Creative, Tasty Ways to Get Fruits and Vegetables Daily!

Both fruits and vegetables are one of the best things for you, and also a very large portion of the diet that the average American is lacking in. Most dieticians will say that the majority of any healthy diet is made up of fruits and vegetables, and that you should get at least 5 servings of each per day.

The problem lies in having personal troubles with preferences of these food groups. Many people have problems with the textures, tastes, or preparation times of fruits and veggies, but there are many healthy ways to prepare them so that everyone wins!

Smoothies are a great way to get started. You will need a blender and some fruit. They are tasty, and you can be as creative or plain as you want. If you want to make a smoothie that is simply one fruit and ice, go for it! If you'd rather spice it up and add in some other ingredients, that is also fine. My personal favorite as far as taste is concerned is a few ice cubes, 2 or 3 strawberries, a whole banana, a splash of V8 Fusion, and some nonfat vanilla yogurt. Not many calories, packed full of vitamins, and taste! There are many other alternatives and methods for making smoothies, and you can find this information all over the web. Don't forget that you can always mix in some vegetables that you may not even taste!

Fruit and yogurt or cottage cheese is another very common approach at getting in some fruit. I am not a huge fan of cottage cheese myself, but many people love cottage cheese with strawberries, peaches, or pineapple. Fruit and yogurt is an absolute delight for most though. Strawberries, pineapple, peaches, apples, mangos, oranges, and more can all be either thrown right in with some yogurt, or you can use the yogurt as a healthy dip! I wouldn't recommend trying vegetables like this.

Vegetables and cheese is common, especially when it comes to frozen food. This does not make the food healthy, however it may help you get the broccoli down. I recommend steaming fresh broccoli yourself, and then adding a skim milk cheese, or possibly making it into a stew. To really mix it up, make a stew with a blender, and you may not even have a problem downing the vegetables!

Fruit and vegetable juices are a great way to get some fruit and vegetable servings in as well, although they are not an alternative. Having some 100% fruit juice is a great tasting, healthy drink to go alongside a snack or meal, but a banana may be better for you. V8 makes a great drink called V8 VFusion which I am a huge fan of - In each cup, there is a serving of vegetables masked by a serving of real fruit! This is one of the healthiest and tastiest fruit drinks available.

Make sure to get your daily servings above all else, if the above methods don't work, create some of your own!