Get your veggies in!

Nutrition can be confusing.  Everyone has a baseline status which makes studying nutrition challenging. If you have a point to make, a study can be created in a way to make a point.  This is why we see headlines every other week about the benefits and the harms of coffee and the benefits and harms of red meat.  

One thing that appears to be clear across ALL of the research however is that colourful fruits and vegetables are good for you. They contain many vitamins, phytonutrients and antioxidants which help to bring down inflammation and support your body's function; as well as beneficial fiber to keep bowels moving and support cardiovascular health. 

When life is busy; fruits and vegetables are often the things that get cut out first.  If you're hungry and running out the door, it’s easy to grab a peanut butter toast, it’s harder to pull that pepper out of the fridge and wash and chop it; plus it won’t actually fill you up.  So let's talk about how to make it easier to get fruits and vegetables in…. 

When trying to incorporate new habits, we want to make it super simple.

You might consider buying a fruit or vegetable tray that's already prepared and ready to go in your fridge which makes it easier to grab those options on a busy day.  

I am also a huge fan of boxed salad greens that are washed and ready to go.  

You can often add a couple of handfuls into leftovers or make a quick side salad.  

My favourite lunch is a leftovers salad - a couple of handfuls of arugula on a plate with heated leftovers dumped on top.  Broccoli slaw or kale slaw are another great option to beef up the vegetable intake.  That's my go-to to add to a chili or soup because there's no chopping and very minimal cooking required. 

Frozen fruits and vegetables are great options too.  They are often less expensive, take less prep, and they don't go bad, so even when it's been awhile since you've grocery shopped you have options at home.  In my household we often rinse frozen blueberries in warm water and add to yogurt for breakfast, blend mixed garden vegetables into tomato sauce for pasta, use diced vegetable mix as a base for chicken noodle soup, and use frozen squash for blended squash soup.  Frozen fruit and vegetables are flash frozen so their nutritional value is great, and the prep time is so much less!

Planning is another key component. If you have a plan, you're often thinking about the vegetable to go with your meal. If you don't have a plan, you're thinking about how to fill yourself up quickly.  Filling yourself up is of course the most important thing, but if we can add fruits and vegetables to that, that is even more ideal.

Please don't let your quest for organic be what stops you from eating fruits and vegetables. While we know organic produce is great; it's more important that you're eating lots of produce than that you choose organic.

Lastly, fruit is awesome, even if you have blood sugar concerns. Pair it with protein for more blood sugar balance, and choose more berries, but there is no need to avoid fruit!