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A Better You

Seven Sneaky Ways to Eat More Fruits and Vegetables

By Sandra Gordon

Kids aren’t the only ones who need to eat more fruits and veggies. Most adults need help consuming the recommended five to nine servings every day. In fact, only 25 percent of American adults eat vegetables at least three times a day. Only one-third of us eat at least two daily servings of fruit, according to the Center for Disease Control (CDC). As part of an overall healthy diet, fruits and vegetables help fight chronic diseases like cancer, heart disease and type 2 diabetes, keep you energized and aid in weight management. Here are seven simple ways to work more produce into your diet.

1. Drink tea instead of soda. Here’s the logic: Green and black tea are made from tea leaves and “because tea comes from plant leaves it is in essence a vegetable extract,” says John H. Weisburger, a medical researcher at the American Health Foundation in Valhalla, New York. According to Weisburger, three to five cups of black or green tea is equivalent to one to two servings of vegetables. The nutritional benefit? Green and black teas contain polyphenols, powerful antioxidants that research shows may help reduce your risk of heart disease and certain cancers. If caffeine is a worry (a 6-ounce cup of tea has about 35 mg of caffeine), switch to decaf. Sorry, herbal tea lovers, your favorite brew may not offer the same benefits. Herbal teas contain herbs, flowers, bark, roots and spices, not leaves from the actual tea plant.
2. Eat bigger meals. Layer sandwiches with spinach and watercress. Order your veggie burger (OK, regular burger, if you must) with extra lettuce, tomato and onion. Roll bean sprouts, shredded cabbage and slices of red or green pepper into tortillas or flat bread. Heap salsa onto low-fat tortilla chips. Toss petite peas, tomatoes, onions, celery, carrots and peppers into a salad. Smuggle mushrooms, peppers, zucchini, onions and carrots into pasta sauce, meat loaf, soup, stew and chili. Likewise, top off your morning cereal or yogurt with fruit and add it to homemade breads, cakes and cookies, salads and sauces. The stealth health tactic works with kids, too. A recent Penn State study showed that when vegetables are added to dishes (the researchers incorporated blended broccoli and cauliflower into pasta sauce) the kids ate more of them and consumed fewer calories because the pasta meal became less calorically dense. Best of all, the kids couldn’t discern the difference. But you’ll still want to help young ones acquire a taste for vegetables by serving them regularly (not blended) and eating them with your kids, the researchers caution, because they’ll model their eating habits after you.
3. Start your day with a double. Have 12 ounces of orange, carrot or other juice at breakfast and you’ve nailed two servings before you even walk out the door. Want to get serious? Use a juicer and squeeze your own. Variety maximizes the kinds of disease-fighting nutrients you have on board, so make sure you change the kinds of juice you drink frequently or purchase blended fruit or vegetable juice.
4. Reorganize your refrigerator. Move sealed bags of baby carrots, precut red and green pepper strips and broccoli florets to the top shelf instead of hiding them in the lower crisper bin. Slide a container of hummus or nonfat salad dressing next to them. They’ll draw your eye when you open the refrigerator door. In fact, research shows that the mere sight of food can stimulate your appetite, which works in your favor when you’ve got healthy options in sight. (Another tip: Wrap leftover cake, cookies and other tempting treats in foil, not plastic wrap.)
5. Become a weekend kitchen warrior. To eat more fruits and vegetables, you have to be proactive. “It’s not going to happen by accident,” says Katherine Tallmadge, spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association, based in Washington, D.C. She suggests using your weekends to plan menus, hoop batch-cook and prep healthy meals and snacks for the work week. One weekend, for example, Tallmadge bought four quarts of in-season strawberries that she washed, destemmed and bagged so she’d have a week’s worth of easy snacks on hand. Now that’s planning ahead. Also, prepare for the last minute by stocking your freezer with quick-fix meals like light hot dogs, bags of stir-fry chicken and veggies and pasta sauce, which only require a side salad or a handful of baby carrots to become a complete meal. You’re on the right track if you at least have an idea what you’re going to have for lunch and dinner before leaving the house in the morning. “You can’t make last-minute decisions and think you’re going to eat well,” Tallmadge says.
6. Order Chinese food. Skip the deep-fried fare like General Tso’s chicken. Instead, head for the vegetarian section of the menu and eat the way the Chinese really do. (In rural regions of China, the average adult takes in nearly a pound of produce every day.) Look for entrees made with cabbage, bok choy, spinach and broccoli, which are all packed with the disease-fighting antioxidant vitamins A and C as well as fiber and phytochemicals. If you want meat, get your chicken or beef mixed with snow peas, green and red peppers, string beans or zucchini.
7. Get in touch with your inner Betty Crocker. When you’re in a baking mood, reach for vegetable-packed pumpkin, zucchini and sweet potato breads and berry pies as well as corny mini-muffins (corn bread with actual kernels mixed in). Or try carrot cake, chocolate zucchini cake, pumpkin cheesecake and even green tomato pie. Also, experiment with more exotic options, such as papayas, mangos, raspberries, blueberries, melons, cranberries, strawberries and fresh pineapple. Not up for the joy of cooking? Seek out fruit and vegetable delights at bakeries, delis and farm stands.

SANDRA GORDON is a frequent contributor to many national magazines, including Ladies’ Home Journal, Prevention, Parents, American Baby, Fitness and Child. She’s also the author of Consumer Reports Best Baby Products (Consumers Union, 2007). She lives in Connecticut.