Ways to Get More Fruits and Vegetables

It's recommended that we get at least (this means more is better) 5 servings of fruits and vegetables per day. 1 serving = ½ cup (about the size of a deck of cards) of cut-up fruit or vegetables or ¼ cup dried fruit or 1 cup of green leafy vegetables (lettuce, spinach, etc.)

Get a serving of fruit for breakfast.

  • Include fruit (frozen or fresh) in your smoothie or protein drink.
  • Always include fruit (dried or fresh) in your hot or cold cereal.
  • Grab a whole fruit (orange, apple, banana, plums, pear, etc.) on your way out the door .
  • Munch on some dried fruit at your desk when you get to work.
Get a serving of fruit or vegetables for a morning snack.
  • Munch on some dried fruit (or trail mix with some protein from nuts) at your desk.
  • Eat a whole fruit (apple, banana, cherries, plum, pear, orange, banana, berries, etc.).
  • Snack on a bag of cut-up veggies at your desk.
Get a serving of vegetables for lunch.
  • Include as many veggies as possible in your sandwich, wrap or rice bowl.
  • Ask if you can substitute a salad or serving of vegetables for your side at a restaurant.
  • Eat your vegetable serving first to make sure you have room.
Get a serving of fruit or vegetables for a midafternoon snack.
  • If you get hungry, go for that bag of cut-up vegetables or whole fruit that you brought with you to work.
  • Eat a handful of dried fruit.
  • Make a green smoothie (spinach and your favorite fruits) during your lunch break to take back to work for your afternoon snack.
ALWAYS include at least 1 serving, if not TWO servings, of vegetables for dinner (remembering what a serving size is).
  • Include a side salad with your meal.
  • Use recipes that include vegetables.
  • Try steaming some vegetables really quickly (takes 2 minutes).
  • Go for frozen vegetables (easy to warm up and generally cheaper than fresh vegetables).

3 comments


  • Sandi

    To Toni: I have used raw beets in many smoothie mixtures. Just a note – don’t overdo it on them unless you LIKE that really earthy taste. For a single serving smoothie I use one beet, a handful of kale, an apple, a Medjool date and sometimes throw in a carrot or stick of celery – or any combination thereof. I just made some awesome spaghetti sauce using ingredients from the garden – tomatoes, garlic, onions, peppers and basil. The Blendtec saved hours of cooking down the sauce. Instead of adding water as standard recipes do, then spending 6-8 hours cooking it down, I just dumped it all in the Blendtec in batches, whizzed it all up, heated it all together on the stove for a few minutes, added a cup of red wine and canned it in a pressure canner for 25 minutes. It’s a runny sauce, but when I use it, then I can cook it down if I wish after adding meat or whatever else I want to gussy it up. Thanks to Blendtec, I am not standing over a stove for hours heating up the kitchen…and myself.


  • Raymond Langer

    This is a workhorse! I love the size of the motor, unlike those other blenders.


  • toni olvera

    can you use raw beets in this blender ? if so does anyone have any good recipes ?


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