Nutrition Challenge #1 is all about consuming fruits and vegetables. How’s everyone doing? Are old habits getting in the way of this goal? As with any new behavior, increasing regular consumption of fruit and vegetables will likely take a conscious effort and some planning in the beginning. Think ahead to when and where eat your snacks and meals, what you tend to grab for each, and how you could make it easier to include fruits and/or veggies. Don’t wait until the end of the day to improve your diet. Here are a few hints on how to incorporate more fruits and vegetables into the beginning of your day:
- Start your day with fruit as a regular part of your breakfast and/or morning snack. Make it a habit. This means you need to keep it on hand, so buy enough, and have some frozen varieties for back-up.
- Grab an apple, pear, Satsuma orange or banana on your way out the door to have as a mid-morning snack
- Spread nut butter on an apple or banana for a more substantial snack . (peanut butter, almond butter, sunflower seed butter, etc.) Keep a jar or individual serving packets at work for convenience.
- Put fresh, frozen, or dried berries in your cereal or in yogurt as part of healthy breakfast.
- Make a vegetable omelet, or scramble veggies such as spinach, bell peppers, onions, mushrooms or tomatoes into some morning eggs.
- Stir a few spoonfuls of pureed pumpkin and a little cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice into your hot cereal in the morning.
- If possible, keep an apple slicer, small bowl and small knife & cutting board at your office to make it convenient to quickly slice up apples & pears for a quick snack.
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Mix applesauce or chopped apples into hot cereal or yogurt for a great snack or breakfast.
- Prepare a fresh fruit salad with seasonal fruit and keep it in a sealed container in the fridge so it is easy to grab for part of your breakfast or snack.
- If your in the habit of grabbing a granola or energy bar as a snack, make one that is full of dried fruit like a Laura bar or Kind bar.
