Well here we are, March 31st. The last day of National Nutrition Month 😦 It’s been real fun. The last topic we must cover today is the most important of all. Last the best of all the game right?

FRUITS & VEGETABLES

The message here is really getting more. There is no limit to how many fruits and vegetables we can have each day. Having too much of a good thing… does not apply here. So eat up!

The message here is short and sweet. As much as we want to eat more fruits and veggies each day, it doesn’t always happen. So the best thing I can do is provide fun recipes. Check under recipes for some awesome ideas for getting more vegetables each day (compliments of USU Viva Vegetables Recipes) . Some tips for purchasing and consuming fruits & veggies:

• Luckily it’s spring time which means a good 6 months of fresh harvest is here! During the summer and early fall shop Farmer’s Markets for local, farm fresh, fruits and veggies for a great price! I love this market!
• During the produce “off” season don’t be afraid to buy frozen or even canned veggies and fruits. You will save yourself some good money. And the good news is the produce found in your frozen selection was picked at the peak ripeness and frozen so all the nutrients are retained. Frozen produce doesn’t usually have added sugars or preservatives, so it’s as close as you can get to the fresh stuff, so no excuses people! When buying canned veggies and fruits look for brands with low- sodium or that aren’t packed in syrups.
• Try to make half your daily selection dark green leafys. Kale, spinach, romaine, chard, collard greens, etc. Sorry iceberg doesn’t count. It takes work to eat these guys sometimes, so consider a green smoothie! I can’t push these enough. Trust me, it feels great to have all your daily greens down in one swig!
• When you buy produce like carrots, snap peas, celery, broccoli, tomatoes, or other veggies you like to snack on raw, come straight home and wash, cut, and portion into snack bags to have on hand so it is easy to grab them when you get the munchies!
• When it comes to shopping organic, check out the Environmental Workers Group’s dirty dozen. This is a list of the 12 “dirtiest” (aka most heavily coated in pesticides) produce items. These are foods I would recommend getting organically. I would recommend checking out that webpage more. There’s great info and things to think about…
• Last tip, check out some recipes! Happy eating!