Fresh Usage and Serving Tips

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Fruit and Veggie Usage Tips

 

    • Healthy snacks can be convenient. Grab-and-go items, like fresh fruits, make great healthy snacks. Making extra food when you cook and prepackaging leftovers into snack sizes is a great way to have snacks on hand when you need them.

 

    • The skin is in! Most of the nutrients in fruits like apples, pears, peaches and nectarines are found within the skin (or peel). To get all these nutrients, be sure to eat the whole fruit – skin and all.

 

    • If you aren’t getting your recommended 5 servings of fruits and veggies a day, try sneaking a serving during your sandwich at lunch. Add cucumber to a yummy turkey sandwich or apples to your peanut butter sandwich.

 

    • Wherever you go, make sure you bring a whole apple or pear along with you. Both fruits are available throughout the year, contain good-for-you fiber, and make for a filling snack whether you are stuck in traffic or running errands.

 

    • Sliced apples and peanut butter make one tasty snack that’s filled with protein and fiber.

 

    • Never start your day on an empty stomach. A small snack is better than nothing! Fruit smoothies are an easy and light meal for those who don’t like a big meal in the morning.

 

    • The best snacks are those that are fresh and in season! Load up on cherries, peaches and nectarines in the summertime, and crisp, juicy apples and pears in the fall and winter.

 

    • Treat yourself on occasion with dessert, but always try to include fruits in that dessert. Try frozen yogurt with fresh sweet cherries.

 

    • Life is busy! To stick with eating healthy when you’re on the go, spend 15 minutes at night packing your snacks for the next day. Cut up fresh fruits and veggies and place them into portable containers.

 

    • There are so many varieties of apples and pears out there! If your daily snack is getting old, try something new. For apples, Honeycrisp, Gala, Fuji and Piñata® all offer a unique taste. For pears, try super-sweet Seckel or Concorde for something new.

 

 

 

Fruit and Veggie Serving Tips

Need more ways to add a serving of fruits and vegetables to your daily diet? Here’s a list of tips to make sure you get the recommended 5 servings per day:

    • Eat an extra side dish of cooked vegetables with your dinner.

 

    • Try filling half of your plate with vegetables first, and then adding other foods.

 

    • Add fresh fruit and vegetables to foods you already eat – like berries and bananas to yogurt and cereal; vegetables to pasta and pizza; and lettuce, tomato and onion to sandwiches.

 

    • Want to know a shortcut to measuring a serving size? Generally, a fruit and vegetable serving is about the size of your fist. A serving of leafy greens should be larger than your fist, while a serving of dried fruit is smaller than your fist.

 

    • Keep fruits and vegetables visible and easily accessible – for instance, store cut and cleaned produce at eye-level in the refrigerator.

 

    • Make a point to add three different vegetables to your dinners. For instance, add bell peppers, zucchini and asparagus with noodles and sauce to make a yummy stir fry.

 

    • Keep things interesting by mixing up the way you eat your favorite fruits and vegetables. Eat a whole apple one day, and slice and dip in peanut butter the next. Variety is key!

 

 

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