Note: The contents of this blog are for informational purposes only and should not be construed as medical advice or substitute for professional care. For medical emergencies, dial 911!
Busy life solutions to eating more fruits and vegetables
Posted Jun 4th 2006 10:00AM by Dalene Entenmann
Filed under: All Cancers, Nutrition, Cancer prevention foods
Stumped for creative ways to get more daily servings of nutrition-rich cancer prevention fruits and vegetables into your diet? In a hurry? On the go? Just don't have time. Here are some suggestions in time-saving quick tips for eating healthy.
- Try a fruit smoothie for breakfast.
- Top breakfast cereal with flax seed and fresh fruit.
- Roll your sandwich filling in a cabbage leaf instead of using bread.
When you bake those skinless boneless organic chicken breasts for dinner, bake a few extra. Slice the extra chicken breasts and refrigerate. For a quick lunch salad, add a small serving of sliced chicken pieces to a bowl of fresh organic baby spinach leaves and a handful of walnut halves, sprinkle with a balsamic vinegar and olive oil dressing. It takes me less than three minutes to make this salad.
- For fast pizzas, spread a whole grain English muffin or Pita bread half with spaghetti sauce, sprinkle with your choice(s) of spinach, sweet red peppers, finely chopped onions, minced garlic and mushrooms. Okay, a light sprinkle of grated low-fat mozzarella cheese. Heat under broiler a few minutes and serve.
- Try adding sliced bananas or thin apple slices instead of jelly in the classic peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
- Drink vegetable juice instead of that afternoon candy bar.
- Keep a bowl of fresh fruit as a grab-and-go food on the kitchen counter or on a small table in the foyer near the front door -- or back door -- depending on where you enter and leave the house most often.
- To thicken stews and soups, use a mixture of cooked, pureed cauliflower and white beans instead of cream or milk.
- Toss chopped broccoli, spinach or zucchini into the boiling water as you cook pasta.
- Toss chopped broccoli, spinach, zucchini, peppers, and/or carrots into the pot of the canned soup you are heating up. Add spinach leaves and mustard to the grilled cheese sandwich.
- Think color when deciding what to have for dinner. The vegetables that are good for you are also the most colorful. If you are not serving them raw, steaming vegetables is as quick, if not quicker, than other methods of cooking them and steaming retains more nutritional value.
- Keep the freezer stocked with bagged frozen chopped spinach and broccoli for soups and stews.
- Keep the freezer stocked with bags of frozen fruit to use as toppings for ice cream or cake.
Tags: breakfast, cancer, cancers, desserts, dinners, foods, frozen, fruits, juice, lunch, nutrition, prevention, quick, recipes, salads, smoothies, vegetables
