12 Ways to Eat More Fruits & Veggies

Created by: Kristen Carli, Dietetic Intern

We all know that it’s smart to eat more fruits and vegetables. After all, there are many health benefits for doing so. But, actually doing it isn’t always so easy. Let’s take a look at some tips for including more nutritious fruits and veggies in your daily meals.

Here’s how to eat more fruits & veggies in your diet:

1. Grill veggie kabobs. Use mushrooms, red onion, bell peppers, eggplant, and zucchini.
2. Pack in several servings of fruit in a smoothie. Blend bananas, berries, melons, spinach and 100% fruit juice. 
3. Keep cut up snacking veggies on hand. Try bell pepper, cucumber, carrot, cauliflower, broccoli, or snap peas.
4. Sneak in veggies anywhere you can. Add grated veggies to lasagna, mashed potatoes, pasta sauce, or rice.
5. Try dipping crunchy veggies instead of chips into guacamole, salsa, or your favorite salad dressing.
6. Snack on a veggie wrap with roasted vegetables, hummus, and low-fat cheese in a whole wheat tortilla. 
7. Puree fruits into sauces to be poured on top of pancakes, French toast, or waffles. Try peaches, blueberries, apples or pears!
8. Eat fruit as dessert. Blend frozen bananas into “nice” cream or top berries with whip cream and nuts.
9. Add veggie toppings to pizza such as tomatoes, broccoli, mushrooms and bell peppers.
10. Top a baked potato with corn, pinto beans, diced tomatoes, and chopped scallions.
11. Fruit can be grilled too! Grill fruit kabobs with pineapple and peaches on low heat until golden brown.
12. Get creative! Load sandwiches up with cucumber, tomato, peppers, apples, carrots, radishes, etc. 

Material adapted from eatright.org