Fruits and Veggies: They're grrrreat!

Greg and I have noticed that when we add lots of fruits and veggies to our diets, we feel so much better. We've both been pretty good. It's hard to plan your meals around fruits veggies, but there are ways to incorporate them easily.

As a side note, let me add that I practice Weight Watchers. Greg actually lost quite a bit of weight on it and he's maintaining right now and not counting as much as I do. I'm more of a flip-flopper. I go through waves of awesome eating and not-so-awesome eating. Overall, I'm pretty healthy, and most of my friends and even students notice. I do my Weight Watchers online where I track what I eat each day and I feel like it's the easiest way for me to stay on track with my nutrition and eating habits. I am quite a foodie and I love just about anything set in front of me, or at least, I'll try anything. The major problem with being a foodie is that I like FOOD! That's where Weight Watchers comes in....

Here are a few of my favorite ways to incorporate fruits and vegetables into my diet:

 - Add a salad to every meal. A spinach/romaine salad with cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, mixed (red, yellow, orange) bell pepper, and baby carrots. It's actually easy. After I get home from buying our produce, I wash and cut everything up and put them in plastic bags. When it's time for me to make a salad, I just throw everything in a bowl and add some yummy enriched vinegar (I have an Acai Pomegranate Red Wine Vinegar that I love) so that I'm not adding extra calories with oily salad dressings. And the best thing about this salad is that it is ZERO points (if you're counting Weight Watchers Points, like I do)! I try to have a salad at lunch and dinner. If anything, I'll at least take one to lunch.

- Berries!! High in antioxidants and are good for you! I like frozen berries (I either get the mix of blueberries, blackberries, raspberries and strawberries or just the frozen blueberries) simply because they're much cheaper, especially when out of season. I use a pyrex measuring cup and add about a cup of berries. I microwave it for about 1 minute and 30 seconds. Sometimes I'll add a dollop of Fat Free Cool Whip. Only 1 Point! It's really satisfying, especially if you are craving something sweet after a meal.

- Apples. Greg is the apple man. I like them too, but don't eat nearly as much as he does. He eats a ton of them and they really can curb cravings. My favorite apple of the moment is the extra-large Granny Smith apples. Super fresh and juicy! And if you want to add some extra nutrition to it as a snack, add cinnamon! Cinnamon has tons of antioxidants and there is a lot of research telling us that it is amazing for your health. Don't believe me? Google it!

- Frozen veggies. You know those Green Giant frozen veggies that steam in the microwave? Best invention ever. Some say that frozen veggies might even have more nutrition than fresh because they are frozen at their peak while fresh vegetables have to travel to grocery stores across the country and can lose nutrients. I love adding frozen veggies to just about any meal, especially if I am still feeling hungry. My favorite Green Giant veggies is the Immunity Blend, Green Beans and Almonds, and Healthy Vision Blend.


Well, that's all I got for now. There are lots of other ways, obviously! What's your favorite way to get your fruits and veggies?

-Megan