Get a Fruit and a Vegetable Into Your Diet

Everyone wants to eat a healthier diet. We’ve all been warned of the possible outcome if our daily menu plan consists of fast food and soda. Regardless of how young you are, this way of eating will eventually catch up with you. Eating a balanced diet that includes dairy products, proteins, and a combination of fruit and vegetable servings at each meal is the best route to take.

Quite often we don’t even start to think about eating better until something goes wrong. It may be when we step back on a scale, after avoiding one for years, to find that it’s jumped thirty pounds up. Or it could be a nagging worry in the back of your head about the history of heart attack or stroke in your family. Or maybe even that walk seems a bit tougher than it used to. Changing your diet at any point can make a sizable difference in not only the quality of your life but also in how long you live.

It’s not difficult to adopt a new menu plan but you do need to be committed to it. How many of us have pledged alliance to a healthier lifestyle on Monday morning only to fall back into our poor eating patterns by the next day? Even just adjusting your diet slowly can make a huge difference. For instance instead of heading out for a burger and fries at lunch, pack a bagged lunch that includes a sandwich on high fiber bread along with a fruit and vegetable. It can be anything from a peach to cucumber slices. Just this one small change will have you feeling better.

Try it for a few days. Make a note how you feel, both a few minutes and a few hours, after eating the fast food. Then make a note of how you feel after eating the healthier food. The fast food tastes great, but a little later we frequently kinda wish we hadn't.

There’s no denying that it’s difficult to give up everything that the experts claim is bad for us. If you love chocolate and feel miserable without it, add one small piece of dark chocolate to your diet as a snack a few days a week. Also if you crave something late in the afternoon prepare a fruit and vegetable platter and that will satisfy your nagging hunger until dinner time.

Going from a diet consiting of fast food and highly processed "food in a box" isn't easy for most of us. Doing it cold turkey is like stopping smoking cold turkey. So take baby steps. Add the fruits and veggies to your diet bit by bit.

This way of eating certainly doesn’t need to take a hiatus when you head out to a restaurant. There are many good choices on almost every menu you’ll look at. If at all possible, choose a low fat entrée such as grilled fish and also a fruit and vegetable. Most entrees come with one anyway. Just make sure you eat it! If you want it cooked a litte more or less crisply, then ask your waitress. Maybe some mango salsa and a carrot salad would round out the meal and fill you up. If you choose wisely you won’t hate yourself the next day when you feel sluggish again.

Parents can make a huge difference in the lives of their children if they guide them towards healthy eating patterns when they are young. Children are more likely to eat the same foods as their parents. They learn by example so instead of filling the cupboards up with cookies and chips, fill the refrigerator with a fruit and vegetable bowl. The kids will reach for it first when they are in need of a snack. Hopefully that habit will be a life long one.

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