Fruits and vegetables are necessary for a healthy diet. By incorporating more of them into your daily routine at home and at the office, you can do wonders for your general health and you can also shed a few kilograms in the process.
Fruits and vegetables have many important vitamins and minerals as well as fibre. Studies have shown that people who eat greater amounts of fruits and vegetables have lower rates of heart disease, stroke and some types of cancer. Choose vegetables in a wide range of colours to ensure that you get many of the important vitamins and minerals. The deeper the colour of the fruit or vegetable, the more nutrients it contains. Choose sweet potatoes over white potatoes, for example.
By eating more fruit and vegetables, you can lose weight as well. The water and fibre content in fruits and vegetables help you to feel fuller quicker and they are often low in kilojoules. As you eat more of the healthy foods, your appetite for them will increase as well. Remember that the fruits and vegetables are a substitute for the higher kilojoule foods, not in addition to them. If you only add fruits and vegetables to your current diet, then you will be increasing your kilojoule intake, not reducing it.
Look for ways to increase the fruits and vegetables in dishes that you already eat. For example, add more vegetables to an omelette, more fruit to breakfast cereals and extra vegetables to stir fry dishes and soups while decreasing the rice and pasta. Buy pre-washed and cut vegetables and fruits to provide convenient alternatives to high-fat snack foods. If healthy alternatives are as convenient as the unhealthy snacks, you will be more likely to make wise choices.
Fill half your plate with fruit or vegetables at mealtime. Keep fresh fruit handy at home. Take small bags of cut fruit and a small container of low-fat yogurt for dipping, or a small bag of cut vegetables and a container of low kilojoule dip to work for lunch, and keep a variety of dried fruits in your drawer to snack on during the day.