New Year, new Try It Tuesday, and for our first installment of 2017, we’re making small dietary changes with a big payoff. It’s “getting the recommended five fruits and vegetables a day”!
Something I’ve been hearing since I was a kid, fruits and vegetables are definitely part of a healthy eating pattern, and they contain vital micronutrients like vitamins A, B, and C, as well as potassium, magnesium, and fiber.
On average, I get about three servings of fruits and vegetables a day. It’s a good start, but it could be a lot better. To make sure I was getting at least five a day, I made sure to eat one serving of produce at each meal. I stocked up on fruits and vegetables in a variety of forms, including fresh, frozen, and dried. I searched for salad recipes on Pinterest and found a really good looking pomegranate and pear salad. With mixed green lettuce, pomegranates, pears, and dried cranberries, it contained three of my five necessary servings.
|
Servings |
Breakfast |
Lunch |
Snack |
Dinner |
|
Monday: 7 |
Chocolate Protein Smoothie (banana) |
Vegetarian Lasagna (tomatoes, mushroom) |
Applesauce |
Pomegranate and pear salad |
|
Tuesday: 10 |
Green Smoothie (Spinach, apple, mangos) |
Pomegranate and pear salad |
Applesauce |
Red Peppers, Carrots, Hummus, Pita |
|
Wednesday: 9 |
Green Smoothie (kale, apple, mangoes) |
Vegetarian Lasagna (tomatoes, mushroom) |
Grapefruit |
Pomegranate and pear salad |
|
Thursday: 7 |
Cherry Pie Smoothie (cherries and banana) |
Vegetarian Lasagna (tomatoes, mushroom) |
|
Pomegranate and pear salad |
|
Friday: 6 |
Applesauce and 2 boiled eggs |
Pomegranate and pear salad |
|
Red Peppers, Carrots, Hummus, Pita |
|
Saturday: 4 |
Green Smoothie (kale, cherries, blueberries) |
|
|
Caesar Salad |
|
Sunday: 3 |
Green Smoothie (kale, mangoes, blueberries) |
Hot Chocolate |
|
Yogurt |
Surprisingly, I did really well during the week, but I guess that’s what happens when you have some structure to your day. But when it came to the weekend, that’s when things fell apart, and to be honest, I had a feeling it would. Both Saturday and Sunday, I started my day with a green smoothie for breakfast. Saturday, I went out to eat and had a big salad. Even though it contained two servings of romaine lettuce, it was a Caesar salad, so that’s all it contained (and I counted it as one serving for lack of variety).
Sunday was even worse. The smoothie was one of three things I ate (the other two being yogurt and hot cocoa). I don’t really go out on Sundays, and I end up eating like a bird, since I’m not doing anything to be hungry.
All in all, this wasn’t bad. In the future, I will definitely need to make sure I get my fruits and vegetables during the weekend (as well as necessary calories to function), but during the week, I was way above my goal, averaging seven servings a day, and even getting 10 on Tuesday. This goes to show you that small, simple changes can make a huge impact on your diet.