How many times have you heard "Eat your vegetables" and "Get 5-6 servings of fruits per day"? Mothers used
to threaten their kids with "You won't get any dessert until you finish up your broccoli" and nutritionists everywhere have
been barraging us with reccomendations to "follow Canada's daily allowance of fruits and vegetables." Have any of these strategies
worked for you? They certainly have not worked for me. If they did we would see cleared out produce isles at the grocery
store every weekend and convenience stores would go out of business. But we still do need fruit and vegetables to get our
nutrients and energy from. So here are some tried and true tips to help you incorporate these lively nutrient foods into your
day.
1. Get fresh. Mothers often have a saying when their children are talking
back to them-"Don't get fresh with me!" Well with fruit, that's exactly what you have to do to get the best tasting kinds.
Gala apples, for instance, are some of the juiciest crispiest tasting apples around. Fruits that are in season are also high
on the taste scale. And isn't taste what it's all about?
2. Get a variety. There are an endless variety of fruit, more than
junk food and twice as satisfying. Introduce your tastebuds to mangoes, kiwi, pineapple, and papayas. Talk to the grocer to
find out how to tell which ones are ripe for the picking. Then leave them on the counter in an eyecatching display for
easy picking at home.
3. Sort out what textures you like the most. Most people like
potatoes soft while other people prefer their carrots more on the crunchy side. Chinese vegetables are
often marinated to perfection and it's actually the only time I like eating broccoli. You can sautee
vegetables or put them in a soup, and get corn on the cob over creamed corn. They also come in stringy form with squash.
Different people in your family may like different textures too so to get your kids eating more vegetables, try to find
out what their preferences are.
4. Dip it. Sometimes kids (and the kid in us) need a certain "je ne sais
quoi" to add to our veggies to make them taste good. Something zesty. Something tangy. Something sweet and soury perhaps.
Dips, cheeses and salad dressings are the perfect answer to this. Wether they come in Ranch flavour or garlic, they can
give any begetable the perfect taste twist to satisfy the most cynical of tastebuds.
5. Schedule out snacktimes. Most people think snacktimes are just whenever they
feel hungry. In a way this is true, although sometimes when you wait to feel hungry you can become starved for anything at
all, and go for junk food before you know it. Many people have snacks between breakfast and lunch but the 6 hour leap
from 12-6 can be a little hard to bear. Typically, people should be eating every two to three hours to keep the blood
sugar level even.
