Colorful fruits and vegetables add value to your body. Simple.
Eat 5 servings of colorful vegetables and/or fruit every day.
Over the next few weeks, we’ll teach you more about why this habit is important, and how to do it.
If you haven’t already done so, check out the habit card on your Today page to learn more.
Why colorful?
Color means good stuff. We like good stuff.
Color means vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients (plant nutrients).
Fruits and vegetables also have water and fiber. Sometimes even a little bit of healthy fat and protein.
Colorful fruits and vegetables add value to your body. Simple.
Work with your nutritional level
As always, this is a game and an experiment. Try stuff and see what works for you.
Play with it and — if the time is right — challenge yourself.
Level 1
If you’re new to eating our plant friends, feel free to mix up veggies and colorful fruit.
Keep it simple and just get in the habit of eating the rainbow. Don’t worry too much about exact portion sizing. Your “eat slowly” and “80% full” habits will help you.
Level 2
If you’re already a produce-eating ninja, then use this habit to polish your plant consumption skills.
Here are some things to try:
- Improve your overall consistency.
- Try more servings, especially of colorful vegetables.
- Try new vegetables.
- Try a new way of prepping or cooking familiar favorites.
- Aim for more dark leafy greens.
- Hit up the farmer’s market and try something in season, or buy something that’s organic.
Keep it simple
Don’t get bogged down in the details or worry about the “best” kind of fruit/vegetable.
Just pick at least five servings of colorful plants. Find stuff you already enjoy, or try new stuff.
And eat them slowly, to 80% full.
Feel free to eat more than five servings.
Five servings are your baseline for this habit.
But if you want to become a colorful plant superstar, we won’t be the ones to stop you.
If you’re on blood thinners such as Warfarin or Coumadin, check with your doctor before bumping up the veggies.
Dark leafy greens are loaded with vitamin K, a nutrient involved in blood clotting.
You can eat more green leafy veggies, but you may need to adjust your medication dose.
A sample day of colorful eating
Meal 1: Colorful berries with oatmeal
Pair an egg or two with that, or maybe some Greek yogurt, and you’ve got your morning protein.
Meal 2: Fruit or vegetable Super Shake with spinach
Pre-make this as part of your morning food ritual and pack it with you to take to work.
Meal 3: Salad
Just put some protein on top.
Meal 4: Raw veggies
Again, pair with some protein such as cottage cheese.
Meal 5: Vegetable kebabs
Stick some protein on the skewers, such as tofu, shrimp, or chicken.
Guess what . . . that day of eating is about TEN servings of fruits and vegetables.
All you have to do is half of that.
We’ll give you some ideas for a fruit- and vegetable-rich menu as well as some prep tips.
This week, just experiment with this new habit and see what you discover.
What do you like? What is easy?
What are you willing to try?
What is trickier? What don’t you like?
Shape your environment: Make colorful fruits and veggies easily available and convenient.
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