Fun with Fruits and Veggies

Eat Your Peas! And your apples, bananas, carrots…

Kids AND adults need to eat more fruits and veggies! Did you know that only 1 in 4 Americans consume the recommended minimum amount of fruit and vegetables a body needs to stay healthy?

Kids and adults alike should eat 5 to 9 servings A DAY of fruits and vegetables for optimum health and protection against such chronic diseases as high blood pressure, Type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke and some types of cancers.

How do you get more veggies and fruit into your day? Well, the more color there is the better!

Here are some suggestions to get more fruits and vegetables into your daily diet:

  • Top your favorite cereal with a banana, strawberries or blueberries.
  • Keep a bowl of fresh fruit on the kitchen counter so everyone can grab a quick healthy snack.
  • Cut up green peppers and tomatoes to add to your scrambled eggs in the morning or add cheese and create a western omelet.
  • Top your baked potato with broccoli, tomatoes, spinach, or other vegetables.
  • Stir your favorite fruit in your oatmeal in the morning.
  • Mix dried fruit such as bananas, pineapples, or apricots with nuts, cereal and other goodies for your own homemade trail mix.
  • Top your pizza with veggies like tomatoes, broccoli, spinach and mushrooms.
  • Keep cut-up carrots, celery, broccoli, radishes, snow peas, or whatever you like in your refrigerator for easy dipping and snacking.
  • Sprinkle fresh fruit on your favorite yogurt for an extra healthy snack or on low-fat ice cream.
  • Pack an easy-to-eat fruit for your child daily in his or her lunch, like a banana or a cut-up orange.
  • Take a bag of fruit with you in the car when running errands or on road trips for healthy snacking.
  • Make a fruit smoothie in a blender with your favorite fruit, low-fat milk, yogurt and ice.
  • Use salsa as your “dip of choice” on crackers and/or chips.
  • Make a banana and peanut butter sandwich.
  • Add lettuce, tomatoes and pickles for the perfect burger.
  • Use low-sugar fruit preserves on your PBJ.
  • Top your favorite pasta with generous amounts of marinara sauce (red sauce).
  • Drink low sugar orange juice in the morning or at snack time.
  • Add peas to your rice at dinner time for a great side dish.
  • Cut up a variety of fruit in a dish topped with low-fat whip cream for a tasty dessert.
  • Add fruit to your favorite muffin mix or pancakes.

For more information including great recipes, visit www.fruitsandveggiesmorematters.org.