Getting 8 or more fruits/veggies? Tell me more...

I generally eat two to three servings at lunch and then another two to three servings the rest of the day. I don't really have any specific fruits or vegetables that I try to eat each day, I just get a bunch of produce each week and eat it throughout the week. Sometimes I have carrots and berries for lunch, then a banana in between lunch/dinner, then after dinner at night maybe an orange or a salad, etc.

I eat on average 6 meals a day, and I have at least one portion of fruit or veggies with every meal, for breakfast and lunch I usually go for avocado or fruit on toast or whatever fruit I have in the house with oatmeal. Snacking is fruit and nuts. And dinner is whatever veggies I have in the house (and I'm slowly expanding what I will eat, but peppers and lettuce is still out of the question).

Fruit at breakfast (1 serve)
Salad for lunch (2-3 serves)
Vegies with dinner (2-3 serves)

Fruit and/or vegies as snacks during the day (1-2 serves)

All I eat are fruit, vegetables, beans, grains and nuts. For me, its easy.
At dinner, I reckon I probably ate about 10 different vegetables

I have targeted 5 a day for years, and am working to increase that. What kind of mix do you eat. More fruits? more veggies? equal split? double servings at a time? what does your day look like in terms of when and what you eat to get them all in?

I eat a mostly whole foods, plant based diet and I try to make veggies the foundation of my day (doesn't always happen, but it's what I work towards). Yesterday was a good day for the veggies and fruit-I ate

1 large sweet potato (with cinnamon/sugar sprinkled on top-pure awesomeness :bigsmile: )
1 large, dinner plate sized salad with lettuce, a whole roma tomato, mushrooms, green bell pepper, mild pepper rings, and then black olives, croutons and regular ranch dressing

supper was a large, canning jar sized green smoothie with kale, spinach, strawberries, blueberries, two small bananas and then flax seed, chia seed and water; small plate of olives and almonds.

Green smoothies are great for getting in veggies and fruit, especially the leafy greens that are so good for you! I try to have one every other day or so and they're filling enough to be the main part of a meal

I haven't fully planned out today yet, but I am going to have a vegetarian 'taco' salad for lunch-dinner plate sized again with lettuce, tomato, onion, black olives, flax seed, warmed up refried beans and then a couple splashes of hot sauce. I'll also probably have some 'sauteed' red bell pepper with onion and mushrooms for a snack later (I make this in a frying pan with some water and spices).

You should eat more veggies than fruit, but any extra fiber is great. This is my recommendation fro fruit and veggies daily:
Fruit: 3-5 (include berries)
Vegetables: 5-7 (include dark leafy greens)

When you pick out fruits and veggies make sure you pick a variety of things because the different colors of the fruit or veggies provide a variety of different nutrients. My rule of thumb is to buy the entire rainbow. Here is a list of the top super foods:
Beans Pumpkin
Blueberries (really all berries) Spinach (all greens)
Broccoli Tomato
Oranges (citrus fruit) Carrots (love baby carrots)

You should try spinach because its hands down a super food and easy to fit into your meals. I put it in with my eggs, sandwiches, wraps, lasagna, pizzas, salads, smoothies, soups, sauces, or I just eat it plain.

What I tend to eat in one day is:
2 eggs scramble (1 cup of chopped onion, 1 cup raw spinach), orange or berries, bagel thin w/ coffee
sandwich (black forest ham, tomato, onion, spinach, laughing cow spreadable cheese wedge), baby carrots, kashi bar
chobani nonfat yogurt
varies ( usually 6-8oz of lean protein, 1.5-2 cups of veggies, fruit for dessert some times)

I probably eat more fruit throughout than vegetables. I've been doing a lot of green smoothies lately, but the only vegetable in those are the greens. Spinach, kale, lettuce, herbs. Besides that they are fruit.

Other ways we have of getting in veggies are to either julienne them and mixing with pasta or stirfries, or to grate, drain, and sautee for a few minutes with a bit of olive oil. This grated mix of veggies can be added to just about anything. Pasta, lasagna, taco meat, rice, soup whatever. I don't know if your family is picky. Mine is about whole veggies, but if they are grated or mixed in with other things they don't care. We all love zucchini 'pasta' around here too .;)

At least once or twice a week we have an assemble your own sandwich night. Whole grain tortillas with an assortment of veggies: matchstick carrots, bell peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, spinach, etc with some sort of protein and usually some sort of cheese.

Another word on zucchini pasta. It doesn't have to just be zucchini. We regularly julienne squash, peppers, and/or carrots to add in there. I make it about a ratio of 3/4 veggies to 1/4 real pasta. It makes for a beautifully colored dish. It can be Italian with marina or pesto sauce, Indian with a curry sauce, Asian with bits off egg and soy sauce, Thai with a mixture or cilantro, mint, and basil, or that same Thai mixture with peanut butter added, etc.

And of course we eat a side salad most nights.

I find the biggest thing is to be in the habit of making veggies the main component of your dish. That means I spend much less time on the 'main' portion of the meal. I'll cook a chicken or roast in the oven or crockpot and rotate that for a few meals. I cook batches of dried beans and portion them out.

I don't eat that much because I'd never meet my protein goals!