Am I Eating Enough Fruits and Vegetables?

You’ve asked yourself the same question a few times.

I remember when I started paying attention to physical health and bodily needs especially as regards the right foods to eat when to eat them and in what proportions to eat them, at first everything seemed to overwhelm me as there was too much information out there and it felt like I had to keep up with all of them. I remember thinking to myself that I probably have qualified to be called a “Food Police” (if there is anything like that).

I would do a lot of research on how much fruits and vegetables my body actually needs (in terms of its micronutrients). I would usually be careful about the amounts of fruits I took then because I was aware of the glucose content of fruits of which too much of it would be contrary to my diet goals then so I probably got to know a lot more than what an average person should know when it comes to fruits and vegetable consumption. I guess that’s why I am qualified to be making this presentation to you now.

If you’re one someone who is just beginning to pay attention to your eating habits or you’re probably one of those that don’t really care or maybe you’re even the type that thinks that there is no such thing as too many fruits and veggies; the more of it you have, the better for your health, well think again.

In this article, I am going to try to show you a simple weekly dietary test that can help you track the number of fruits and vegetables that you’re taking in. I won’t bore you with too many write-ups because sometimes that can be too overwhelming, I would rather show what I mean in simplistic terms so that you can start trying it out as soon as possible.

I’m sure we’re all aware of the many benefits of fruits and vegetable intake. How rich they are in vitamins, minerals, and dietary fiber and we also know that high intakes of these nutrients lower our risks of having heart disease, obesity, type 2 diabetes, and some cancers.

The question however is; are you getting enough of these nutrients?

So here’s what our test is going to look like:

Monday –
Tuesday –
Wednesday –
Thursday –
Friday –

The Test

Keep track of your intake using the worksheet provided and out how much of your diet stacks up against recommended guidelines (which is five to nine servings per day).

Check off each fruit and vegetable servings you consume and then add them all up.

What did you score?

Here’s what each of the score categories means;

15 or less: Means you can do better.
16-22: Not bad for a start.
23-29: Good result.
30+: Excellent result!

Here’s how to IMPROVE YOUR SCORE

I’m going to show you using three very simple ways on how I have been able to sneak in more produce into my diet;

First, is I spreading ripe avocado on my toast instead of butter? You can even get some extra credit for throwing tomatoes slice on top.
Secondly, I make sandwiches in the pitas so you can stuff in veggies like cucumbers, radishes, and cabbage.
Lastly, stir canned pumpkin puree into your oatmeal; you can also sprinkle with pumpkin pie.