by Mica Ward, RD, LD

There are many health benefits to eating a diet high in fruits and vegetables, including boosting your immunity. Found in brightly colored red, orange, green and yellow fruits and vegetables, vitamins A, C, E and folate are a few of your immunity boosters. Research shows that 70 percent of Americans believe eating more fruits and vegetables would improve their diets. With this common belief and the well publicized health benefits, why don’t we eat more of them? Some common excuses and helpful tips include:

Inconvenient

• Keep fruit out where you can see it, like the counter or table
• Buy individual serving packages of veggies
• Cut up a variety of vegetables at the beginning of the week and divide into plastic baggies that are easy to grab.

They cost too much or spoil too fast 

• Buy in season 
• Shop the specials and don’t over buy 
• Choose frozen or canned options 
• Try dried fruits like apricots or raisins  

I’m not in the habit or don’t like them 

• Add berries or applesauce to breakfast in pancakes, cereals, muffins or yogurt 
• Add fresh or frozen peppers, onions, mushrooms, spinach, broccoli or carrots to eggs or hashed browns, pasta sauces and casseroles
• Make smoothies with fruit and low-fat yogurt
• Blend cooked cauliflower into mashed potatoes
• Keep fruit at your desk at work or in your locker
• Start your meals with a salad with low-fat salad dressing
• Top pizza and bulk sandwiches with more vegetables and less meat and cheese

One serving is equal to one cup raw or one-half cup cooked fruits and veggies. Shoot for five to nine servings per day!