June is National Fruit and Vegetable Month

June is designated as National Fruit and Vegetable Month.

MAKE SURE YOU GET FIVE A DAY

If this is a new idea to you and your family here are some ideas on how to start a diet of increased vegetables and fruits.

• Keep a food diary for a week, and note down what you eat every day.

• Buy local fresh fruit and vegetables - unpackaged, and organic whenever you can. Wash thoroughly before eating.

• Raw is best, but cooked is fine too. Fruit and vegetables in takeaways and ready meals do count, but beware of the way they've been cooked.

• Frozen fruit and vegetables are fine and have as many nutrients as fresh.

• Canned fruit and vegetables are also good. Choose them with little or no added salt or sugar. Go for vegetables canned in water and fruit canned in natural juice, not syrup.

• Dried fruit like apricots or prunes.

• Dried or canned pulses like beans, chickpeas, and lentils. High in fiber, but not as good as fresh vegetables for minerals and vitamins

Fruit and vegetables:

You need a minimum of five servings a day of fresh fruit and vegetables, seven portions are better and nine are better still. Go for a mix of colors and be inventive - you can add fresh fruit and vegetables to every meal with a bit of planning. Add to breakfast cereal, use as snacks, have a salad with every meal, have several veggie meals a week, add to soups and stews, add raw vegetables to salads.

If you are wondering just what is a serving size - to help you decide, take a look at these lists.

VEGETABLE SERVINGS: SIZES

• Asparagus, canned 7 spears
• Asparagus, fresh 5 spears
• Avocado Half
• Baby sweetcorn 6
• Baked beans 3 tbsp (1/2 cup)
• Broad beans 3 heaped tbsp (1/2 cup)
• Broccoli 2 large florets
• Brussels sprouts 8
• Cabbage 3 heaped tbsp shredded, (1/2 cup)
• Carrots 1 large
• Celery 3 sticks
• Cherry tomatoes 7
• Curly kale 4 tbsp (1/2 cup)
• Eggplant One-third of a large one
• French beans 4 heaped tbsp (1/2 cup)
• Mixed salad Cereal bowl full (1 cup)
• Mushrooms, button 14
• Onion 1 medium
• Parsnip 1 large
• Peas, fresh, frozen or canned 3 heaped tbsp (1/2 cup)
• Potatoes Never count towards your daily vegetable servings, in any form
• Pulses, cooked: kidney beans, chickpeas, lentils etc 3 heaped tbsp (1/2 cup)
• Salad leaves, lettuce etc Cereal bowl full (1 cup)
• Scallions 8
• Snowpeas Handful
• Spinach, cooked 2 heaped tbsp (1/2 cup)
• Spring onions 8
• Sugarsnap peas Handful
• Sweetcorn, fresh, frozen or canned 3 heaped tbsp (1/2 cup)
• Tomato 1 medium
• Vegetable soup 1 serving of fresh or canned soup (look for salt free)
• Vegetable sticks Handful of mixed - celery, pepper, carrot etc
• Zucchini Half a large one

FRUIT SERVINGS: SIZES

• Apple, dried 4 rings
• Apple, fresh 1 medium
• Apricots, dried 3 whole
• Banana 1 medium
• Blackberries Handful
• Blueberries ½ cup
• Clementines 2
• Cherries, fresh 14
• Dried fruits, mixed 1 tbsp (1/4 cup)
• Figs, fresh 2
• Fruit juice 250ml (1 cup) glass
• Fruit salad, fresh or canned 3 heaped tbsp, (1/2 cup)
• Kiwi 2
• Grapefruit Half
• Grapes Handful
• Lychees, fresh or canned 6
• Mango 2 slices
• Melon 1 large slice
• Passion fruit 6
• Peach, canned 2 halves
• Peach, fresh 1 medium
• Pear 1 medium
• Pineapple, canned 2 rings
• Pineapple, fresh 1 large slice
• Plums 2 medium
• Prunes, canned 6
• Nectarine 1 medium
• Raisins 1 tbsp (1/4 cup)
• Raspberries 2 handfuls
• Rhubarb, cooked 2 heaped tbsp (1/3 cup)
• Satsumas 2
• Strawberries 7

Buy at your local farmer's markets - your fruits and vegetables will be fresher and they do not have to be transported from far away places thus helping to clean the environment.

*****

Members of Bloggers Unite have committed to talking about

this very important subject this month in oder to encourage people to eat fruit

and vegetables and to buy local. This will help your health and the economy.

Why not give it a try?

peacesojourner