How to Eat More Fruits and Vegetables

It's a good idea to add more fruits and vegetables to your diet to get a variety of health benefits, including weight loss. Whether you're cooking at home or eating out, try these easy ways to include colorful, nutritious, and delicious vegetables and fruits in your snacks and meals (including breakfast).

How to Eat More Fruits and Vegetables

Which fruits and vegetables are better?

That's easy: they're all good! If you eat a lot of different types of fruits and vegetables, you are sure to get all the different types of nutrients you need. The American Heart Association recommends filling at least half of your plate with fruits and vegetables to reach the recommended amount of 4 cups each day. The good news is that all produce matters, which means canned, fresh, and frozen varieties can help you reach your goal.

When shopping for canned, dried, or frozen vegetables and fruits, be sure to compare food labels and choose the items with the least amount of sodium and added sugars.

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Breakfast

Eat watermelon, grapefruit, or any other fruit.

Add bananas, raisins, or berries to your breakfast cereal.

Drink a small glass (6 ounces) of juice. Make sure it's 100% fruit or vegetable juice that's free of sodium or extra sugar, and not a "fruit drink," "cocktail," or "punch."

Add chopped vegetables to eggs or potatoes. Try onions, celery, green or red peppers, or spinach.

Lunch

Have a fruit or vegetable salad for lunch.

Put vegetables on the sandwich, such as cucumber, cabbage, tomato, lettuce, or avocado.

Eat a bowl of vegetable soup. (Compare food labels and choose the item with the lowest sodium you can find at your store, or make soup from scratch.)

Eat a piece of raw fruit or vegetable instead of potato chips.

Appetizers

Keep sticks of raw vegetables on hand, such as green or red peppers, green beans, celery, or carrots.

Carry dried fruit, such as raisins, dates, or dried apricots, in your purse or pocket.

Eat any type of fresh fruit: grapes, apples, bananas, oranges, kiwis, etc.

On hot days, eat a plate of frozen fruit or vegetables, such as grapes, peas, or bananas.

Dinner

Have a fruit or vegetable salad with dinner.

Add a side of steamed or microwaved vegetables—frozen vegetables are OK!

When using the oven to cook your food, add a whole potato, sweet potato or yam at the same time.

Add chopped vegetables such as onions, garlic, and celery when cooking soups, stews, beans, rice, spaghetti sauce, and other sauces.

When making rice, add some frozen peas for the last three minutes of cooking.

Take The Next Step

If you already eat a lot of fruits and vegetables every day, you may be ready for the next step: adding more color. All fruits and vegetables contain vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients that can help prevent heart disease, cancer, and other diseases. Some of these nutrients are fibre, potassium, folic acid, and vitamins A and C. The best way to get all the nutrients is to eat fruits and vegetables in different colors. The five main color groups and examples of each group are listed in the Eat More Color infographic. Eat as many color combinations as possible each day.

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