You know I have to throw this “eat more fruits and veggies” challenge out every few months or so, right? During our month of the Funky Fresh Kitchen, it seems like a perfect time to bring it up again. :)
If you already eat lots and lots berries, salads, apples, steamed veggies, raw veggies, bananas, etc. each day, you can leave a comment, check this challenge off your list, and cheerfully go eat another green bean.
But if eating fruits and vegetables is something you struggle with, then can I encourage you to move out of your meat and potato comfort zone just a little bit? I’m not knocking meat and potatoes. I love ’em myself! I just know it’s important to eat many fruits and vegetables along with our steak and spuds.
Keeping plenty of fruits and vegetables on hand and serving them regularly for snacks and meals is a great way to have a Funky Fresh Kitchen and to take your family on a journey toward better health.
Feel like giving us excuses like “fresh produce is more expensive than other snacks”? Sorry, I’ve already done the research and the math on that one. It just ain’t true. (Wow, look at me – pulling out poor grammar just to prove a point.) Also, I’ve written another post in the past I think you should read encouraging us to be intentional about eating fruits and vegetables. I even went so far as to give you a detailed list of how you can make this work. It looks something like this:
1. Buy fruits and vegetables.
2. Eat them.
3. Repeat.
This is the perfect time of year to get your hands on awesome fresh produce for a great price. We currently have a kitchen full of fresh apples, pears, peaches, sweet peppers, tomatoes, green beans, and okra that we are enjoying constantly…with our meat and potatoes and pasta. See, eating more fruits and veggies doesn’t mean you have to give up other stuff you love. (Except for the junky junk food you should be giving up. For Pete’s sake.) You just need to be sure you’re getting a diet rich in the nutrients only vegetables and fruit can provide.
Ready to accept this Funky Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Challenge this week? Simply commit to adding a few more servings of these jewels to your menu each day. Then, don’t forget to eat them (see number 2 above).
Leave a comment on this post, sharing what your favorite fruits and veggies are and how you plan to eat more in the upcoming week. All comments will be entered in our giveway for two $25 and one $50 gift certificates to the Heavenly Homemakers Shop.
Polly says
Love apples and peaches. We just have really high fruit prices here right now. I will try to search out sales; so, we can eat more.
Erin R. says
I guess I can check this one off as we picked up our Bountiful Basket yesterday! For $15 we got: 8 sweet potatoes, 1 head lettuce, several crowns of broccoli, 1 lb carrots, big bag of radishes, 8 fresh apples (leaves still attached!), 8 plums, 4 oranges, 1 bunch of bananas and 1 personal sized watermelon. On top of that we got a 24 lb box of peaches to can for $18.
For anyone interested in this food co-op program go to bountifulbaskets.org and see if it’s offered in your local area and if not, could you start one up. It is offered in many states. Organic basket options are $25 and there are rotating add-ons in some areas such as organic breads, raw honey, coconut oil, etc.
gina says
we have a frig and counter topped stuffed completely full of fruits and veggies, praise GOD. Celery, carrots, eggplant, red and green grapes, strawberries, pears, apples, spinach, romaine lettuce, avocados, spag squash, bananas, watermelon, pineapples and the list goes on an on. Stuffed eggplant and eggplant Parmesan is on my list this week.
Donna Thomas says
Go to Farmers Markets a few minutes before closing. They will beg you to buy their produce and give you a great deal. That’s been my experience.
Jennifer Franke says
I never knew that! Great idea and I will be trying that on Saturday!
Linda says
We do love our veggies and fruits. I wash and freeze grapes and blueberries and we eat them as a cold snack. Fresh green beans cooked in olive oil and rosemary is so yummy too!
Deanna says
I love the fruits and veggies. Mmm, we have a big watermelon just waiting for me to cut it up!
kelly says
we love fruits and veggies here:
smoothies, salads and sides (like panko crusted eggplant bite- baked!)
Lisa says
We’re lucky to have neighbors with a great garden, since ours didn’t do too well this year. My counter is covered with zuchini and tomatoes from them. And apples from another neighbor.
Patty says
I love to eat frozen fruit in smoothies.
shannon hillary says
I have been trying really hard to add lots more veggies to our diet. It went good with the garden. We have been trying more of a variety and that seems to help sometimes with the kids. We do the spinach smoothies a lot.
Libby says
I do love meat and potatoes. But, I also love green beans, broccoli, and carrots. For fruit, I tend to snack on apples, strawberries, and grapes. Last week we cut up a watermelon and I’ve been eating it all up! This week, I want to get some pumpkins to try and bake and puree to freeze.
Tara H says
I must admit that I’m not very good at this one! However, I have been buying lots of grapes lately as my boys LOVE them! I just got back from the store where I got some apples. ;)
I do love smoothies with frozen fruit though, and I usually add spinach to those.
Ana Leyva says
My family loves to eat fruits and vegetables. I make every effort to include vegetables with 2 of the 3 main meals of the day. We always have a good variety of fruits to eat as dessert or in between snacks. I just enjoyed some delicious figs as my afternoon snack and they were delicious. I really enjoy reading all the posts. Thank you!
Maarja Shisler says
Thanks for this reminder! We live in the country so we have an abundance of fresh veggies and fruits at all times of the year. We pick as much as we can to save on the cost, and I am learning to can more every year!
Lana says
My favorite veggie is are a big green salad with mixed greens and spinach, tomatoes, cucumber, onions and whatever else is around. Favorite fruit is cantaloupe. We eat lots of fruits and veggies but need to better at breakfast time.
Ginny says
We love all fruits in our home. Our little girls love to eat them all more than us.
We struggle with vegetables. One of my goals this year was to add more veggies to our dinners each week. I’ve done better with this but now as well as I would’ve liked. I’m still working on it.
This is the second year we’ve had a garden and this year I grew tomatoes and bell peppers. I pick them, cut them up and free for later use in the year. The garden has helped us eat better. I think we take pride in growing our own food and that has a lot to do with making better food choices.
Marsha says
Love our veggies! We eat a wide variety of vegetables but are still struggling with fruit. Bananas, oranges and pineapple are the only ones we seem to eat before they spoil. Thanks for the challenge….we need it :)
Amy says
Fortunately for us this is an area where we do really well in our eating. After the summer we always end up with a lot of fruit in our freezer due to the abundance we receive from generous friends with fruit trees. I make a lot of smoothies for my family (and sometimes sneak some veggies in with the fruit). We also love all kinds of squash. One of my favorite things to make is meatballs and tomato sauce served over spaghetti squash. So delicious!
Linda says
I’ve already been trying to do this one, but I keep sliding back, so this is a chance for me to get back on track. I was doing a green smoothie daily and now that it’s getting cooler they don’t appeal as much, so I’m having them in the afternoon instead of the morning, so I want to cont. to do that and also eat some salad daily even if it’s a small salad.
Jolene (Homespun Heritage) says
Fave fruit would be kiwi but want to try dragon fruit…I love kiwi frozen! Also, mango!
We use spinach in a lot of smoothies around here but, also, I make mock-meatballs with spinach…yummy stuff!
Mo says
We LOVE
Mo says
Ack! Baby “helping” me type :) We LOVE fruits and veggies here but my personal challenge this week will be to try a couple I’ve always had trouble with…eggplant and zucchini (it’s a texture thing) so we’ll try to branch out from zuchini bread :)
Sara says
Every week my family gets a Door to Door Organics box, the big one, ’cause my kids and hubby eat all the fruit…leaving A LOT of veggies…so our challenge every week is to eat them all up! We already eat a lot, but usually there’s still some left over when my next box is getting delivered so we’ve been working on that. I’m new to this Organic lifestyle so honestly I think I just need to get some good recipes under my belt and it will get easier!
sarahbeth says
I have broccoli and eggplant on the menu and some cauliflower I need to use up. Also green beans and carrots! And we always have fruit – the toddlers love all kinds! I usually eat way more veggies though.
Diana Campbell says
I plan to menu plan and have at least 5 fruits and vegetables.
Amanda says
We love almost all fruits, but maybe pineapple is my fave…so sweet and juicy! And it’s hard to beat tomatoes for their versatility. For veggies, I love good ol’ green beans.
MichelleL says
We go through seasons of getting at least 5 fruits and veggies in a day. Right now is one of the times we aren’t doing so great. So this challenge is perfect, hopefully it will help us get back on track. I love sweet potatoes and fresh fuji apples! It’s time to go apple picking. :-)
Crista C says
too funny…I decided that I needed to refocus my meals around more fruit and veggies…so my menu plan for the week is “fried” rice which is more veggies than rice because I threw in a pound of coleslaw mix along with a cup each of carrots and onions, 8 oz of mushrooms…can’t forget the green onions and garlic. Of course I used brown rice. :-) I also made cheeseburger zucchini boats, but with yellow squash since that is what I had on hand and the broccoli soup that is in your soup and stews cookbook. Then I made some roasted garlic and Parmesan cauliflower. My sweet for the day is going to be strawberry rhubarb crisp. Plus I snack on fruit and a nut/seed/granola type mix I make myself.
Shannon says
I buy whatever fruit is on sale and we always have apples. We usually eat frozen veggies.
Susan says
They are so easy and healthy, especially raw….why don’t I choose them more often?!
Tammy Maddox says
This challenge comes at the perfect time. My husband and I just watched Forks over Knives and he suggested that we decrease both the times each week that we eat meat and the portion size when we do have it. Yay! happy happy we do well eating fresh fruits and veggies but this is an extra fun kick (can a kick be fun??!)
Brighid says
The garden continues to give and give! I’m going to be making yet another batch of tomato sauce using your recipe for roasted tomatoes!
Tracie says
I love veggies! Everyone else in my house loves fruit. We are traveling this week, and I packed the cooler full of fresh fruits and made some homemade berry sauce to bring with us so we can stay healthy while on the road!
Bhriana says
my kids love cucumbers & red peppers!
Mary says
We LOVE our fruits and veggies!
Rachael Groom says
homemade apple sauce!!!!!
Amy says
We are loving juicy pears this week… Thank you to our local farmers’ market!
Kirsten says
I have found that if I cut up broccoli, cucumbers, carrots etc. and serve them with dinner or even beforehand my family will eat them up. In fact I have recently discovered that they are better at eating them raw then cooked, which is better for them in the first place!
Janel says
Just bought 2 bushels of apples today…I will can most of them into sauce but my kids eat apples like candy! YUMMY!
Lyndsay says
When I found out I was pregnant again in February, I had horrible morning sickness. Even looking at meat made me feel sick. But fresh fruits and veggies? I could eat and eat and eat. Now that was a challenge to find good ones in February in Nebraska, but I did. And it has continued…nothing made me happier than when the tomatoes and cucumbers ripened, and watermelons were finally ready! My dad was picking 10-20 cucumbers and tomatoes every few days from his garden and bringing them to me…I have been in Heaven! So this challenge has been checked off my list, thanks to one little boy who should make his appearance any day now :)
Joan S says
Been doing well with this one: our apples are ripe so we’ve been eating lots of those, same with zucchini. hoping to make sweet potato/black bean burritos this week. making sure i eat a fruit or veggie at breakfast (green monster smoothies are great!)really helps me stay on track for the day.
Tracy Compaan says
Love pretty much all fruits, and we always have fully stocked fruit bin at our house! That is one thing I have gotten practiced at, making fruit the default snack for the kids. This week, I’m hoping to try okra on my family from a friend’s garden. I like it, but I’ve never cooked with it. We love peas, broccoli, green beans, carrots. I prefer cooked over raw, but I have tried the raw carrots with the kids on occasion. The boys don’t enjoy garden salad a whole lot, but we eat it often.
Denita says
Ugh. I openly admit that I have a hard time with this one. I offer my kids lots of fruits and veggies, but usually only nibble them myself or eat only what doesn’t get eaten. In order to get better I challenge myself to eat some every meal plus whenever I desire sweets. Helps a lot!
Tara fogle says
We eat fruits and veggies instead of junk!! My kids love it.
Kristina says
I eat a ton of vegetables! My current new favorite is eggplant. Yum!
Angela says
Our family eats a ton of fresh produce! I have to limit how much my boys eat. They would eat fruit until they made themselves sick :). I guess this is a good problem to have.
Holly says
We eat tons of fresh fruits and veggies already. Our ultimate family favorites are mango, spinach, and avocado. We’ve also found a great way of using up extra oranges is to put them in a salad. The juice makes a wonderful dressing.
Staci says
I buy seconds at the farmers market of lots of produce, then we can eat all we want and I freeze the extras.
beth s says
Right now I’m into peaches, i love them with my homemade yogurt. I also love to make green smoothies with kale, strawberries and freshly squeezed orange juice (aww the benefits of living in So Cal)
Katie says
Mmm, I actually like them all. I really love this time of year when they are all so abundant. I’m gonna try to serve more this week, should be easy cause I have lot’s in the house!
Nanci says
I really need to work on this! Great motivation!!!!
wendy says
Pineapple is a favorite around here. My family eats soo many fruits and veggies my grocery cart looks ridiculous! I still end up running out at the end of the week, that’s a good problem though!!
Joanna Sigman says
We do really well on fruits and veggies here but I looking to expand the types of veggies we eat. I just recently cooking cauliflower as mashed potatoes and made cauliflower “breadsticks” and my family LOVES them! So excited to keep finding new ways to use cauliflower.
Jennifer Blaine says
Ok-eating more fruit….easy. Eating more vegetables….not so easy. I wasn’t raised on vegetables. It has already been a challenge to try and eat more than corn and green beans. But I have found that I really enjoy asparagus. I only like okra if it’s fried. And I enjoy cabbage-only if it’s cooked with bacon though lol. I still have a long way to go. But I’m trying.
Amy says
I wish my garden had produced better…normally we’d be eating nothing but produce this time of year. My goal is to just buy extra. We have a family of 7, so a bag of apples is gone in one go. I need to keep the fridge full.
Jeannie says
We love our green smoothies, so we always keep lots of fresh fruit and veggies on hand.
Sally McQuaid says
We are trying to have more veggies and fruit on hand at our house. Kids like some and not others. When introducing new fruits I put them in smoothies, yogurt and jello. Great way for them to try and learn the flavors.
mrs. p says
I was thinking about this very topic at work. That I need to get more fruits and veggie in our diet. LOL. Usually when I meal plan its just the main course and not the sides. Not working for me. SO now I including what veggie and fruit we will be eating.
katie says
Love fruits and veggies! Especially trying hard with this one since we’ve got a 1 year old. I’ve been making sure he gets plenty of greens and he loves fruit. So it makes it easier to get ours too when I intentionally have them on hand for him!
Cindy G says
We do well with fruits, but are terrible about veggies. I need to buy more and get them washed and ready for eating right away so they don’t just sit in the fridge!
Juli says
Soooo true!!! I’ve got to incorporate more in our menu!
Erin S says
Struggle? Yeah, I definitely struggle. My husband and I came from totally opposite families in this regard. He eats fruit for dessert while I’d always rather have an actual dessert. I think I’ll go make a smoothie for breakfast. Thanks!
Sandy says
smoothies: spinach, avocado, frozen banana, raw cocoa powder. Chocolate ‘pudding’: raw cocoa, avocado, powdered dates, frozen banana. Salads, w/ every veggie/fruit grated on top! Yum!
Melody says
I already eat a lot of fruits and vegetables but I can still try to eat more!
Linda D. says
I already eat quite a bit of fresh fruits and veggies….I need to utilized the large bowl full of green bell peppers from the garden. I used a large amount of fresh jalepenos from the garden to make poppers wrapped in turkey bacon…delicious…I will aim to eat more this week!
joanie e says
I cring when I hear parents saying their kids will not eat veggies- usually cause the parents don’t offer them… or eat them themselves. Growing a garden helps alot- all 4 of our teens grew up on fruits and veggies… and they still eat alot! We have a huge veg garden ( alone 3/4 acre) and when I do have to buy produce it is- for 2 weeks something like 15 pounds carrots , 20 pounds apples, 3 heads cabbage, 6 bunches of bananas, 2 head cauliflower, 10 pounds peppers, 20 of potatoes etc… you get teh idea ! we love veggies and fruit !
Tami says
Well, I’m struggling with gallbladder issues right now, so just about ALL I eat is fruits and veggies! I miss meat! lol. But I LOVE stir-fried veggies: leeks, squash, broccoli, snap peas, eggplant, carrots, bok choy, etc. I also REALLY like the small garnet sweet potatoes. My kids will eat their veggies, but they LOVE fruits. They will ask for more fruit after a meal over more pizza, spaghetti, cookies, etc. They’d take a strawberry before they’d take an ice cream cone!
Marina says
I’m pretty good with serving fruit or veggie with every meal, it’s just a matter of everyone eating everything, LOL. They usually get a couple of bites in at least. The other day I made these broccoli/cauliflower fritter things with cheese and thought they would be a hit but were not, they’d rather have just plain ole steamed broccoli!
Jean says
Getting as much of the summer produce as we can before the winter
Shelley says
I have been trying to add more veggies in to casseroles, soups, etc. For example, if I make an Italian casserole I chop up some zucchini or swiss chard into it.
Sue D says
I usually keep bananas, apples, grapes and carrots around for us to snack on. I harvest or buy seasonal fruits and veggies as they are available. I pledge to eat more of these instead of baked goodies.
cheryl says
The cold weather is coming and we are trying to get as much of those fresh veggies eaten or stored before they freeze.
Sally says
Our favorite veggies depends on what our garden is offering us that day. In the winter, our fresh carrots and kale continue and are supplemented by what we have canned or dried. We don’t grow any fruits yet so our basket is filled with what variety of organic fruit is in stock this week at our local market….plus dried or canned peaches, apples and strawberries we put away during the season. Fruit smoothies are our “ice cream” treat.
Denise Welker says
I love fruits and vegetables. Especially fresh from our garden or purchased at our local farmers market. We have an apple tree, blueberry bushes, raspberry bushes, grapevines, strawberry plants and a garden full of vegetables. All this on the small lot we own in town!
ann says
Just made strawberry and banana smoothies and popsicles. Made with frozen strawberries, ripe bananas and a little water and almaond milk. Delicious!
Jen E says
We try to eat fruits with all our meals and eat veges with lunch and dinner. Fruit is our after meal dessert. My girls love fruits and always asks for fruit for dessert. I love fruits and veges and try to eat as much as possible. But I find that eating fruits are far easier than eating lots of veges. We buy a variety of fruits in our house. Right now I have apples, bananas and grapes. Other times I’ve had oranges, apples, bananas, plums, pears etc.. I try to buy different fruits each week except apples and bananas. My husband takes apple for his lunch everyday. And we eat bananas every week for breakfast. So that is a constant in our house.
Karen says
Already had worked this into our menu plans this week! I’m going to get lunch ready for the children and myself now: Cottage cheese and crackers, fruit (choose from grapes, mangos, bananas, apples, oranges), and veggies with ranch dressing (choose from baby carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, orange pepper). Yum! I’m getting hungry.
patricia loser says
reminded me to make more of an effort to add these to our menus.
Martha says
We have struggled with adding in more veggies. Fruits are easy…we love them ALL!!! I have forced (yes I mean forced) my family to eat salad every night at supper. I’m keeping my fridge stocked though.
Meghan V. says
I love ’em…but I forget to use ’em especially in the winter. We love eating fruit as is. My children really love fruit smoothies though. They see it as a kind of dessert!
Melissa says
I can’t really complain about the amount of fruits and veggies my family eats. I just wish I could get the not-quite-2-year-old to eat some different veggies, like broccoli and green beans. We just keep trying them!
Michele ºÜº says
Fruits and veggies are a struggle for me, especially veggies because I didn’t grow up eating a lot of them. I am trying to be more intentional with them and planning salads for lunch (with varying ingredients included: one of the following each day, nuts, fruits, meats, cheeses, messy veggies like tomato and cucumber and such, sauteed veggies, and hard boiled eggs) and fruits for in-between-meal snacks and dessert most nights.
Lorinda says
I’ve been thinking more of healthy snack options. Pretzles and other carb choices are so easy to want. Offering a fruit and nuts for the 10 o’clock snack is a better choice. We enjoy all the fruits especially berries.
Rebecca says
We are trying to eat more fruits/veggies for snacks to get more into our diets each day!
Barbra says
We have been blessed to enjoy the bounty that God has given us in our garden! There is nothing like our own grown salad: red lettuce, endive, spinach, tomatoes, cucumbers, green onions!! Praise the Lord!
We eat a lot of fresh fruit and veggies, and thoroughly enjoy them.
Jennifer L. says
I have been working on this, before I even read your post. This morning I added berries to my oatmeal. For lunch I had a grilled cheese on sourdough, to which I added tomato and raw spinach. For sides I had cucumber sticks and the rest of the tomato, sliced. I’m planning to hae a green smoothie for my afternoon snack and jambalaya for dinner, which has bell pepper, tomato, and onions. I think this is a great challenge!
breck says
my youngest child is blessed with soy, egg, nut, and fish allergies…we MUST eat fresh fruits and veggies because she is practically allergic to processed food. That is why I tell her that her allergies are truly a blessing because it has forced us all to eat healthy!!
Jessica says
Wow, I need to read your post on doing the math with this one. My husband and I disagree on this, with me of course on the side for fresh fruit/veggies for snacks! We always have a smoothie for one of our snacks, and then we usually like sliced cucumber or carrots for vegetable snacks and could eat any fruit for a snack, depending on the season! Right now our favorites are apples, peaches, and pears of course!
Sarah says
Thanks, as always, for the encouragement! We are doing much better with this!!
Kristin says
I had to laugh, at my child’s school parents were asked remind their hot lunchers to take at least 1 fruit or veggie in order for the school to receive government subsidies for the lunch program. For reference, my daughter has 2 veggies and 1 fruit in her cold lunch and sometimes an additional fruit in her snack.
It is so easy to eat fresh local produce in the summer, though not cheap especially if it’s organic. The bulk of my weekly grocery purchase is for organic dairy and produce. I am dreading the upcoming fall/winter when berries, melon, etc. start coming from central and south america and thus no are longer sustainable to purchase. How do you explain to a 3 year old that she can’t have blackberries, because there are too many carbon emissions attached to them?
Tami S. says
I’ve been trying really hard to add in more veggies and fruit for myself. The kids eat fruit for snacks. I just need to come up with new ways to fix things so it doesn’t seem like the same thing over and over again. We hope that our fall garden will produce well. That will save a lot of money on organic veggies.
Pat Hoffmeister says
I really like fruits and vegetables. Now that fall is coming, lots of veggies will be used in soups and chilis.
Diane says
We eat tons of fruits and veggies so I love this challenge. I was thinking today how sad it will be when I can’t gather most of our dinner from the garden.
Ashley says
Pineapple!
Amber Schmidt says
We love our veggies and fruit. I keep a veggie tray stocked with fresh raw cut up veggies ready for eating. I also keep our fruit drawer and fruit basket stocked. Doing these simple things help keep healthy choices convenient. We are currently preparing for canning fresh produce to prepare us for the winter months as well.
Kathryn says
I am trying a different eggplant dish even though our first attempt was unedible. Little scared, but am trying to get us to eat a larger variety of veggies.
Thanks for the challenge.
Jenni Peters says
Definitely need to work on the veggies!
Angela Anthony says
This was actually one of my goals when making my menu for the month. I’ve even been baking more with fruits and veggies mixed in breads and bars!
Amber S says
The best way I’ve founf to eat more fruits and veggies is to have lots! We accomplish this through the garden and Bountiful Baskets produce co-op. It gives us such a great variety at a good price. Some of my favorite fruits are apples and pears-perfect time of year!
Sarah says
I looooove apples, so I’m excited to take a trip to the apple orchard this fall! For veggies, we usually have a salad with our dinners, and I try to change up what we’re using for the salad (romaine lettuce, spinach, etc). Otherwise, I kind of get stuck cycling through carrots, corn and beans as our main veggies.
Brooke says
I can’t wait to get my 20lbs of A.S. Organic Gala’s in a couple days :) An apple a day keeps the dr away!
I’ve been doing lots of smoothies… with greens and fruits!!! And my kids(usually) gobble them right down!
Linda says
I bought peaches this summer and canned some of them. I also bought blueberries when they were on sale and froze them. I like to use these fruits in plain yogurt with a little stevia. YUM!
Megan says
Great post. We have been adding more veggies to our meals. With a one year old some of the raw veggies are a little tough for him to eat but sauteed carrots are a good way to get him those veggies and good fats. Now to try to get him to like the green stuff a little better.
Mary Ann says
I am pulling out my stick blender and making smoothies. I bought some frozen tropical fruit along with frozen blueberries. This time, though, I bought kale and parsley to sneak in my smoothies. You need to strip the leaves on the kale and compost the touch stem. Ditto with the parsley.
I usually put a cup of frozen fruit, add about a fourth cup of additional frozen blueberries, a banana, some milk (or coconut milk or whatever milk I want to use), then a dollop of honey. It makes a huge smoothie and I can easily count my fruits (and veggies). With the kale and parsley, I’ll just add a small leaf of kale to start and a very small bit of parsley. When my husband makes these (and he makes them most mornings for himself before he goes to work – he’s consistent and I’m not at all), he adds an egg and ground flax seed.
Jennifer Franke says
I am enjoying all these ideas! We went to the Farmers Market for the third week in a row this past Saturday and loaded up on more produce. So excited for the butternut squash soup I am making right now. It is the ONLY way I can get my kids to eat any type of squash (except for zuchinni). We bought a share of crops last winter (got a big box of veggies every other week). I think we tried every type of squash out there! My hubby and I love them all. Those farm co-ops are a great way to force yourself to try new things. We NEVER would have bought squash prior to that co-op. or cabbage…or kohlorobi (spelling?) yum!
Cathy V. says
Have to just go and purchase more fruits and vegetables – always hesitate to buy too much because if no one else eats, mom has to eat everything! How come that never happens with ice cream?
Kristy says
Thats true in my house too and they complain when the ice cream is gone and blame each other for eating it all!
For once I’d like to hear “Hey who ate all of the broccoli?”
Heather says
We are eating fruits and veggies like crazy right now…all fresh! I’m canning and freezing what I can as well and am so grateful for this time of year. Tomorrow is farmer’s market day and just in time…the fridge is looking bare of fresh stuff and I’m not dipping into the preserved foods yet! My kids are little and we have two snacks a day (10 am and 3 pm) and the morning one is always some kind of fruit. All week long it has been apples and PB because we went and rescued some apples on long forgotten apple trees last weekend.
Stephanie says
I just went to the store yesterday and stocked up on fresh and frozen produce! We had steamed broccoli with our pasta tonight. We’re also currently enjoying fresh pears from our tree! I’m going to make a big batch of pear sauce this week!
Alycia says
We love our fruits and veggies. My kids typically ask for fruit for a snack….
Laurence GL says
My favorite veggie is cucumber, and as it is the end of the cucumber season where I live, I intend to eat more of it raw.
Deb says
Probably peaches are my favorite fruit, and I’m just discovering that I love asparagus! Who knew?! I need to have more fruits and veggies on hand so i’ll reach for those instead of other snacks.
Tina says
I already eat lots of fruits, blueberries at breakfast, tomatoes at lunch, also watermelon and grapes, then an apple on the way home. Will try to do more veggies.
Beth B says
Thanks for your good ideas. I have been trying to be more aware of adding more veggies and fruits to our meals! Tonight we made a trip to the store and loaded up on a bunch:)
Kristi says
We make fresh fruit smoothies every week – and every meal we each something RAW and fresh . . . if we sit down to our meal and we don’t see anything RAW – one of up pops up and finds some raw food to add to our meal – it has helped us so much!!
Devon says
I had complaints that there are too many veggies in the refrigerator this week. We are eating them as fast as we can.
Candice M says
It’s hard to get my young children to eat fruits and veggies, but we continue to offer them. Some of our favorite fruits are pineapple, pomelo, apple, mango, and strawberries. Some favorite veggies are okra, broccoli, watercress, and chayote.
Carolyn says
trying to so hard to do this too! It helps to be intentional about cutting up some carrots or something for the kids to snack on
Susan says
we love our fruits & veggies, but sometimes it’s so hard for me to remember to prep them.
Jennifer says
Having a garden and a membership in our local CSA helps us eat more fruits and veggies. I can’t stand to see it all go bad!
Kristy says
I love this challenge, because sometimes I get off track. So yesterday I made a big salad with romaine, chopped green peppers, chopped cauliflower, onion, shredded carrots & purple cabbage. I then cut up 2 cantaloupe and stuck them in the fridge. Instant healthy snacking for my sweet tooth! I am trying to stay away from sugar and I constantly go into the kitchen looking for little nibbles, like tiny, little, cute chocolate chips (they’re little & cute so it doesn’t count!) My goal for the rest of the week is to eat my big salad up before it goes bad (I don’t like wasting food) and eating fruit instead of the chocolate chips.
Sherri says
I started doing this recently – and was pleasantly surprised! Not only are we feeling better, but I don’t have to use up so much of our more expensive foods for a main dish. I can serve less main, more fruits/veges, some grain in some form….and everyone is satisfied! Who knew! (Well, since God planned it this way, I’m sure HE did…) :)
Amanda B. says
I just had a 1/2 bushel of honeycrisp apples given to me from a local farmer. Right now, these are my favorite fruit. I am also LOVING heirloom tomatoes!
Rhoda says
Love the fruits and veggies, but just recently found out that I am allergic to a bunch of them (the night shades!). Bummer!! Trying to figure out what I can and cannot eat right now.
Annie says
We eat a fruit or a vegetable at every meal. However, I’m not quite sure how to add more. We keep meals pretty simple here with 4 little ones, but I’d be open to suggestions. We really don’t do snacks between meals.
Sheri Beeker says
I love most all fruit and the summer is the best time of year to eat it(peaches, pears, all the berries, watermelon)thankfully, my kids love fruit as well…but, I definitely need to do a better job of veggies.
T.R. says
I love most fruits and veggies, except, cauliflower, carrots and brussel sprouts…:O) I’m already eating good fruit. But I’m going to add my veggies to my lunch and dinner. :O)
Jaclyn says
I love making kale chips, great snack. One of our favorite sides is roasted zucchini, squash, onion, and red pepper. I also make plenty of soup loaded with veggies!
Lauren says
Oh, I needed this reminder today. I was doing so well for a while, but I’ve wandered from the path of fruit and veggie eating…
Rita says
I actually made two veggies with dinner the other night!!
jami says
I love fruits and veggies! Fruit on the table is a no brainer. Sometimes the veggie doesn’t always make it. It might already be in the main dish or after I get the main dish done I’m ready to just sit everyone down to eat. I can really push myself to get more veggies on the table!
Jocelyn says
Having hummus on hand helps us eat most raw veggies. I also need to remember to serve the raw veggies first, more get eaten when kids are hungry :) On my to do list is making your ranch cuz using ranch dip is the only way my kids will eat raw broccoli.