Welcome to week 8 of the Pilot Fitness Revolution! You are now two months into making healthy lifestyle changes and we hope feeling better each week! This week we challenge you to add just one more serving of vegetables and fruit to your daily intake. That is just 1/2 cup of added veggies and 1/2 cup of fruit: No, potatoes do not count as a veggie! If you want to add two servings of veggies instead of one of each, we completely support that as well. We will even provide easy ways to sneak it in below!
Did you know that the average American only gets a measly 3 servings of fruits and vegetables a day! And that is being generous: check out the videos below to learn more. Do you know what the new recommendations are? The CDC recommends at least 9+ servings every day for the average person eating the recommended 2,000 calories/day. Now, if you have been following us for any length of time you will know we are partial to the + side of the equation and for good reason! Vegetables and fruits are full of nutrients feeding the body and calming cravings (check out our Blog post: The Diet Health Connection to learn more about calming cravings by fueling with nutrient dense foods as opposed to calories dense foods). They are high in fiber, antioxidants and water all supporting health, weight loss and feelings of satisfaction.
[button style=”btn-success” url=”http://nutritionfacts.org/video/nine-servings-a-day-minimum/” size=”” block=”false” target=”_self”] Nine servings a day minimum [/button][button style=”btn-success” url=”http://nutritionfacts.org/video/minimum-recommended-daily-allowance-of-antioxidants/” size=”” block=”false” target=”_self”] Minimum “Recommended Daily Allowance” of Antioxidants [/button]
[button style=”btn-success” url=”http://nutritionfacts.org/video/how-to-reach-the-antioxidant-rda/” size=”” block=”false” target=”_self”] How to Reach the Antioxidant “RDA” [/button]
Some of you might be wondering what a serving of vegetables and fruit really is:
Vegetables: Raw, cooked, frozen or dried/dehydrated count: If you are eating out, think of a serving of vegetables as about the size of your fist
- 1/2 cup raw chopped vegetables
- 1-2 cups uncooked leafy greens, 1/2 cup cooked
Fruit: Raw, cooked, frozen or dried/dehydrated count: If you are eating out, think of a serving of vegetables as about the size of a baseball
- 1 medium piece of fruit
- 1/2 cup raw chopped/sliced fruit
- 1/4 cup dried fruit
As you can see, one “serving” is not a lot of food. You can easily get in more than one serving at a time and still be wanting more. So, now that you are armed with knowledge you have the power to make a difference in your life. Simple and easy steps in the right direction can have a profound difference on you health and vitality. Follow our helpful tips below to add more veggies and fruit into your diet!
Breakfast:
- Morning shake: Add in – 1 Vegetable & 1 -2 fruits: A handful of spinach or two + leaves of kale will go unnoticed in taste. 1/2 cup – 1 Cup frozen or fresh berries.
- Breakfast wrap or sandwich: Add in 1 -2 Vegetables & 1 Fruit:
- Dry sauté 1/2 cup onion, bell pepper, mushroom or any other vegetable with 1 or 2 cups of greens (spinach, kale, collards etc) and mix in with your scramble to make a delicious wrap.
- Add 1/2 – 1 cup sliced raw vegetables: Bell pepper, onion, sprouts, spinach into a wrap or layered onto a sandwich for breakfast along with some avocado and anything else you like for a healthy on the go meal!
- Mix into your morning scramble. Check out our tofu scramble here that has a few handfuls (1-2 cups) of spinach…It cooks down quickly.
- Start the day off with a micro juice full of greens and vegetables and 1/2 – 1 piece of fruit.
- Have a piece of fruit on the side of any of the above breakfast meals (other than the shake, which includes your fruit) to top off your breakfast!
Snacks:
- 1/2 cup – 1 cup Sliced veggies (carrots, bell peppers, celery, jicama, cauliflower) with hummus, salsa or guacamole
- 1 medium piece of Fruit with almond butter we like apples and pears
- 1/2 cup – 1 cup Fruit salad
- Ants on a log – 1/2 cup celery filled with almond butter and raisins
- 1/2 – 1 cup edamame
- Any kind of melon sliced
- Try out
Lunch/Dinner:
- 1 – 2 servings of vegetables/greens: Heat up some chopped garlic on a skillet until warm and slightly brown. Then add in 2 cups of greens of your liking such as kale, swiss chard, spinach, collard greens, dandelion greens (these are a little bitter) or any other deep green you like. Heat for two – five minutes until tender and serve as a side with the rest of your meal.
- 2-3 servings of vegetables and fruit: Have a salad full of a variety of vegetables and some fruit before any meal
- 1/2 serving: Add extra vegetables and greens on your wrap or sandwich.
- 2-6 servings vegetables: Make any of our Pilot Fitness Lunch/Dinner Recipes!
- 1-2 servings: Add frozen greens &/Or veggie pack to steamer portion of your rice cooker. We do this with our quinoa/grains all the time. When the grain is cooked, the greens are warm and ready to be mixed into the grains.
- 2-6 Servings: make soups out of a variety of vegetables and mix greens into the soup at the end; fresh or even canned or dehydrated soups work too.
- 1/2 – 2 servings: Blanch collard greens (or cabbage) and make wraps with the greens themselves. Fill with dry sautéed vegetables, legumes and avocado for a a filling and satisfying meal! To blanch: Bring a pot of water to boil and dunk the collard for about 10 seconds until tender. Remove and use as your wrap in place of a tortilla. You can do the same with kale or swiss chard leaves but these do not need to be blanched. Check out our Rainbow Fiesta Taco’s…they are to die for!
- 1 – 2 serving: Have berries as desert
- 1 Serving: Grill or bake your favorite fruit for dessert. Good choices are: peaches, pears and apples. Strawberries on a skewer grilled taste like pie without all the bad stuff. Watermelon and Pineapple are tasty too.
As you can see the possibilities are endless and easy to incorporate so get creative, eat up and enjoy! Let us know your favorite way to incorporate more veggies and fruits!
Image by Salor