# Fruits and veggies in your diet



## GotGarlic (Feb 15, 2009)

Hi, all. I've noticed that on the daily menu, often there is no fruit or non-starch veggie listed as part of dinner. I'm just curious if people don't think to include that, or if many people just don't have non-starch veggies very often. For example, baked chicken and potatoes with pasta salad doesn't include any non-starch veggies (starchy veggies include beans, peas, corn and potatoes).

Just wondering how many people make an effort to include veggies and fruit in their daily menu.

Here's a resource I've been reading tonight: Fruits & Veggies Matter: Home: Eat a Colorful Variety of Fruits and Vegetables Every Day for Better Health | CDC


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## Toots (Feb 15, 2009)

I have tried to dramatically up the amount of fruit & veggies I eat.  But I still fall far short of the daily recommended amounts.  I'm lucky if I average 2 fruits and 3 veg per day.  I try to have a fruit in the a.m. and in the afternoon and a veggie at lunch and 2 veggies at dinner - it is hard to get the recommended daily allowance in.


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## GB (Feb 15, 2009)

Well in your example above, the pasta salad could include no starch veggies. I use broccoli in mine.

I make a big effort to use veggies (and fruits, but usually those are eaten as snacks and not in a meal as often) in most meals. There are meals were I do not get them in, but for the most part I do.


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## GotGarlic (Feb 15, 2009)

GB said:


> Well in your example above, the pasta salad could include no starch veggies. I use broccoli in mine.



That's true, it depends on how it's made. Often, the ones I see have a relatively small amount of non-starch veggies in them (less than 1/2 cup per serving), but maybe it was a bad example. How about chicken, potatoes and bread?  Or spaghetti with chicken Alfredo sauce and bread?


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## GB (Feb 15, 2009)

GotGarlic said:


> How about chicken, potatoes and bread?  Or spaghetti with chicken Alfredo sauce and bread?


When I do something like that I almost always serve a veggie dish as well.


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## Callisto in NC (Feb 15, 2009)

I'm definitely guilty of not getting enough fruits and veggies or any kind.  Today's "veggie" was cilantro in my sour cream for my tacos.  

I realized recently I need to totally re-evaluate my food intake.  Green onions in a chicken ball are not a daily serving of veggies.


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## larry_stewart (Feb 15, 2009)

Even as a vegetarian, I still watch for veggies when its a starch filled dinner.

IF its  A Pasta, ill try to have a salad.  Or maybe some green beans, spinach....  Often Ill make 2 lists for the week.  The first column is the main dish , and the second column will be the side im planning to serve with the main course.  Often my wife will hear me say " we need something green with that" basically meaning that I realize it is too starchy, and I need some green veggies to balance it out.  As far as fruits go, Once a week I get produce, and fill a huge bowl up with oranges, apples, bananas, pears, grapes and cherries ( these I buy almost every week).  Then if available, ill get mangos, pineapple melons, or things like that.

Even with the kids, if i just buy carrots, celery .. and leave them in the fridge, they dont get touched, so what ill do is cut them into little ' sticks'  and just leave them out on the counter.  They always go when i have them like this.  I think my kids are too lazy to get it, wash it , peel it ..... but when already prepared and available, they snack them all up


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## Yakuta (Feb 15, 2009)

Although I eat a lot of veggies I still agree with Toots, it does not seem that I incorporate enough to my family's diet. 

I eat a lot of beans and a good way for me to incorporate veggies is to make my dahl a bit sweet, sour and savory and add veggies (chunks of squash, cauliflower, carrots and assorted peppers).  I mix in some rice to it so it's a whole meal.  

I also make spinach often since my kids love it and I feel good about consuming it since it's good for health.  

I am not a big fruit eater except for bananas so I don't get a whole lot of vitamins in fruits.  

I guess like all of you, I also have to make a concious effort to ensure I am eating enough fruits and veggies.


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## GB (Feb 15, 2009)

My kids actually eat more fruits and my wife and I do. We make sure they have fruits every day. We do not let them have a lot of the junk we eat ourselves. We should take after them more.


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## Uncle Bob (Feb 15, 2009)

I would bore you to death if I told you of the green beans, broccoli, steamed cabbage, mustard greens/turnip roots, boiled okra, zucchini/onions/mushrooms, yellow squash, eggplant,etc. I eat day in and day out during the week...along with very small amounts of peas, beans, potatoes. It's usually only on week-ends or special occasions when I "spoil" myself by eating Red Beans & Rice, French Bread, and Corn on the Cob boiled in Crab boil do I get excited enough to post a menu....


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## Constance (Feb 15, 2009)

I do fairly well on the non-starch vegies, but not so well on the fruit. Tactfully said, fresh fruit has always hurt my very sensitive digestive system. Nexium helps the part above the waist, but that's the "end" of it. 

I do take a multi-vitamin B + vitamin C every day. They used to call it "stress formula, but it's something different now."


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## Scotch (Feb 15, 2009)

Perhaps it's somewhat of a regional thing, but my wife and I eat a lot of veggies and fruit, as do my daughter and her family. Usually we have a steamed green vegetable with most dinners, or sometimes a salad, unless the main course has a significant portion of vegetables in it (e.g., soup or stew of so sort). Potatoes or pasta never replace veggies but are served in addition to them. Tomatoes or or other fruit are usually part of lunch, and apples and oranges are consumed as snacks (our dog Cody likes them too). 

I marvel at other shopper's grocery purchases, which are usually heavy on the packaged stuff and very light on the fruits and veggies, especially compared to our cart. On Friday I bought broccoli, cabbage, asparagus, onions, carrots, apples, oranges, tomatoes, and fresh rosemary. And that's a light load as I'll be away most of next week. 

Frankly, I can't imagine life without this stuff.


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## vyapti (Feb 16, 2009)

Uncle Bob said:


> I would bore you to death if I told you of the green beans, broccoli, steamed cabbage, mustard greens/turnip roots, boiled okra, zucchini/onions/mushrooms, yellow squash, eggplant,etc. I eat day in and day out during the week...along with very small amounts of peas, beans, potatoes. It's usually only on week-ends or special occasions when I "spoil" myself by eating Red Beans & Rice, French Bread, and Corn on the Cob boiled in Crab boil do I get excited enough to post a menu....


NOT BORED AT ALL!!!  I'm in the minority at home, but I do love greens, especially turnip greens and mustard greens.

We'll eat broccoli a couple times a week, peas at least once, and spinach, cabbage, cauliflower and zucchini with relative frequency.  I always have carrots and celery in the fridge that the kids and I snack on during the week and we have a big bowl for apples, bananas and citrus.


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## miniman (Feb 16, 2009)

I try to incorporate veggies into every main meal, even though my youngest does not eat a lot of them. I always have a fruit bowl out and encourage them to snack on that. Mostly, the only options for dessert are fruit or yoghurt with fruit in it.

There is also usually a bowl of fruit salad in the fridge as well.


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## bethzaring (Feb 16, 2009)

This is something I am very weak on and I do beat myself up about it. But it is also a seasonal thing. Come May, we are vegetarians, starting with asparagus and spinach and then leading into the rest of the main garden. But in the winter, I struggle with the veggie intake. Every weekend we have pancakes and I add about 1 cup of frozen wild black raspberries to the batter. If you count onions and garlic as veggies, then we are good to go!! And my pasta salads, in the summer, are heavy on the veggies; tomatoes, peppers, onions and garlic. 

It is something I am very conscious about, but in the winter it is hard for me to serve the recommended fruits and veggies daily.


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## jabbur (Feb 16, 2009)

It seems I will plan the main dish and starch because generally those take more planning ahead than my veggie dishes so that is what I post.  Often I'll just steam some frozen veggies or open a can (gasp!).  We like the California mix, plain broccoli, asparagus, green beans (these have to be canned, no one will eat the frozen) peas or a salad of lettuce, carrots, cucumbers and tomatoes.  If we have corn, I usually don't make a potato or noodle side.  We really don't get enough veggies and I rarely serve fruit with the meal.  We do keep apples and bananas around to snack on and in season, melons,grapes and berries.


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## Callisto in NC (Feb 16, 2009)

GB said:


> My kids actually eat more fruits and my wife and I do. We make sure they have fruits every day. We do not let them have a lot of the junk we eat ourselves. We should take after them more.


You and me both.  My daughter eats apples and bananas and grapes all the time and I just leave them for her to eat rather than eating them myself.  I guess I know she has more of a healthy diet than I do so I leave the good stuff for her.


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## babetoo (Feb 16, 2009)

i am old and in my day , we felt we had to serve a green and a yellow veg. i still do it today. not always both but most of the time at least one, and a salad. i eat some fruit and cook with it as well , in cakes and muffins, one of the reason i will plant container vegs. this year. like the idea of small amounts of fresh produce close at hand. i eat junk sometimes, doesn't everyone?


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## Asmodean (Feb 18, 2009)

This whole premise reminds me of certain members of my family raving over garlic bread and other bread with a pasta dinner.  I just can't bring myself to eat all of those starches at one time!


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## mike in brooklyn (Feb 18, 2009)

My diet is heavy with vegetables - hardly any red meat - fish or
beans for protein.
I cook lots of lentil based stews and always put in carrots/zucchini/turnips/tomato/radish etc.etc.

I cook Chinese greens at least once a week - simply boil in water and
dress with Oyster Sauce.

Salads and slaws in summer / veggie soups and stews in winter.


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## Asmodean (Feb 18, 2009)

My diet is also REALLY vegetable heavy with emphasis also on fish and cereal grains (multigrain hot cereal starts me every morning).  For some reason I have a love of simply steamed veggies that I have a tough time explaining to people is not based on health.  They're just awesome.  Anyone else have this steamed vegetable love?


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## GB (Feb 18, 2009)

Asmodean said:


> Anyone else have this steamed vegetable love?


I absolutely do!


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## Asmodean (Feb 18, 2009)

Phew!  Good thing I'm not the only one who doesn't need veggies to be sautéed in order to enjoy them....  It really promotes my love of those East and Southeast Asian broth soups like Pho (love it with tofu and veggies) since they are really just poached in the broth.


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## LadyCook61 (Feb 18, 2009)

I like munching on raw fruits and veggies in between meals sometimes.


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## vyapti (Feb 20, 2009)

We go through 2 pounds of baby carrots each week.  I leave an open bag in the front of the fridge and munch on them here and there.  The kids drown them in Ranch dressing, which kind of defeats the purpose, though =)


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## Saraaaaa (Feb 25, 2009)

I definitely try to eat as many vegetables and fruits every day. Typically I would have 2 or 3 types of fruits per day and also 2 or 3 types of vege per day. I always like to include different 'color' of vege, like dark green (spinach, broccoli), red (tomato), orange (carrots), light green (cabbage, celery). I love variety! and they provide a whole host of essential nutrients.


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## mike in brooklyn (Feb 25, 2009)

On WNYC (PBS) radio Leonard Lopate's show yesterday he had Mark Bittman
as a guest. Bittman was advocating the reduction of our consumption of meat 
and the increase of our consumption of vegetables. He postulated that a reduction in meat eating would be a boon to the planet in many ways - reduction in greenhouse gasses which are associated with meat/chicken production, reduction in harmful
fertilizer runoff into the oceans from raising of meat, reduction in monoculture
corn crops necessary to feed these factory farmed animals (corn severely depletes
the soil.

I'm all for it.


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## Asmodean (Feb 25, 2009)

Agreed mike!  Sounds like we're on the right track


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## stinemates (Feb 25, 2009)

We eat stir fry 3 -4 nights a week. They usually include:

Broccoli
Sprouts
Red Bell Pepper
Carrots
Green Beans
Celery

As for fruits, we buy them freeze dried from BrothersAllNatural.com for on the go snacking, and put the juicer to use for the rest of the fruit intake. I'd recommend one, as Carrot Orange juice is heavenly.


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## mcnerd (Feb 26, 2009)

I like to include Beets in my diet on a regular basis.  Canned are fine, but fresh ones from the market that have been roasted in the oven are to die for.  You can also shred raw and put in salads.  Since they are a root vegetable they have an earthy taste, so add some vinegar to offset.  That's why people like the pickled ones.

Do some research on how they are good for you and you will be amazed.


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