25 Sep Are you Consuming Enough Fruit and Veg?
It is recommended that we should be consuming 5 serves of vegetables and 2 serves of fruits each day. As shown below:
Are you struggling to meet these guidelines? You are not alone.
Recent studies found that only 8.7% of Australians aged over 18 were meeting their vegetable recommendations and 44.8% of Australian adults were meeting their fruit recommendations.
Only 6.1% met both their fruit and vegetable recommendations!
Vegetable consumption does not have to be boring! Since our population intake is so low, here are 5 tips on how to incorporate more vegetables in your diet:
- Make smoothies and juices with hidden veggies such as, spinach, avocado, celery or cucumber. When combined with fruit and yoghurt these vegetables do not significantly alter the taste of the drink.
- Use vegetables in a pasta sauce. You could do this by cutting up vegetables and adding them to a bolognaise or you could season then roast some vegetables such as capsicum, onion, pumpkin, zucchini and carrots, then blend them with some water to form a thick sauce for your pasta.
- Stir fry with your favourite seasonings and sauces such as, salt and pepper, dried herbs, cumin, soy sauce or teriyaki sauce. Combine with a source of protein then serve with rice or noodles.
- Cut up vegetable sticks as a snack with your favourite dip. This could include carrots, cucumber, capsicum or celery, and for some extra veggies try choose a vegetable based dip such as spinach, beetroot, sweet potato, or make your own at home!
- Experiment with different sandwich and wrap combos. Add different vegetables to your sandwiches and wraps to make them exciting! Roast some pumpkin, add some coleslaw, use raw vegetables for an extra crunch, cut up your veggies differently to change it up such as, grated carrot instead of chopped, the options are endless!
We know that fruit and vegetables are good for us in terms of our long-term health and disease prevention, but some more immediate benefits include:
- Within 2 years people felt happier consuming more fruit and vegetables
- Assists in maintaining a healthy gut and helps our digestion
- Boosts the health of the immune system, reducing your risk of getting sick
- Just two serves of colourful fruit and vegetables for 6 weeks saw a detectable change in skin tone
Start increasing your daily vegetable intake by incorporating some of these tips!! You’ll begin to feel healthier and happier in no time!
Issy White
Nutritionist
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