Healthy Idea

Ten Fast Fruit and Veggie Ideas
By: Reader's Digest
Struggling to get your fill of fruits and vegetables?
Try these 10 tricks:

1. Start with vegetables. Before you put anything else on your plate, start with a salad, a heap of green beans, or a stalk of broccoli. After you’ve eaten your vegetables, add the other components of the meal. Since you’re eating your veggies first, when you’re hungry, you’re likely to eat more.

2. Make a super salad. One 7-ounce bag of washed lettuce equals a bit more than one serving. Add a sliced tomato, a diced apple, and a quarter cup of raisins and you’ve just increased that to four servings.

3. Keep it convenient. Either slice vegetables yourself and keep them in the fridge in ice water or buy precut vegetables. Don’t shun canned fruits, either. If they’re packed in unsweetened syrup, they provide a quick, convenient way to get a serving or more. Try canned peaches on ice cream or mandarin orange segments in salads. Frozen vegetables are another excellent shortcut. Throw them into soups or stews without defrosting. Buy bags of frozen chopped onions and peppers for quick starts to dinners.

4. Drink them. Although you don’t get the same amount of fiber in canned fruit or vegetable juice as you do in the whole fruit, it’s still a good way to get a serving or two a day. Add a small can of V-8 or tomato juice to your afternoon snack, or throw a banana, a cup of berries, and a container of nonfat yogurt into your blender for a three-fruit-servings smoothie. Sprinkle flaxseeds on top for even more cholesterol-lowering power.

5. Get them on pizza. Forget the pepperoni. Order a vegetable pizza. You’ll get sweet, roasted vegetables with every slice.

6. Hide them. Add grated carrots to lasagna or spaghetti sauce. And use potato-puree to thicken soups in place of cream.

7. Use them as condiments. Salsas are all the rage these days. Don’t stop with tomato salsas. Fruit salsas (pineapple, onion, and mint, or cantaloupe, balsamic vinegar, and brown sugar) make wonderful accompaniments to pork, fish, and chicken. Try jarred chutneys for an easy option.

8. Give ’em a roast. Roasting vegetables such as onions, carrots, turnips, bell peppers, eggplant, and even asparagus is a wonderful way to bring out their natural sweetness. Just spray the vegetables and pan with cooking spray, or drizzle on a bit of olive oil, then roast in a hot oven (450°F) until done. (Different vegetables require different cooking times.) Check often, and turn midway through. Grilling is another way to bring out the flavor in vegetables; try zucchini strips at your next backyard cookout.

9. Get them in burgers. Veggie burgers, that is.

10. Plan an adventure. Buy one exotic fruit or vegetable on your next trip to the grocery store. Here are some to try (and some ways to try them):

Carambolas (star fruit). Ripen at room temperature (the ribs on the skin will turn brown) then refrigerate. To serve, cut into star shapes with the skin. They’re a great complement to meat in stir-fries.

Plantains. Available year-round, this slightly acidic fruit tastes a bit like squash. Try green plantains peeled and chunked in stews.

Tomatillos. Available year-round from Mexico and California, these small fruits resemble green tomatoes and have a slight, sweet apple or plum flavor. They’re the basis of green salsa and are loaded with vitamins A and C.

Belgian endive.This type of lettuce has a mild, slightly bitter flavor, and it’s packed with fiber, iron, and potassium. Use it in salads and substitute it for crackers with vegetable dips.

Jicama. Known as the Mexican potato, jicama (HE-cah-ma) is a root tuber, like potatoes. Buy it smooth and firm with unblemished roots. Serve it cold and raw, or in soups, stews, or salads. It’s great as a substitute for water chestnuts.

Bok choy. An Asian cabbage, bok choy is excellent chopped and stir-fried in a bit of peanut oil and soy sauce, or throw it into soup just before serving.