How do YOU get in your fruits and vegetables?

Nicklebee93

Does anyone do smoothies? I'm not going to lie, i've never been proper about getting in my fruits and vegetables, on a calorie restricted diet, i'm even worse about it. How do you fit them in?

jen_bush

I just try and have some with every meal... Smoothies and juices I've been told off about as they lose the fibres and become pure sugar apparently

Lovee_Dove7

I have a food scale and weigh 150g veggies for my meals. Usually a saute or stir-fry with breakfast, chopped salad with lunch, steamed veggies with dinner. That's 450g of veggies, or 1 pound. It's easy to put a serving of frozen fruit into a smoothie, or eat fruit as a snack or dessert. Dried fruit can be added to the salad or eaten with nuts.

ericatoday

I make a fruit and veggie smoothie most mornings. For lunch if i make a thing of soup ill add kale or spinach. Or today i had a tuna salad sandwich and i put kale in it. And for dinner i add extra veggies and find meals that have lots of veggies. The other day i made a chicken enchilada lasagna. With layers of corn tortillas chicken cheese kale onions olives and green onion sticks and enchilada sauce. I just try to add them here and there where i use to not.

Unknown

This content has been removed.

Sabine_Stroehm

I don't try to get fruits in. I just let those happen in a "treats" sort of way.
I do try to eat lots of vegetables/plant foods.
I sometimes do smoothies. I go through phases with those. My smoothies only ever have a handful of berries, fruit wise.

I eat salads often for lunch.

I always add a green veg to whatever is for dinner. We often have stir fry.

And generally if we go out for dinner I have a large, simple salad with protein.

Sabine_Stroehm

jen_bush wrote: »

I just try and have some with every meal... Smoothies and juices I've been told off about as they lose the fibres and become pure sugar apparently

smoothies don't lose their fiber. Fiber doesn't disappear. They are reported to increase insulin more than chewed food though. So there's that. My smoothies have nuts, seeds, protein etc, so that helps slow down the insulin response.
Juicing DOES dump a lot of the fiber.

ReaderGirl3

Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »

I don't try to get fruits in. I just let those happen in a "treats" sort of way.
I do try to eat lots of vegetables/plant foods.
I sometimes do smoothies. I go through phases with those.

I eat salads often for lunch.

I always add a green veg to whatever is for dinner. We often have stir fry.

And generally if we go out for dinner I have a large, simple salad with protein.

Similar here. I'm not a big fan of fruit so I focus on veggies and eat a lot of stir fry type meals, along big salads on a regular basis

And I also go through smoothie phases, I usually dust off my blender when the farmers market opens for the summer lol.

Gamliela

I'm used to cooking at least one veg dish for dinner and one for supper every day. Sometimes I cook two for one meal. I buy fresh veg and prepare it just before cooking. Fruit is a treat, snack or dessert food for me. I make my own salad dressing with some veg, sesame seeds, spices, olive oil or vinegar/lime lemon juice, sometimes a bit of fruit, in the blender, these dressings ar also nice on other veg dishes to brighten up the whole veg experience.

Sabine_Stroehm

ReaderGirl3 wrote: »

Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »

I don't try to get fruits in. I just let those happen in a "treats" sort of way.
I do try to eat lots of vegetables/plant foods.
I sometimes do smoothies. I go through phases with those.

I eat salads often for lunch.

I always add a green veg to whatever is for dinner. We often have stir fry.

And generally if we go out for dinner I have a large, simple salad with protein.

Similar here. I'm not a big fan of fruit so I focus on veggies and eat a lot of stir fry type meals, along big salads on a regular basis

And I also go through smoothie phases, I usually dust off my blender when the farmers market opens for the summer lol.

Exactly!

kommodevaran

I eat three different fruits each day, one for each meal besides dinner. Either one whole fruit if apple, pear or orange, or two if plums, tangerines or loquats, or I portion out for several days if melon, pineapple or grapes. Certain fruits are wonderful paired with nut butter: Green apple/orange+peanut butter, and pear+cashew/almond butter. Grapes, tangerines and some pear varieties are even better coupled with certain cheeses.

I eat vegetables with every meal. Raw vegetables for each meal besides dinner - chopped up carrots, cucumber, rutabaga, beets, broccoli, cauliflower, or salad - portioned out as close to 80 grams as possible. For dinner: salad (rarely), or heated ("steamed") peas or green beans, boiled (artichokes, asparagus), or baked (parsnips, brussel sprouts), as a side, or mixed in a casserole or chunky soup - lots of onion, garlic, canned tomatoes, celery, mushrooms, squash, peppers, or blended in soup - cauliflower, mushroom, butternut squash, carrot (w/coconut milk, chili and lime), pepper/tomato, spinach, pea soup. I also eat potatoes, sweet potatoes and corn often.

I make smoothies sometimes - milk, banana + blueberries, strawberries or lime, or peanut butter/cocoa.

For me, this is an easy way to get in plenty of fruit and veg. They are also quite calorie friendly, so they are ideal for weight management.

nixxthirteen

Fruit with breakfast every morning, sometimes a salad for lunch (with chicken or shrimp) or a wrap with spinach and tomato on it, a baggie of baby carrots mixed with apple slices as a snack, and ALWAYS veggies with dinner.

My go-to's are spring mix salad full of chopped veggies, steamed broccoli with lemon juice, baked asparagus, steamed baby bok choy, baked green beans, baked brussels sprouts, stir fry with zucchini and eggplant and peppers and carrots...

Couldn't imagine cooking without tons of vegetables!

mjwarbeck

I just eat them. We always have fruits in the house...always make vegetables for once and dinner...so many to choose from!

fishshark

i love all veggies besides mushrooms and okra(unless fried) and all fruit excep durian.

MelodyandBarbells

One pound of veg per day holy shiznit this is the major leagues...

Sabine_Stroehm

kommodevaran wrote: »

I eat three different fruits each day, one for each meal besides dinner. Either one whole fruit if apple, pear or orange, or two if plums, tangerines or loquats, or I portion out for several days if melon, pineapple or grapes. Certain fruits are wonderful paired with nut butter: Green apple/orange+peanut butter, and pear+cashew/almond butter. Grapes, tangerines and some pear varieties are even better coupled with certain cheeses.

I eat vegetables with every meal. Raw vegetables for each meal besides dinner - chopped up carrots, cucumber, rutabaga, beets, broccoli, cauliflower, or salad - portioned out as close to 80 grams as possible. For dinner: salad (rarely), or heated ("steamed") peas or green beans, boiled (artichokes, asparagus), or baked (parsnips, brussel sprouts), as a side, or mixed in a casserole or chunky soup - lots of onion, garlic, canned tomatoes, celery, mushrooms, squash, peppers, or blended in soup - cauliflower, mushroom, butternut squash, carrot (w/coconut milk, chili and lime), pepper/tomato, spinach, pea soup. I also eat potatoes, sweet potatoes and corn often.

I make smoothies sometimes - milk, banana + blueberries, strawberries or lime, or peanut butter/cocoa.

For me, this is an easy way to get in plenty of fruit and veg. They are also quite calorie friendly, so they are ideal for weight management.

Are you a vegetarian or vegan?

Sabine_Stroehm

Gamliela wrote: »

I'm used to cooking at least one veg dish for dinner and one for supper every day. Sometimes I cook two for one meal. I buy fresh veg and prepare it just before cooking. Fruit is a treat, snack or dessert food for me. I make my own salad dressing with some veg, sesame seeds, spices, olive oil or vinegar/lime lemon juice, sometimes a bit of fruit, in the blender, these dressings ar also nice on other veg dishes to brighten up the whole veg experience.

Remember the days of "meat and two veg"? This!

Francl27

Veggies is harder for me these days because I'm just sick of frozen veggies. I'd roast pretty much anything though, but sometimes I'm too tired to chop the veggies and I'm waiting for prices to get better on fresh veggies anyway... but when they are cheap, I roast them a lot. I have a ton of bookmarked recipes for side dishes though that I should try to make too...

But I love apples and have a Pink Lady pretty much every day and I'll have some berries/pear/pineapple with my cottage cheese.

Sabine_Stroehm

Francl27 wrote: »

Veggies is harder for me these days because I'm just sick of frozen veggies. I'd roast pretty much anything though, but sometimes I'm too tired to chop the veggies and I'm waiting for prices to get better on fresh veggies anyway... but when they are cheap, I roast them a lot. I have a ton of bookmarked recipes for side dishes though that I should try to make too...

But I love apples and have a Pink Lady pretty much every day and I'll have some berries/pear/pineapple with my cottage cheese.

I'm stoked for summer fresh vegetables!

sunnybeaches105

Salads, raw snacks, and steamed. I also like creamed spinach and stews.

And, I'm sorry, but there is a part of me that is baffled by the number vegetable questions on MFP.

srecupid

I just have some fruit for a snack a couple times a day and try to have a serving of veggies with a form of meat at luch and dinner. Honestly not that hard. I try to find ways to spice them up like i dipped my bruseel sprouts in habanero sauce the other day.

MelodyandBarbells

sunnybeaches105 wrote: »

Salads, raw snacks, and steamed. I also like creamed spinach and stews.

And, I'm sorry, but there is a part of me that is baffled by the number vegetable questions on MFP.

Rather talk about vegetables than cleanses

kommodevaran

Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »

kommodevaran wrote: »

I eat three different fruits each day, one for each meal besides dinner. Either one whole fruit if apple, pear or orange, or two if plums, tangerines or loquats, or I portion out for several days if melon, pineapple or grapes. Certain fruits are wonderful paired with nut butter: Green apple/orange+peanut butter, and pear+cashew/almond butter. Grapes, tangerines and some pear varieties are even better coupled with certain cheeses.

I eat vegetables with every meal. Raw vegetables for each meal besides dinner - chopped up carrots, cucumber, rutabaga, beets, broccoli, cauliflower, or salad - portioned out as close to 80 grams as possible. For dinner: salad (rarely), or heated ("steamed") peas or green beans, boiled (artichokes, asparagus), or baked (parsnips, brussel sprouts), as a side, or mixed in a casserole or chunky soup - lots of onion, garlic, canned tomatoes, celery, mushrooms, squash, peppers, or blended in soup - cauliflower, mushroom, butternut squash, carrot (w/coconut milk, chili and lime), pepper/tomato, spinach, pea soup. I also eat potatoes, sweet potatoes and corn often.

I make smoothies sometimes - milk, banana + blueberries, strawberries or lime, or peanut butter/cocoa.

For me, this is an easy way to get in plenty of fruit and veg. They are also quite calorie friendly, so they are ideal for weight management.

Are you a vegetarian or vegan?

No! Lol, I admit it could sound like that, but it wasn't intentionally, I just mentioned the fruit and vegetables I eat, not the rest. Vegetables have just gradually become just as important as meat in my diet, but I have at least two meat based and one fish based dinner every week, and occasionally on other days. I also use meat/fish/cheese based sandwich spreads and have meat/fish/seafood/cheese in salads.

ETA: I also noticed I forgot to mention beans - I eat beans from time to time, but not anywhere near "vegetarian" amounts.

casnowns

I do a massive stir fry. Usually at dinner when I don't have a lot of calories left for the day. I love veggies. I usually drown in pepper and sprinkle tumeric on it all while it cooks as well. Veggies are great because you get to eat a lot of them without breaking the caloric budget. Learn to love em. Find your favorites! Fruits are treats. I usually stick with berries since they're low calorie. Bananas and apples I love too though. Kiwi has be on a go to.

feisty_bucket

Eating mostly the same stuff every day, which makes it much easier.

I eat an apple and orange when I get up, along with other stuff. Later on, my main meal includes four servings of various veggies in a bowl with olive oil and sauces & seasonings and meat, and a cup of vegetable juice. So that's seven servings a day.

Machka9

Banana in the morning.
150 grams of steamed veggies at lunch.
Apple in the afternoon.
Raw cucumber + raw carrot or radishes or cabbage or something after work.
200 grams of steamed veggies at dinner.
And sometimes fruit in the evening.

Lounmoun

I can't drink my calories. It doesn't satisfy me.
I really do like vegetables but I have to make an effort to include them.
I plan meals that include vegetables as an ingredient- like soup- or vegetable side dishes.
I have a salad with my meal.
I eat vegetables or fruits for snacks.

cwolfman13

n1cholee93 wrote: »

Does anyone do smoothies? I'm not going to lie, i've never been proper about getting in my fruits and vegetables, on a calorie restricted diet, i'm even worse about it. How do you fit them in?

I eat them with every meal. For example, a typical breakfast for me would be a 4 egg white omelet with spinach and I usually top that with 1/2 cup of Kimchi and a bowl of oats or some beans. Lunch is typically some kind of protein with 1 cup of either brown rice or quinoa and 4-6 ounces of vegetables...I often do broccoli because it's easy to steam in the microwave, but I often have veggies leftover from the previous evening too. I generally have an apple every day for a snack and usually some Greek yogurt with frozen blueberries as well. Dinner is typically some kind of lean protein with a double serving of vegetables (usually a mixed variety) that take up about half my plate.

The only time I really do a smoothie is for recovery after a particularly long ride. They are great for recovery because by breaking down the food with your blender, you are requiring your body to do less work and thus the smoothie is going to hit my system faster and I'm going to absorb more of that energy than I otherwise would have had I eaten the ingredients instead.

lithezebra

I eat roasted cauliflower and add other veggies to it. It's fantastic with everything I've tried: peas, carrots, mushrooms, peppers. My latest is cauliflower fried rice, with no rice, only a big serving of cauliflower, peas, carrots, onion, and a little bacon.

Brussels sprouts are another thing I like roasted. I add radicchio. I hate most green salads, but I love small salads made with arugula or sunflower sprouts.

Sometimes I eat a half an avocado all by itself to help get my fiber in.

I don't like smoothies, but I made a mango lassi a few days ago.

PamelaW41

I eat a lot of salad, sometimes I put fruit in it. I put blueberries in my smoothies. I'll admit I don't eat enough fruit, the longer I'm off sugar the less I want fruit. I try to eat a tart apple with peanut butter for a snack, I do like that.

MelodyandBarbells

This thread inspired me to do a kale smoothie. To motivate myself to finish it up, if I got done with it I'd get to have a snack from the nut and candy jar

75g kale, 57g Apple, 62g banana (was going bad and might have been thrown out), pumpkin pie spice, sweetener, milk, water

Let's just say if I keep this up I just might ween myself off the treats.