FatScrap 23rd to 29th August - Increase Your Vegetables And Fruit Intake

Hi and welcome back!

This week I would like to encourage you to eat more varieties of vegetables and fruits.There is an abundance of English seasonal produce in the shops right now, from potatoes, beans, broccoli and beetroot to tomatoes, courgettes and peppers and the fact that they are in season now means that they are right for us to eat now. Eating in tune with the seasons provides our body with the nutrients it naturally needs at the different times in the year. It also means that we eat these foods when they are fresher and taste best. On a more holistic level, eating with the seasons allows us to connect with nature and connect with ourselves. We can become more intuitive about what our body needs. If you think about, tropical fruit for example, are grown in the tropics, where the climate is hot. These foods are natural cooling to the body. So do we really want to eat pineapple in the winter when our body is crying out for warming foods? And of course, there is always the environmental argument and the consideration of how far our food has travelled to get to our table...

Aim for at least 3 portions of 3 different vegetables a day (a portion is 2/3 tablespoons) and two portions of fruits (a portion is one whole fruit e.g orange or a handful of smaller fruits). Also choose different colours of vegetables and fruits as the colours reflect the different nutrients that they contain. Make sure you include at least one portion of leafy green vegetables and one portion of berries in your choices for even better health protection.

When it comes to juicing, then vegetable juice is a better option but I would suggest you do not count it as one of your 3 portions but as an added bonus portion. On the other hand fruit juice should be counted as one of your fruit portions and I would only recommend you have one small glass. On the whole it is better to eat your fruit and vegetables whole rather than juiced as you gain more nutritional benefits and your body uses more energy (calories) to digest them!

When choosing your meals, choose the vegetable or fruit part of your meal first and then compliment them with your other choices. Today, for example, for my lunch I chose roasted butternut squash, sweet potato and beetroot and added some tofu and rice.

To motivate you to choose more of these wonderful foods you might like to learn more about the health benefits that they provide. There are lots of sites on the web with information but here is a link for one that I like http://www.healthalternatives2000.com/vitamins-nutrition-chart.html  and http://www.healthalternatives2000.com/minerals-nutrition-chart.html

Stocking up your fridge, freezer and cupboards with lots of vegetables and fruits will mean that you always have them available. Bulk roasting root vegetables or Mediterranean vegetables will give you ready to eat options that can be added to salads, made into dips or reheated, added to soups or other hot dishes. Preparing a large leafy salad and storing in an airtight container will give you a couple of days worth of instant nutrition for days when time is short. Making a large pot of vegetable soup will give you warmth and fullness in minutes on our cooler summer days but of course there are always the cold soup ideas like Gazpacho that can be pre cooked and ready to refresh and cool you on those hotter summer days which hopefully we may see a few more of.

Not only are vegetables full of lots of healthy nutrients but they also contain very few calories meaning you can eat a lot of them to fill you up!

Vegetables, fruit, whole grains, nuts and beans are the life changing foods that will help you feel stronger, look better and stay healthy so why not make it your goal to eat more of these foods today and for the rest of your life!!

Sue x