We have to face one fact that no matter how advanced our technology gets, we are still human. I know this is nothing new to you and in fact you are probably thinking this is a no-brainer; and you are right! So to keep our health we can’t avoid requirements like, sleep, drinking water, and eating a balanced diet. The biggest problem with our busy lives is getting our daily amounts of raw vegetables and fruits. Quick foods are not usually focused on vegetables and fruits. You can get the right levels of vegetables and fruits daily if you know the tricks.
Why Eat Vegetables & Fruits
We have been told by the healthy powers that be that vegetables and fruits are needed for their fiber, vitamins, minerals, and enzymes. And they are right. Having a daily salad is one of the best ways to avoid constipation. A vegetable rich diet can help to protect you from arthritis, heart disease, stroke, dementia, cancer, and even keep you looking younger longer. And studies have shown that people who include fruit in their diet have a reduced risk of chronic diseases. It is no question that we need these amazing foods daily.
How Much Vegetables & Fruits Daily
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends for a person eating 2,000 calories daily, 2 and 1/2 cups of raw vegetables daily to maintain optional health.
WOW! That is a lot of raw vegetables! It might not sound like a lot, but keep in mind that it takes 2 cups of green leafy vegetables to equal 1 cup of vegetables. My clients tell me they eat a salad everyday so they feel they are covered. But the view changes when I ask them, is their salad 4 cups of greens with a 1/2 cup of raw vegetables on top? That’s what is need to meet the requirements.
Don’t forget the fruit. The CDC also recommends 2 cups of fruit daily. I usually hear people say, “I can’t eat all that daily.”
So just having an average salad just fills a part of the daily need. Try to eat all the vegetables and fruits you should have everyday and tell me you don’t start feeling like a rabbit! All that chewing could wear you out. Personally I have wrestled with getting in enough vegetables and fruits daily for years. Hang on though, and I will share some of the methods I have found to beat the rabbit at getting all those vegetables down.
Tip #1 Smoothies
Put the vegetables and fruit in a blender and grind them up. This is a good starting place for most people so they can start getting used to the taste and the idea of drinking this much liquid. These drinks can taste good and be refreshing and they will be filling for sure. By grinding it up in a blender you are doing the work of chewing so this does help.
The following smoothie recipe is a starting place since it only supplies half of the daily fruit and 20% of the daily vegetables. So if you are not eating any vegetables and fruits daily, having a smoothie for breakfast or lunch could be an easy way to get your foot in the door.
Starter Vegetable & Fruit Smoothie
- 1 cup leafy greens (romaine lettuce or baby spinach are mild to start with)
- 1 cup cold water
- 1 cup fresh or frozen fruit (of choice)
Blend until smooth. Makes around 16oz of liquid.
Tip #2 Fermented Vegetables
Fermented vegetables are vegetables that have been lacto-fermented. You know these fermented foods by names like sauerkraut and pickles, but you have to make them at home to get the full benefits they can deliver. The word “lacto” has nothing to do with milk. Find out more, Lactose Intolerance vs. Lacto-fermenting.
These lacto-fermented vegetables have their nutrition made more bio-available. Often you can get twice the vitamins and minerals from the same volume of food with fermented vegetables. These foods are still raw, and they give the added benefit of probiotics. They are easy to make and last for a long time in the fridge, and are great side dish for meals. Heck, they even help with the digestion of cooked foods since they are very high in enzymes.
Making lacto-fermented vegetables is easy, you just need the special lids for some mason jars and the recipes. We offer all you need to get started in one kit, The Ultimate Fermenting Package.
Make Fermented Food At Home – Easily
Tip #3 Juicing Vegetables & Fruits
Juicing is a way I have found that delivers the biggest punch for getting vegetables and fruit in quickly and easily. Juicing is not using a blender to grind up the vegetables. While there are high end blenders that grind up vegetables, like the Vitamix or Bullet, these machines do not extract the nutrition from the cells. Juicing breaks open the cells of the vegetables and fruits extracting the nutrients from the insoluble fiber. Yes, we need insoluble fiber to help scrub the colon and to keep us from getting constipated and juicing does not remove all of it; plenty gets by in the juice. Besides, we are not talking about juicing all your vegetables and fruits, just the amount you need to get over the top for daily requirements.
Jucing
- Delivers a concentrated super-food.
- Less volume to drink than smoothies.
- Richer in nutrients than if you just ate it.
- Can be stored in the fridge for 2 to 3 days allowing you to juice ahead of time.
- Is a powerful colon cleaner.
Juicing is a concentrated super-food and you will find you can juice the parts of vegetables and fruits that are high in nutrients that you would not normally eat. A great example is the white pith in 
an orange. This pith contains great levels of bio-flavonoids along with strong cancer fighting enzymes that are usually thrown away with the peel. I cut off the peel leaving some of this white pith when juicing an orange so I get these great nutrients and enzymes.
Watermelon is another great example, the white rind actually contains more nutrients than the red flesh. Each juicy bite has significant levels of vitamins A, B6 and C, lots of lycopene, antioxidants and amino acids. When juicing a watermelon, I cut off the bitter skin leaving much of the rind which gets juiced along with the red flesh, which balances the very sweet taste of the watermelon producing a slightly sweet refreshing drink. Watermelon also has great blood pressure lowering benefits and my clients have mentioned to me that they have seen their blood pressure lower by 10 to 20 points just off of drinking a glass a day.
Juicing allows you to easily get 2 to 3 cups of greens along with fruit in one serving. My favorite juice allows me to get most of my greens, vegetables and fruits in one serving. Don’t be worried that you will not get enough fiber. When my clients start juicing they often experience a colon cleaning, no diarrhea, just a good clean out. And this is just off of one juice a day. Some of my favorite juices are greens and fruit. These juices are around 16-20 oz. in size, about what that smoothie we mentioned earlier was, but these are super-concentrated in nutrients way beyond the smoothie.
Slow Juicers Are Best
I always try to take a natural approach with my food preparation and this is why I recommend slow juicers. They act more like you would when chewing. My favorite juicer runs at just over 40 rpm, it is very much like when you chew vegetables. This slow speed gets the most juice out of the vegetables and fruits since it is in contact with the food for longer periods of time. The slower speed is also like cold pressing, by producing very little heat that can destroy the nutrients. I chill my vegetables and fruit before juicing and my juice is still cold after juicing and can be enjoyed right away.
Also, the slow juicer is quiet. I can run it in the morning without waking up others. Contrary to the centrifugal juicers are so loud it sounds like a jet taking off in your kitchen, and they run so fast they harm the wonderful nutrients you are trying to extract, by heat and oxidation, like fast pressed oils for example.
Slow Juicers Extract The Most Juice
Get Your Vegetables & Fruits Daily
It can be easy and fun to get your vegetables and fruits daily if you go beyond just salads. Change up how you get your vegetables and fruits in daily and enjoy smoothies, fermented vegetables, and juices, they are all part of the puzzle of your daily nutritional needs. Your body will thank you by providing health and longevity. Just remember, it is a balanced diet that helps in the long run.
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