roasted asparagus but we eat cauliflower and/or brussels sprouts too.  Frozen green beans steamed then lightly sauteed with onion and maybe  a sprinkling of nuts

 

- lettuce, tomato, red onion on a sandwich

 

- sauteed peppers and onions with sausage

 

- collard greens with pork ribs or pulled pork

 

- when I make chicken curry, I always add some finely chopped cauliflower, green beans, and spinach.  No one notices it.

 

My kids  are not big fruit or veggie lovers but they eat frozen raspberries or applesauce every day unless we have fresh fruit.  Oh, sometimes we buy the cans of mandarin oranges but only if I can find some not from China (Trader Joe's is reliable for this).  They will also eat some (not much) of whatever vegetable I serve with dinner but they prefer it when it's hidden.  My daughter eats a good amount of spinach since giving up meat and is getting more adventurous with what she will try.

 

ETA:  Oh yeah, kale chips!  A bit tedious to make but my son loves them, the rest of us like them well enough.

 

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I don't do weight watchers & am not familiar w/ it but I eat a ton of vegetables. I never eat them canned--primarily they are fresh.  I do have some frozen veggies at times.  

 

Breakfast: fruits (and/or spinach and kale!) in smoothies, with greek yogurt, on top of buckwheat pancakes, or just plain; vegetables in omelettes

Lunch: salads (spinach + red onion + any seasonal vegetables i have that I like raw).....sometimes I just do a salmon burger over spinach (I did that today!) 

Snacks: Kale chips (easy to make in oven, just google it). You can do carrot or celery sticks, but I hate them, so I don't eat them!  I also eat fruit sometimes as a snack. 

Dinner: we eat a variety of vegetables, from salads as a full meal or side dish, to roasted cauliflower and/or broccoli, steamed broccoli, mashed cauliflower (I'm on the winter veggies still now, if you can't tell!!)....and as the seasons change this changes as well. In the summer, tomato slices, steamed green beans, peas...curries w/ a variety of fresh veggies....soups with vegetables (celery, carrot, onion, garlic, tomato, kale/spinach)......etc!  The possibilities are limitless. 

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I have really been trying to eat more veggies. I had some bad eating habits! I have found the easiest way is a morning smoothie. I eat about 4 cups of kale medley, 1 cup frozen berries, half a lime, some lemon and pomegranate juice, chia seeds and water. That gets me about 6-7 servings for breakfast and I feel good about that for the rest of the day!  :hurray:

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While I don't do 5 servings, I do have several daily. We keep the house STOCKED with fresh fruit - apples, bananas, oranges, plums, grapes (or whatever we feel in the mood for); I probably refresh weekly or almost weekly. We eat mostly fresh vegetables in different ways (blanched, steamed, sauteed, baked, roasted) with dinner, although we will occasionally have the steamer frozen vegetables if time is something I haven't enough of that day, lol (and honestly, we really enjoy a couple of the frozen steamer varieties, so sometimes we have them instead of fresh just because it goes well with the dinner that night). 

 

I suppose I would suggest doing that - keep fresh fruit in the house for snacking on, make a fresh or frozen vegetable with lunch and dinner. 

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I just do large sides and/or eat a large plate of vegetables before dinner. I have a veggie steamer that makes it really easy and cheaper than the steam-in-the-bag ones. I also dump large quantities of frozen vegetables into soups.

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A serving of most fruits and vegetables is about half a cup. Loose greens, like in a salad, are a whole cup. Dried fruit is, I believe, a quarter cup.

 

So yes, I have fruit and vegetables at every meal and snack. Breakfast might be oatmeal with apples in it (one serving) and a quarter cup of raisins (two servings). For a snack I might eat a tangerine (3), then at lunch I'll have hummus and bell peppers (4). For dinner, I'll serve maybe lamb with a side of peas, carrots, and mint (5), another side of mashed turnips (5.5), and yet another of spinach (6.5) and a small salad (7) (I like dinners, and if I'm having lamb then none of us is getting much of the meat part). Then for dessert we could have blueberry crumble (8), which neatly rounds out the day. See? Simple.

 

Frozen vegetables taste better than canned, definitely.

 

I could definitely come up with a more lose-weighty version of a meal plan, but I generally cook for the girls, and I'm constantly trying to get them to put on a few pounds.

 

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Do you eat salads? One of my very favorite meals is a huge salad of mixed baby greens (two servings of veg), with either goat cheese, half an avocado (another 1/2 to a whole serving, depending on the size), and a couple of baked chicken nuggets cut up into it or some ham and swiss and half an avocado cut up into it.

 

Often, before I start dinner, I'll put out a veggie plate with cut up broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, cherry tomatoes and celery on it. I'll make a small one for myself and a big one that I leave on the table for the kids. With our favorite dip (a natural ranch cut with lowfat sour cream), they can knock out several servings of veggies all at once! We also love steamed (or roasted) broccoli, cauliflower, or asparagus sprinkled with parmesan or romano cheese, and it's very easy to throw a sweet potato or yam in the oven to go along with your dinner. (You can also microwave it or use a toaster oven.)

 

An apple and peanut butter is a favorite snack here, and we put berries (fresh or frozen) in our yogurt. Youngest DD will pick up a pepper or a tomato and eat it like an apple :lol: Oldest DD and I are on a grapefruit kick right now. 

 

We don't always get five servings every day, but we do our best. I really find the salads and the veggie plate among the easiest ways to get more veggies in, though.

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The serving sizes are very small.

 

I don't think anyone can stomach more than a few tablespoonfuls of canned vegetables, and even then only because they're supposed to be "good for you" in the same way that meds are.

 

Is there a Farmer's Market or a produce stand where you live?

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We do veggie omelets and fruit OR green smoothies for breakfast. I often have a salad for lunch, slightly obsessing about the whole salad in a mason jar thing with pinterest, but that's my own weirdness. For dinner, we often have a side salad and a cooked veggie side. Snacks are generally fruit and nuts.  What are you normally eating if not fruit and veggies?

 

Cereal and bread. I have cereal in the morning and either toast or a sandwich for lunch. Dinner is a meat, a starch (usually potatoes in some form), and a canned veggie that I don't eat much of because I don't really like them. Then in the evening when I'm hungry again, I have more toast or another sandwich. I usually have a piece of cake or pie and always chocolate graham crackers. Then sweet snacks at bedtime. And that's truly a typical day for me. Dinners are generally a lean meat (chicken, pork chops, roast beef) or spaghetti with lean ground beef, or a prepacked tetrazzini meal. We're really not adventurous eaters.

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Um, I think it's just something floating in my head. Let's see...

 

Bah, I got my numbers wrong. It's one cup servings, except for salad greens.

 

http://www.choosemyplate.gov/food-groups/fruits-counts.html

http://www.choosemyplate.gov/food-groups/vegetables-counts.pdf

 

http://www.choosemyplate.gov/food-groups/vegetables-amount.pdf

 

So, yeah. 2.5 cups of produce (except you need two cups of salad greens to make one cup of produce, because volume and air and all).

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Cereal and bread. I have cereal in the morning and either toast or a sandwich for lunch. Dinner is a meat, a starch (usually potatoes in some form), and a canned veggie that I don't eat much of because I don't really like them. Then in the evening when I'm hungry again, I have more toast or another sandwich. I usually have a piece of cake or pie and always chocolate graham crackers. Then sweet snacks at bedtime. And that's truly a typical day for me. Dinners are generally a lean meat (chicken, pork chops, roast beef) or spaghetti with lean ground beef, or a prepacked tetrazzini meal. We're really not adventurous eaters.

 

Is there any vegetable you DO like? Maybe we can start there and help you work it in more often, and then once that's a habit, you can add in something new, and so on. Same for fruit--what DO you like? 

 

I'll be honest, I have a hard time getting fruit and veggies in without some additional flavor--hence the goat cheese, ranch dressing, parmesan cheese, yogurt, and peanut butter in my suggestions. A lot of the appeal is in the preparation!

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I don't know how much help I'll be because "fruit" is my favorite food category and I like veges as well. When I eat 5-9 servings of fruits and veges per day, any cravings I might have tend to go away entirely. So it's very helpful when losing weight. Probably the fiber helps, but beyond that, I think one's body "registers" how many vitamins, minerals, and other phystonutrients that it's getting via fruits and veges. (It takes a whole lot of potato chips to get there, kwim?)

 

Ways I incorporate veges& fruits into my day:

 

Keep your fruits visible. Ideally, put them in a clear bowl in the middle of the kitchen table. You are quite likely to eat the first thing you see. Let it be fruit!

 

Breakfast: sautee onions, garlic, & spinach (or use leftover veges) to go with an egg. Personally, I love guacamole on eggs, so I top with that as well.  Add fresh fruit to oatmeal. Eat a piece of fruit.

 

Snacks: Peanut butter on apple, pear, or banana is good. or a handful of nuts with a fruit. Cut veges with hummus. I splurge for the prewashed broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots that you can buy by the bag in the produce section. Keep your veges front and center in your fridge in a clear container, not hidden in the hydrator. Another quick vege snack is a microwaved sweet potato. I eat it with a sprinkling of cinnamon.  Frozen berries in plain yogurt---mmmm. Like ice-cream to me.

 

Meals: If it were winter, I would lead with soups; but since it's spring, think of salads. Spinach is good to use as a base. (I also like finely shredded cabbage as a salad base. ) Think beyond just tomatoes, cukes, onions, carrots. Fruit is great on salads, for instance. It meshes well with balsamic vinegar or a citrus vinegar.

 

Roasted veges are super easy and delicious.  I've had the best luck with fresh veges. I've used frozen but they don't get as crisp. You can use whatever you have around: broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, chunks of sweet potato, chunks of white potato, chunks of cabbage, slices of zucchini or other squash, chunks of onion, etc. Spray with olive oil. I like to add minced garlic. You might enjoy some herbs on it as well. Bake in a 375-400 degree oven about 30 min, until the edges of the veges are crispy. So, so good!

 

Spaghetti squash is a great pasta substitute. You can find directions for baking online. I bake mine whole and then cut it in half to scoop out the seeds. (Some cooking methods have you cut it in half first. Too hard! Easy after it's cooked!) Once it's cooked, scape out the spaghetti like squash strands. You can serve with regular pasta sauce or google Moosewood cookbook spaghetti squash casserole. It's good without the cheese, imo, though the cheese is yummy! (But probably not best for a diet.)

 

Canned veges are nutritious, but they carry considerable sodium, so you might want to consider switching to frozen or fresh.

 

Consider going to your local farmer's market. They will start up soon. "Browse" all the offerings and try something new each time.

 

ETA: just saw your post about sandwiches: toss some veges in there with whatever else you're eating (a wrap works well to keep it all together!): spinach, romaine, tomatoes, cukes, onions, yum!  If your sandwich is hot, you could sautee mushrooms, peppers, onions, etc. and add to sandwiches.

 

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Cereal and bread. I have cereal in the morning and either toast or a sandwich for lunch. Dinner is a meat, a starch (usually potatoes in some form), and a canned veggie that I don't eat much of because I don't really like them. Then in the evening when I'm hungry again, I have more toast or another sandwich. I usually have a piece of cake or pie and always chocolate graham crackers. Then sweet snacks at bedtime. And that's truly a typical day for me. Dinners are generally a lean meat (chicken, pork chops, roast beef) or spaghetti with lean ground beef, or a prepacked tetrazzini meal. We're really not adventurous eaters.

 

Well, canned vegetables really don't taste good, especially if you don't do much with them because you figure you don't like them.

 

I think the best bet is probably to move slowly, and add one thing at a time. Instead of jumping to "FIVE SERVINGS EVERY DAY", let's try just adding one vegetable into your day, and maybe replacing some of those sweet snacks at bedtime with fruit instead. What three vegetables do you think you dislike the least? And is there any fruit you like?

 

 

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For breakfast this morning I had a cup of blackberries and a nectarine with a cup of greek yogurt and flax.

 

I had an apple with sunbutter for lunch.

 

I typically have baby carrots, celery, a red pepper and cheese for an afternoon snack.

 

I have a bowl of grapes in front of me right now.

 

Dinner is generally a small serving of meat with some sauteed greens plus another vegetable or two.

 

I get a delivery of a box of veggies every week that we try to eat without waste. We also go through a lot of apples, greens and berries every week. We have multiple food allergies in the house and try to eat from an abundance of fresh produce instead of trying to work around grain, legume, nut and meat allergies.

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I don't know how much help I'll be because "fruit" is my favorite food category and I like veges as well. When I eat 5-9 servings of fruits and veges per day, any cravings I might have tend to go away entirely. So it's very helpful when losing weight. Probably the fiber helps, but beyond that, I think one's body "registers" how many vitamins, minerals, and other phystonutrients that it's getting via fruits and veges. (It takes a whole lot of potato chips to get there, kwim?)

 

Ways I incorporate veges& fruits into my day:

 

Keep your fruits visible. Ideally, put them in a clear bowl in the middle of the kitchen table. You are quite likely to eat the first thing you see. Let it be fruit!

 

Breakfast: sautee onions, garlic, & spinach (or use leftover veges) to go with an egg. Personally, I love guacamole on eggs, so I top with that as well.  Add fresh fruit to oatmeal. Eat a piece of fruit.

 

Snacks: Peanut butter on apple, pear, or banana is good. or a handful of nuts with a fruit. Cut veges with hummus. I splurge for the prewashed broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots that you can buy by the bag in the produce section. Keep your veges front and center in your fridge in a clear container, not hidden in the hydrator. Another quick vege snack is a microwaved sweet potato. I eat it with a sprinkling of cinnamon.  Frozen berries in plain yogurt---mmmm. Like ice-cream to me.

 

Meals: If it were winter, I would lead with soups; but since it's spring, think of salads. Spinach is good to use as a base. (I also like finely shredded cabbage as a salad base. ) Think beyond just tomatoes, cukes, onions, carrots. Fruit is great on salads, for instance. It meshes well with balsamic vinegar or a citrus vinegar.

 

Roasted veges are super easy and delicious.  I've had the best luck with fresh veges. I've used frozen but they don't get as crisp. You can use whatever you have around: broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, chunks of sweet potato, chunks of white potato, chunks of cabbage, slices of zucchini or other squash, chunks of onion, etc. Spray with olive oil. I like to add minced garlic. You might enjoy some herbs on it as well. Bake in a 375-400 degree oven about 30 min, until the edges of the veges are crispy. So, so good!

 

Spaghetti squash is a great pasta substitute. You can find directions for baking online. I bake mine whole and then cut it in half to scoop out the seeds. (Some cooking methods have you cut it in half first. Too hard! Easy after it's cooked!) Once it's cooked, scape out the spaghetti like squash strands. You can serve with regular pasta sauce or google Moosewood cookbook spaghetti squash casserole. It's good without the cheese, imo, though the cheese is yummy! (But probably not best for a diet.)

 

Canned veges are nutritious, but they carry considerable sodium, so you might want to consider switching to frozen or fresh.

 

Consider going to your local farmer's market. They will start up soon. "Browse" all the offerings and try something new each time.

 

Great post!!!

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Either veggie omelet or green smoothie for breakfast ( I use lots so 1-2 svgs)

Huge salad and 1/2 c veggie for lunch and maybe fruit (3-4 svgs)

Huge salad, 1/2-1c veggie and sometimes fruit for dessert.

 

I like salad. Fruit is often banana or Apple w/nut butter or berries w/yogurt and honey for dessert. I like veggies much more than fruit. I often eat a baked potato with broccoli and salsa or sweet potato topped with a cooked Apple. It may be a matter of changing taste. Do you like vegetable or broccoli soup

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Cereal and bread. I have cereal in the morning and either toast or a sandwich for lunch. Dinner is a meat, a starch (usually potatoes in some form), and a canned veggie that I don't eat much of because I don't really like them. Then in the evening when I'm hungry again, I have more toast or another sandwich. I usually have a piece of cake or pie and always chocolate graham crackers. Then sweet snacks at bedtime. And that's truly a typical day for me. Dinners are generally a lean meat (chicken, pork chops, roast beef) or spaghetti with lean ground beef, or a prepacked tetrazzini meal. We're really not adventurous eaters.

 

Get rid of the canned veggies, for starters -- they're not nice. :P

 

Try steamed vegetables, roasted vegetables, or sauteed vegetables. I like broccoli because it's cheap, packed with antioxidants, fiber, and protein. I usually steam it because I'm lazy, but it's better roasted. You might eat more if it tasted better. Also, you can mash a fair amount of cauliflower into mashed potatoes without appreciably changing the texture. I use frozen vegetables because they store easily and I hate going to the store.

 

For the cereal, add a piece of fruit like a banana, orange, or apple -- something that's finger food and easy to handle.

 

I wouldn't focus on five a day for right now -- I think that will seem like an insurmountable goal. I would try to make it through a cup of veggies at dinner and a single piece of fruit at breakfast. That will get you a lot closer than you have now, and once you get used to it you can work on increasing it.

 

We are just about at the first of the month -- I'd recommend setting it as your goal for April.

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I cannot imagine NOT eating fruit and veggies...

Today alone I have had blueberries and spinach in my smoothie.

Salad with mixed green lettuces, onion, cucumber, zucchini, red bell pepper, tomatoes, mushrooms.

Am looking at roasted broccoli and Brussels sprouts with dinner.

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I don't tally up servings, but we eat a fair amount of veggies and fruit. So, for myself, many mornings, I have a smoothie with frozen or fresh blueberries or raspberries. I also nearly always put Chia seeds in there; not a fruit or vegetable, but nutrient-dense plant seeds. At lunch, I often have soup or a stir-fry with veggies in it. Might have broccoli, green peppers, onions, garlic, celery, carrots or something else. For dinner, we often have either a meal that has veggies in it or a veg or two on the side. During the winter, I often steam frozen brocolli, which I get from Costco in a large bag. I often steam cauliflower, green beans, carrots or asparagus. Other times we have canned green beans or corn. Sometimes we have fresh grapes, apples or oranges at dinner.

 

I also keep fresh fruit in a counter basket, which happily, my kids enjoy eating fresh pretty much every day.

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Do you have an official source for this? I've been searching and I keep coming up with different answers everywhere!

 

I think there isn't one worldwide guideline that we agree on. They vary from country to country. In Canada, for women 19-50 the recommendation btw is min 7-8 servings/day & they specifically say to have the fruit & veg more often than a juice.

 

Generally they list more 'solid' veg (broccoli, cabbage, carrots) as 1/2 cup= serving;

 

leafy stuff is 1 cup (raw) = serving

 

1 medium fruit or 1/2 cup of big fruit  = serving

 

 

for my leafies I tend to do green smoothies with fruit. I suspect my smoothie is way more than 3-4 servings of fruit & veg/cup & I sometimes have 2 of them/day.

 

I also usually have

 

+ 1-2 cups of coleslaw or steamed veg

+ salad

+ chop up peppers, tomatoes, cuke for snacking or side

+ baby carrots, raw for snacking.

 

 

I usually have a banana + some other fruit most days.

 

Going to make lunch now for dd & self - steaming some broccoli/caulflower & carrots :)  I'll probably eat at least 1.5 cups of that.

 

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I think there isn't one worldwide guideline that we agree on. They vary from country to country. In Canada, for women 19-50 the recommendation btw is min 7-8 servings/day & they specifically say to have the fruit & veg more often than a juice.

 

Generally they list more 'solid' veg (broccoli, cabbage, carrots) as 1/2 cup= serving;

 

leafy stuff is 1 cup (raw) = serving

 

1 medium fruit or 1/2 cup of big fruit  = serving

 

Thanks for that! It occurred to me to look at the USDA site specifically, and that says to aim for 5-9 servings per day, with one cup = a serving (or two cups of leafy greens). Now I'm curious to see what a cup of veggies looks like (I don't think I've ever actually measured unless I'm mincing for a recipe or something).

 

I'm making roasted cauliflower tonight with dinner, so I'll see what that measures out to start with. 

 

 

I already know the reason, but why in heck do they offer measurements like "1/2 a cup of broccoli"?  How does one even measure that?  Not that I'd feel the need to measure broccoli, but that's just such a bizarre measurement method for broccoli.

 

I know. I was wondering why they didn't use weight measures, until it occurred to me that most people probably don't own a kitchen scale, while most people do own measuring cups. I guess telling consumers to eat "a cup" is better than just saying "eat lots!" You can at least kind of eyeball it.

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It really isn't that much. Like, a regular size (14.5 oz) can of green beans is 3.5 servings.

 

I don't think that's the same kind of serving size though. The serving size on the labels is for nutrition info purposes, not for how much you should eat. KWIM? This was one of the problems I kept coming up against when I was researching the other day. There's no way an ounce of avocado is equal to the one-cup serving that the USDA is recommending.

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Is there any vegetable you DO like? Maybe we can start there and help you work it in more often, and then once that's a habit, you can add in something new, and so on. Same for fruit--what DO you like?

 

Veggies: peas, corn, zucchini, yellow squash, spaghetti squash, raw spinach, tomatoes, carrots, celery, potatoes (regular and sweet)

 

Fruit: bananas, apples, grapes, blueberries, strawberries (all of these in small amounts like a palm full, except the banana which I eat one medium one)

 

That's all I can think of for the moment. That's not a bad list. I just have these things rarely.

 

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I don't think that's the same kind of serving size though. The serving size on the labels is for nutrition info purposes, not for how much you should eat. KWIM? This was one of the problems I kept coming up against when I was researching the other day. There's no way an ounce of avocado is equal to the one-cup serving that the USDA is recommending.

 

Actually, if you look at it, it says: serving size, .5 cup, servings per can, 3.5 (at least on my cans)

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Veggies: peas, corn, zucchini, yellow squash, spaghetti squash, raw spinach, tomatoes, carrots, celery, potatoes (regular and sweet)

 

Fruit: bananas, apples, grapes, blueberries, strawberries (all of these in small amounts like a palm full, except the banana which I eat one medium one)

 

That's all I can think of for the moment. That's not a bad list. I just have these things rarely.

 

 

That's good, that's a wonderful start!

 

The key to changing habits, for most of us, is to do it in steps. So for your first step, how about you replace your after-dinner snack with a piece of fruit? Go to the store today and buy  bunch of bananas, a pound of apples, a pound of grapes, and a pint each of blueberries and strawberries. Place the apples and bananas on the counter, put the berries prominently in the fridge. For the next two weeks, when you get hungry after dinner, instead of reaching for the bread, grab a piece of fruit (or a small bowl full of berries or grapes). Don't worry about making any more changes than that, just stick with this change.

 

After two weeks, start adding a small salad to your dinner every day. That salad can be predominately raw spinach, tomatoes, and grated carrots. That's two small changes for the month of April, and in May you can make another one. (My suggestion for May would be to first add a piece of fruit with your breakfast, and then to add a fruit or vegetable with your lunch. I wouldn't worry about trying new fruits and vegetables until you're eating them consistently.)

 

Just one small baby step at a time.

 

 

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Veggies: peas, corn, zucchini, yellow squash, spaghetti squash, raw spinach, tomatoes, carrots, celery, potatoes (regular and sweet)

 

Fruit: bananas, apples, grapes, blueberries, strawberries (all of these in small amounts like a palm full, except the banana which I eat one medium one)

 

That's all I can think of for the moment. That's not a bad list. I just have these things rarely.

 

 

That's a great list! Off the top of my head, I'd say start with the tomatoes, carrots, celery, and summer squashes. In the morning, make yourself up a container of them, cut up as needed, and then keep it near you through the day with a dip/dressing of your choice. You'll probably find yourself mindlessly munching on them without even thinking too much about it.

 

For apples, I don't love them to eat out of hand, but I make a peanut butter dip to go alongside that is mostly (natural) peanut butter, with a bit of coconut oil and a smidge of raw honey. To me, that's usually sweet enough (and yummy enough) to stand in for a dessert most nights. Maybe one night a week, try something like that? 

 

I have to go chop my own veggies now :lol: But I'm sure you'll get more great advice. I found that first, it was simply a matter of making a conscious effort, at the grocery store and at the beginning of my day, to think about what kind of produce I'll want during the week or during that particular day. After awhile you build a repertoire of fruit/veggies in ways that you like, and then you can rely on those without much thought. Baby steps! And maybe baby carrots...

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Get fresh or frozen vegetables and prepare them in a tasty way- steamed, stir fried, roasted.

 

Veggie intake today:

 

-a bunch of collards stir fried in garlic with some left over breakfast hash and an egg.

 

-several cups of baby spinach as a bed for curried chicken salad (which also had carrot, onions and and raisins)

 

-for dinner we will have cauliflower tacos garnished with avocado, onions, cilantro, roasted garlic salsa and avocados.

 

This is more than 5 just with veggies.

 

Fruits:

 

-I had a handful of grapes with breakfast

 

-I ate a bag of strawberries with lunch

 

Basically I get my veggie content in by making it a feature/tasty and desirable part of my diet.

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I easily eat 5 or more servings of fruit and veggies a day. I don't find it difficult. (Of course, I'm a vegan, but still.)

 

On a typical day, I might eat one or two servings of fruit with breakfast. For example, I might top my oatmeal with a cup of sliced strawberries or eat a banana with a handful of nuts. (1-2 servings)

 

Lunch might be carrots dipped in hummus or a nice salad or a burrito bowl made with seasoned black beans left over from a previous dinner topped with diced bell peppers, tomatoes and defrosted frozen corn niblets. (2-3 servings)

 

Dinner could be something Mexican inspired, which might include something similar to the burrito bowl above, or maybe something Indian-ish, which might include curried vegetables and/or chutneys made with vegetables. Or it could be pasta with marinara sauce (which is made of vegetables) or black bean soup with onions, celery, bell peppers. Or maybe sloppy lentils with mashed sweet potatoes on the side. Or falafel served with hummus and carrot sticks and vegetable couscous. Or on a lazy day, it might be twice-baked potatoes with tomato and onion salad on the side. (1-3 servings) 

 

On any of those days, I might eat a piece of two of fruit as a snack--Last night, I ended up eating two pears while watching TV--adding another serving or two to the day.

 

 

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You people make this sound so easy! This would be a lot easier if I had someone preparing my food for me.

 

Gosh, wouldn't it just?

 

Once you get into a habit, you'll look back and go "I have no idea why I thought this was so hard!" And then you'll be the one using posts like this as an excuse to brag about your healthy diet :p (I say that while fully aware I did the same thing upthread. Don't hate me.)

 

Seriously, baby steps. Just focus on one easy change at a time. That's why I suggested replacing a snack with a fruit. No cooking, no preparing, all you need to do is go to the store.

 

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Our fruit and veg store has a sign that says "don't eat vegetables because they are good for you, eat them because they are beautiful".

 

From the list of things you like you could add a chopped tomato to your toast for breakfast with salt and pepper and maybe olive oil. Otherwise I do fruit with Greek yoghurt and muesli.

 

Make up a big batch of soup for lunches and freeze in individual portions then reheat one per day, that would be two serves. You could eat your toast with it. Potato counts as a vege serve so just make sure you have one other serve on the side and you have five.

 

Have a fruit based dessert for each meal.

 

For nursing mums the recommendation is 8-9 serves. That I could never achieve.

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Ok, I have some good ideas. The only fruit we have in the house tonight is tangelos and I don't like pulpy things. I'll go pick up a couple of things tomorrow. I definitely don't mind eating yellow squash raw and all by itself. That might be a good snack to just sit on the table while I'm on the computer. I'll also buy some frozen veggies and have the family give those a try. Ds will balk as he does with any new food, but he doesn't eat much of the canned veggies either so I don't see it being a huge issue with him. I've been trying to find some fruit he likes besides bananas. He'll eat grapes now. I should probably pick some of those up too. Thanks ladies. I really appreciate it.

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I find it very easy - but we do eat fresh fruit and raw veggies.

Today I had strawberries and a banana with my breakfast yoghurt.

We snack on apples or mandarin oranges.

We eat raw carrots, peppers, cucumber, tomatoes (depending on season) with dinner.

If I have a salad for lunch, that's several servings.

With a cooked meal, we might have several servings as side veggies, or as salad, or in soup.

 

ETA: In our family of 3, we easily go through 10 lbs of apples per week.

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You people make this sound so easy! This would be a lot easier if I had someone preparing my food for me.

 

Do you know how to use a chef's knife? Makes things so much easier when chopping. I bet you could find a youtube on it. I learned from a chef when I used to wait tables as a teen/young adult.

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Another thing I do that might help you is to chop up vegetable very finely and add them to things you already make.  For example, I take my Pampered Chef chopper and I add very finely chopped squash, zucchini, onions, carrots, bell pepper to a lot of my dishes.  I usually just sauté the vegetables and then combine then with whatever sauce I am making.  It is very easy to add vegetables to any type of spaghetti sauce, taco meat, meatloaf, casserole or soup.  My kids can't even really tell that I put anything into these dishes, but it is an easy way to sneak in a few more veggies. Jessica Seinfeld has a whole cookbook called Deceptively Delicious that centers around this idea.   

 

I wouldn't eat very many vegetables either if I only ate canned vegetables.  I highly recommend fresh fruit and vegetables because they just taste so much better.  We aim to have at least one serving of fruits and vegetables at every meal and one snack a day  I also always keep the steamable veggies and spinach or lettuce and tomatoes on hand for the days I don't have time to make something more complicated.  Roasting vegetables is also very easy and my favorite way to eat most vegetables. 

 

 

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I can't invite you over for lunch because I'm just a stranger on the internet, but we're having these:

 

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/baked-kale-chips/

 

and beet hash browns, which don't really have a recipe because you just grate a beet, add some chopped garlic and enough flour that you can form it into patties, and fry them the same way you do potato hash browns.

 

HTH and enjoy!

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You people make this sound so easy! This would be a lot easier if I had someone preparing my food for me.

 

You don't really need to prepare much.

Fresh fruit - just wash and munch. OK, banana and citrus should be peeled... but that's easy.

Baby carrots, grape tomatoes, sweet peas, peppers - they are ready to eat. You don't even need a knife.

Salad greens come prepared in packages.

 

If preparing is the obstacle, then just eat things raw as they come.

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