Implementing Healthy Fruits and Vegetables into Your Meals

Eating healthy isn't just a diet; it should be a way of life. Implementing lots of fruits and veggies into your everyday eating habits can be easy and fun so here are six of the most beneficial fruits of veggies along with tips on interesting ways to put them into your normal meals.

1.Spinach is one of my favorite vegetables. It has quite of bit of iron, magnesium, vitamin E, vitamin A, vitamin C, lutein, and folic acid. I usually add spinach to my omelettes in the morning. Spinach shrinks when it is cooking so if you plan to do this, you can go ahead and add more than you think you'll want. I also add spinach to sandwiches, use it as a substitute for lettuce, or add it to the mix of veggies I cook as a side dish for dinner.

2.Blackberries are so yummy and fun to use. They have tons of fiber and are loaded with proanthocyanidins, which are powerful antioxidants. I like to put my blackberries into parfaits, have them in custard pies for desert, or just serve them plain with a little organic vanilla yogurt.

3.Carrots are easily adaptable and oh-so nutritious! They have fiber, vitamin K, and beta-carotene. Beta-carotene helps to protect against many types of cancer, heart disease, and arthritis. Carrots can be put into smoothies (you can hardly tell they're in there). They can also be cooked into vegetable stir-fry or put into salads.

4.Bananas have fiber and potassium which will help you to maintain a healthy heart. Bananas are very easy to use, just put them into a smoothie, pack one up as a snack, or serve some with custard or organic vanilla ice cream!

5.Broccoli is fun and healthy. You can use it to make some creative dishes or just pop it into normal meals. Broccoli contains vitamin C, vitamin A, sulforaphane, calcium, and folic acid. You can create a variation of macaroni and cheese for children and instead make "macaroni and trees" by simply adding in some broccoli stalks. You can also add broccoli to Asian stir-fry.

6.Purple grapes have flavanoids, anthocyanins, quercetin, and reservatrol. Because of the quercetin and reservatrol, purple grapes have anti-oxidants that help protect against cancer, gastric ulcers, and osteoporosis. Purple grapes are great plain, and I like to eat them with wine, cheese, and crackers. You can also add them to your morning parfait or serve them with organic vanilla yogurt just like blackberries!