5-a-day

I am vegan. So, my entire diet is plant-based, that's how. ;-) Okay. Okay. That's too simplistic. I could drink Coke and eat nothing but Doritos 'Sweet Chili Heat' tortilla chips and still be vegan.

For the 5, I often drink a half glass of acai juice mixed wth beet juice in the morning, with a piece of whole fruit, such as a banana or an apple. A snack might be a glass of tomato juice with 4-10 nuts (depending on the type), or some crudite (plus some nuts), or a bowl of baby spinach with wee bit of balsamic glaze, or a cup of edamame, or a small bowl of vegetable broth with green onion, fennel, nd bok choy. Dinner might be a vegetable rice or pasta dish, or may include a large salad.

I've always preferred my vegetables raw, even when I was a child. So I like to snack on them. I'm one of those weirdos who can just eat a mouthful or two of lettuce right off the head.

I try to have a fruit or veg with every meal, sometimes two servings. Snacks I try for it, too. I try to plan the veggies first and work my meal around those, since veggies are more difficult for me than fruits. Right now frozen veggies are my friends, I add steamed veggies to everything--pasta, Lean Cuisines, etc. I use Laughing Cow cheese to change things up a bit, it can make veggies seem "creamed". Yum!

I do, in fact I often get more than that. But it's not always 5 different veggies. Many days I have 2 servings of the same veggie for dinner.

A serving is only 1/2 cup of vegetables or fruit (1 cup of leafy greens). A big apple or a banana can be more than 1 serviing. If I'm having greens like kale or collard greens I'll often eat 2 - 2.5 cups at one meal.