Five Fun Ways to Get Your Fruits and Veggies

I know I’ve mentioned it on here before, but I used to hate most fruits and some veggies. My dad used to buy bananas and make my sister and I take three or four bites each to ensure we were getting some potassium each day. We’d gag and hold our noses the entire time. I disliked fruit so much I’d scrape the strawberries off strawberry cheesecake. It wasn’t until I was 18 years old that I began to appreciate healthy fruits and vegetables and incorporate them into my life. Even then it was still small, baby steps. Here I am five years later and I can’t imagine not eating fruits and veggies. The two main things I’ve learned from my journey with food are this:

1. You eat what you know. I wasn’t raised surrounded by lots of fresh food so I didn’t eat it. I firmly believe your taste buds can adapt to anything. The first time I tried skim milk I thought it was disgusting. Now I think anything stronger is too rich. The same thing happened as I transitioned from milk chocolate to dark. And from processed food to fresh food. We have way more control over what our body likes and doesn’t like than we give ourselves credit for.

2. There are endless ways to make sure you’re getting enough fruits and veggies each day. While most taste amazing on their own, there’s lots of ways to sneakily include the good stuff in your food if you’re not such a fan. I thought it would be fun to create a list of 5 fun ways to get your fruits and veggies.

 

1. Salad

This is the easiest and probably most direct way to get your fruits and veggies aside from eating them raw. Toss in some of your favorite nuts, cheese, sliced avocado, or hard boiled egg and you’ve got a complete meal that is super healthy and tasty.

2. Kale chips

Kale is one of the most nutrient dense foods out there. When eaten raw, the flavor can be a bit bitter, so I prefer to eat my kale in chip form. There are so many recipes out there, but the essential gist it to take some kale, coat it in in olive oil or a nut paste (cashews are my favorite) and then put it in a dehydrator for six hours. Kale chips taste so good you think they must be bad for you, except they’re not at all.

3. Veggie casseroles

Casseroles are great ways to sneak in lots of extra veggies into a meal. They’re hard to taste amidst all the gooey cheese. ;p

4. Homemade green smoothies

I’m a huge proponent for green smoothies! You can put so many good ingredients in, blend them all up, and drink down a delicious meal. My favorite ingredients are spinach, chia, hemp, banana (how times have changed), and whatever other fruits I’m craving that day. Smoothies get a bad rap for just being a lot of empty calories, but if you put the right things in them they become a complete and healthy meal.

5. On the go fruit smoothies

Josh and I have been racking up a lot of frequent flier miles lately. With all the go-go-go it can be hard to fit in healthier snacks. I can’t exactly fit my VitaMix in my carry on. ;p Enter Naked fruit smoothies. These are actually the first fruit smoothies I was ever introduced to. As soon as I tried them, I was immediately hooked on the delicious taste and all the fruits and veggies in every bottle. These, a cup of coffee, and a protein bar have been my travel foods of choice. Josh still isn’t quite on board with my homemade green smoothies (baby steps!), but he is all about Naked smoothies. I’ve also been taking them to work for a late breakfast on mornings when I’m running a little slower than normal. They’re by far my favorite out of all the packaged or store-made smoothies I’ve tried. Some have more nutrients and fiber than others, and I love that they offer different options depending on what you’re looking for. If you just want a juice drink, they’ve got it. If you want a fruit and veggie blend packed with fiber, they’ve got it. If you want a protein drink, they’ve got it. If you want coconut water to replenish after a workout, they’ve got that too.

I love seeing all that goes into making these and knowing that they’re all natural. And that there’s no added sugar. Fruit juice has enough sugar!

The flavors in our fridge right now are: Mighty Mango, Blue Machine, Strawberry Banana, and Green Machine (my favorite!). They’re all so delicious. This was our first time picking up the strawberry banana and mighty mango flavors. I immediately went for the strawberry and Josh knew right away he was going to love the mango. We took turns sharing while we watched the latest episode of Revolution.

We each drank half the bottle and then turned the rest into juice pops! We thought this would be a fun way to have something sweet and fruity in the house when a snack craving hits.

Questions of the Day: What’s an easy way you get fruits and veggies into your diet? Are you a Naked Juice fan?

Naked Juice is worth its weight in good! There’s a pound of fruit in every bottle. Naked Juice has partnered with charity Wholesome Wave to improve access to fresh produce in communities across the country. You can help by visiting www.nakedjuice.com/gooddeeds. For every coupon downloaded, 1 LB of fresh produce will go to an underserved community, up to 100,000 pounds.

Disclosure: Compensation was provided by Naked Juice via Glam Media. The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are not indicative of the opinions or positions of Naked Juice.