How do YOU get your fruits and veggies in each day?

OneGoodBean

While I've been eating relatively healthy for a while, I am still not eating my fruits and veggies. I mean, I sort of am, but not really. I'd love to know how you get your fruits and veggies in each day. One can only eat/drink so many smoothies though....

missiontofitness

I eat them.
I prep my favorite fruits ahead of time (cutting mangos, washing and bagging grapes), ect. Throw them in my lunch box, and I have no excuse not to eat them once I'm at work.

coryrood

I mix strawberries in with my plan yogurt (greek). I eat an apple at lunch. I eat a banana for a snack. Veggies I'll usually have a cup with dinner. A salad with all kinds of veggies (peppers Tomatos cucumbers mushrooms.)

Alatariel75

I don't eat fruit, but I get my vegies by basically adding them to everything. My lunches are planned to have 2-3 serves - this week I have chicken noodle soup which has 6 types of veg in it. Dinners, half my plate is generally veg, I have a variety so I don't get bored.

Sarasmaintaining

I'm not a big fan of fruit but I do eat a lot of veggies and I'm a big fan of stirfrys. Dump frozen or fresh veggies in with some olive oil, add a protein source (I do either pork or beef and then add 1-2 scrambled eggs), and then mushrooms and brown rice if I'm doing pork. Very filling and I can get in a lot of veggies this way (my current mix is bell peppers, broccoli, onion, carrots and peas).

sweetteadrinker2

Salads, both standard and fruit. Pineapple, mango, banana and strawberries is a nice fruit salad combo. Or apple, dried cranberry, walnuts and grapes is good too.

OneGoodBean

I find it is difficult to just eat straight up fruit and veggies. So while I do have apples or oranges, etc. just sitting there, ready to eat, I would rather find something else to snack on.

Those that mention salads. Homemade garden type salads usually are boring and bland to me. I really enjoy salads from like Panera, but that can get pricey, in more than one way.

What are some of your favorite salads? Fruit or veggie...

physioprof

I love to make smoothies with frozen fruits and veggies. Veggies that have a naturally sweet flavor and high water content are great. Tomatoes, cucumbers (peeled), spinach, frozen berries, milk/yogurt, protein powder, whatever fat you'd like (not coconut oil, that gets hard)...tasty meal on the go!

Sarasmaintaining

OneGoodBean wrote: »

I find it is difficult to just eat straight up fruit and veggies. So while I do have apples or oranges, etc. just sitting there, ready to eat, I would rather find something else to snack on.

Those that mention salads. Homemade garden type salads usually are boring and bland to me. I really enjoy salads from like Panera, but that can get pricey, in more than one way.

What are some of your favorite salads? Fruit or veggie...

The only way I'll eat salad is if the lettuce is buried under so much bacon, croutons, onion crunchies, pepperoni and ranch, that you can't tell there's lettuce lol. I'm with you-I never eat fruit and veggies by themselves, with the exception of blueberries and cherries (the only two fruits that I like) and then I do love yellow and red bell peppers sliced and dipped in Hidden Valley ranch

taentea

Raw tomatoes or a veggie salad accompany my eggs in the morning.
I always have a veggie salad or sauerkraut as a primary side for my meat and fish for lunch. If I have a starch, rice or pasta, they are always a smaller portion next to my veggies.
Banana, berries and occasional peach get mixed into my yogurt / cottage cheese for dinner.
Pieces of apple and carrot together are one of my favourite snacks. Grapes work too. And melons / water melons are delish.

gettingittogether15

I prefer juicing! Love it! (hate cleaning the juicer though)

californiagirl2012

I steam a bunch of vegetables keep them stored in the fridge to make custom soup nearly every day. I keep steamed rice and various cooked meat/chicken in the fridge. I use good chicken broth in a carton to mix all of these ingredients with spices like curry powder and garlic in amounts according to the macro's I want to round out the day/meal. I can make a delicious soup in minutes. Sometimes I only put a 1/4 cup of rice or skip the rice, it depends on how the day went calorie wise.

The steamed veggies are usually cauliflower, broccoli, green beans, Brussels sprouts, carrots, various squashes, spaghetti squash, and various greens.



I also like to eat a few veggies raw like tomato's, carrots, and cucumbers.

Sometimes I mix sliced cucumber with sliced apple, melon, and frozen blueberries to make a fruit salad. The cucumber is a nice bulky filler that is less calories than fruit.

debsdoingthis

I take a large salad to work almost every day. Always with a protein added, Shrimp, tuna chicken etc). Depending on my mood it could have...apples, oranges, strawberries, cranberries, tomatoes, all kinds of raw veg. A splash of dressing and I'm good to go. It is rarely the same salad twice. Too many yummy things to add.

kommodevaran

I try to have vegetables for every meal. For dinner, usually green peas or beans (frozen, defrosted, "baked"), or salad, or baked parsnips (with honey, oil and sesame seeds ), as a side dish; or onion, peppers, squash, canned (or dry, soaked) beans, etc in casseroles; or "anything" in creamed (blended) soups (one main vegetable: carrots, cauliflower, mushrooms, pepper/tomato, frozen green peas, spinach, butternut squash - then always onion and beef stock, and a selection of vegs/spices that go together: celery, parsnip, garlic, chili, ginger, etc). As a treat I'll boil an artichoke (or two, if small) and bake a cob of corn, and eat with melted butter and cold meat. For other meals - raw vegetables cut into sticks: cucumber, carrots, beets, kohlrabi, rutabaga, or florets: broccoli, cauliflower, romanesco. From time to time I'll buy asparagus (expensive) or snap peas (taste heavenly but more than a few means stomach pain).

Fruit is more a question of moderation I aim for three servings a day. I usually rotate between pineapple, some melon, pomegranate and pomelo for breakfast; have grapes, pears, apples, tangerines, or oranges in combination with cheese and/or nuts/nut butter for dessert or evening meal; and then anything I might get hold of for lunch, sometimes as a smoothie - always 1:1 banana and milk, and a little less of one kind of acidic fruit or berries - today's flavor was apricots, delicious

earth_echo

Fill a hand strainer w/frozen vegetables (I like peas and corn) and run it under hot water for about a minute. Then put into a large bowl and add beef or chicken stock. Nuke it for a couple of mins and eat. You can easily consume 2 cups or more of veg every day this way and it's very low calorie.

rainbowbow

I get mine in through snacking mostly.

Example:
Cucumber sprinkled with salt
Carrot sticks
Apples cut into matchsticks
Bananas
Cubed watermelon
Mango
etc.

I also use veggies in my most of my meals.

Francl27

Typically one serving of fruit a day, either for breakfast or a snack, then veggies with meals... usually 2 servings or more at each meal (often a whole bag of frozen veggies).

TheRealKit

Food prep weekly and love my shakeology.

Sarasmaintaining

earth_echo wrote: »

Fill a hand strainer w/frozen vegetables (I like peas and corn) and run it under hot water for about a minute. Then put into a large bowl and add beef or chicken stock. Nuke it for a couple of mins and eat. You can easily consume 2 cups or more of veg every day this way and it's very low calorie.

Good idea, going to try this soon

SezxyStef

I love my fruit smoothie in the morning add in juice and protein powder and done.

I eat veggies with my dinner every night as I love them esp this time of year.

Typically fiddle heads this time of year or frozen mixed veggies.

MakePeasNotWar

OneGoodBean wrote: »

I find it is difficult to just eat straight up fruit and veggies. So while I do have apples or oranges, etc. just sitting there, ready to eat, I would rather find something else to snack on.

Those that mention salads. Homemade garden type salads usually are boring and bland to me. I really enjoy salads from like Panera, but that can get pricey, in more than one way.

What are some of your favorite salads? Fruit or veggie...

Do you ever make chopped salads at home? Not necessarily the restaurant kind with meat and cheese etc., but just your standard salad, chopped.

I'm too lazy to chop by hand, so I just pulse my veggies In the food processor until they are quite finely chopped. I find the higher density (less air, more food), the mixing of flavor and the small quantity of juice released by the chopping makes salads much more palatable. I also dress my salad in a bowl with a cover and shake it to get a more even coat without having to use too much (I do 1Tbsp for 2 big salads, and it's enough)

I also make veggie curry, chili, soups and stews, and add very finely chopped veggies to pasta sauces and bean patties.

zdyb23456

I'm not a fruit eater, but I love most vegetables.
I joined a CSA for the first time this summer and it's really "forced" me to eat a lot of vegetables
When the husband is gone (deployed), I'll eat a plate of vegetables for dinner instead of the usual meat and starch. Like grilled squash or a bowl of fresh guacamole with some tortilla chips or a plate of homemade sweet potato fries or satueed greens... I also try to cook recipes that feature vegetables - like pasta salad with lots of fresh veg. and a bit of protein. Or a hearty white bean soup with lots of celey, carrots, onions, parsley.

rainbowbow

Oh yeah, OP i forgot to mention. For me, it's all about how appetizing the food LOOKS. This is why when i get veggies/fruits i prepare them and store them in a way where i actually want to grab them and eat them.

For example, oranges i prefer segmented.


Carrots i prefer in matchsticks-


Apples i prefer thinly sliced-


cucumber i prefer sliced or matchstick with salt and pepper-


watermelon i prefer cubed-


Mangoes i like criss-cross-


strawberries i like whole without stems-



Salads i take the time to chop/slice everything i like and add it in a tupperware so i can just grab some "salad" and dress it on an as-needed basis.

I also wash/cut ALL foods necessary before it goes in the fridge!!!!! That way you can ALWAYS just grab and go.

I guess my point is... the more appetizing you make the food look the easier it is to want to grab it. It takes me about an hour when i get home from grocery shopping, but saves me countless hours stopping for junk food.

rainbow198

Very easy for me and I meet my requirements daily.

1. I have a Nutribullet smoothie everyday. I have a few different go-to recipes, but they contain fruits, veggies and greens.

2. For my first meal of the day I usually eat an apple, kiwi or orange with my smoothie.

3. I eat them as a side dish with dinner - for example a carrot/pea mix.

4. In my salads I throw all kinds of veggies in there like 1/2 of an avocado, cucumbers etc.

5. I would make a fruit salad. (Come on summer fruit season! *drooling*)

6. I eat veggies as a main dish like a veggie stir-fry.

7. I snack on them...for example I would go blueberry picking in the summer and freeze them and snack on them for a couple of months.

(Wow, my diet is completely different compared to a few years ago.)

try2again

If you eat sandwiches, pretend like you're running a subway and keep multiple veggies sliced up on hand. Make a big pot of soup that you can eat throughout the week (but watch the sodium). Make those salads you like at home using moderation with high cal/fat ingredients.

Annr

with whatever main dish I am preparing I always give it a BED of some sort of veggies. So for a pasta dish, I normally put fresh baby spinach on the plate first, drizzle with a wee bit of olive oil and then like splash it with water from my fingers, add some pepper then nuke it for 30 secs just to wilt it a minute, then put the meal over it.
Sauting some zucchini sliced and put your protein in it (chicken or steak or beans) then top it with some sprinkled parmesan cheese.

OneGoodBean

Wow! You all have some fantastic ideas. Thank you so much! Please, keep it coming. I'm hoping to find a groove soon and see what works for me, because what I have been doing hasn't worked. Bring on the fruit and veggies!

Annr

rainbowbow wrote: »

Oh yeah, OP i forgot to mention. For me, it's all about how appetizing the food LOOKS. This is why when i get veggies/fruits i prepare them and store them in a way where i actually want to grab them and eat them.

For example, oranges i prefer segmented.


Carrots i prefer in matchsticks-


Apples i prefer thinly sliced-


cucumber i prefer sliced or matchstick with salt and pepper-


watermelon i prefer cubed-


Mangoes i like criss-cross-


strawberries i like whole without stems-



Salads i take the time to chop/slice everything i like and add it in a tupperware so i can just grab some "salad" and dress it on an as-needed basis.

I also wash/cut ALL foods necessary before it goes in the fridge!!!!! That way you can ALWAYS just grab and go.

I guess my point is... the more appetizing you make the food look the easier it is to want to grab it. It takes me about an hour when i get home from grocery shopping, but saves me countless hours stopping for junk food.

wonderful pics there. I think the point of eating fruits and veggies is the choosing, the washing, the chopping, and then the eating.. It really all flows together, and when you eat it, you can appreciate all you did to make it happen. When you actually garden, it goes into another realm, and becomes ZEN-like being that you have grown it from the earth. You feel really thankful :-)

zoeysasha37

Alatariel75 wrote: »

I don't eat fruit, but I get my vegies by basically adding them to everything. My lunches are planned to have 2-3 serves - this week I have chicken noodle soup which has 6 types of veg in it. Dinners, half my plate is generally veg, I have a variety so I don't get bored.

This is pretty much what I do too

lemurcat12

thorsmom01 wrote: »

Alatariel75 wrote: »

I don't eat fruit, but I get my vegies by basically adding them to everything. My lunches are planned to have 2-3 serves - this week I have chicken noodle soup which has 6 types of veg in it. Dinners, half my plate is generally veg, I have a variety so I don't get bored.

This is pretty much what I do too

Me also, except I also usually have some fruit.

I have a vegetable omelet for breakfast with at least one serving of a green (spinach, kale, chard) and some other veggie or two. (On occasion I have oatmeal with berries and protein powder, but I'll still cook up some veggies to have on the side.) I have a salad with some kind of protein for lunch or bring leftover dinner with a full veggie serving or roast up extra veggies when cooking dinner or breakfast to supplement my lunch. Dinner is easy as I always make several servings of veggies to go along with it.