Did you know that 95% of Australians dont eat enough fruit or vegetables?* Despite being fortunate enough to have a wonderful supply of fruit and veg available to us, many of us are not even close to having the daily recommended serving of fruit and veg!
Fruit and vegetables are full of flavour and are an excellent and delicious source of important vitamins, mineral, antioxidants and fibre. So whether they're fresh, frozen or canned, eating more fruit and vegetables is one of the easiest things we can all do for better health and wellbeing, AND they can be eaten in so many different ways. They can be eaten raw, cooked, poached, baked, mashed, grated, chopped, diced, sliced you name it!
If you are struggling to find a place for more veggies in your day, we have complied our top tips below
START AT BREAKFAST
I bet many of you grab a quick breakfast without thinking about if it contains whole food or any fruit or veg. The 7at7 Breakfast Challenge launched by Vitamix a few years ago encouraged people to rethink breakfast and get 7 (yes 7!) vegetables into their breakfast. How do you do this? Well a green smoothie of course! It may take your palate a while to get used to lots of green but you start off with adding a nice sweet fruit like a banana then throw in the greens anything goes! Kale, spinach, cucumber, celery, parsley you just need to get the balance right and it can taste great. Add in chia or hemp seeds and it may be all you need until lunch. For some great green smoothie ideas check out Simple Green Smoothies .
GET CHOPPING!
When making dinner chop extra vegetables or choose vegetables over fruit to store in small containers or zip lock bags ready to grab for a snack. If you have time, blend up a tasty dip (also made from vegetables) and you get a double dose. This is great too for kids lunch boxes and when they are hungry between meals. Be inspired by some of these recipes.
EAT SALAD NOT A CARB LOADED LUNCH
Excuses like working in an office and no time are not accepted! There are plenty of take away salad options these days Sumo Salad and other places like this offer a wide variety of choices. Alternatively make an extra salad when cooking dinner and take to work the next day. We think the more ingredients the better. Even a few fruits like blueberries and apples are delicious in salad. Add some protein and you shouldn't be hungry again until dinner.
PACK DINNER WITH EXTRA VEGETABLE AND BE ADVENTUROUS
So you have come to the end of the day but this is not the time to slacken off when it comes to nutrition. Get creative and cook up as many vegetables as you can or try a new salad mix. Try hiding the vegetables in a meal like bolognese and the kids won't notice. You dont need to get complicated either if you are short on time. Steamed vegetables tossed with olive oil and some toasted nuts is extra yummy! If you need some recipe inspiration download some eBooks from the experts, like our friend Adele at Vegie Head.
So tell us how do you get more vegetables into your day?
Thanks to @vitamix_aunz @wellofnourishment @nadiafelsch and @iquitsugar for the lovely images via Instagram!
