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Tag: Fruits & Vegetables

Eat More Dark Green Veggies

Posted on by djbechard

Most Americans age 2 and older do not eat the recommended amounts of vegetables. It is important to add more veggies to our meals and snacks, as vegetables provide vitamins and minerals and most are low in calories and fat.

Vary your veggies. The most commonly eaten vegetables are potatoes and tomatoes according to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. It is important to vary your veggies throughout the week by eating from the five vegetable subgroups: dark green, red and orange, legumes (beans and peas), starchy, and other vegetables.

These vegetables are grouped together based on their nutrient content. Most Americans do not eat enough of dark green, red and orange vegetables, and beans and peas. Try to focus on fitting more dark-green vegetables into your day.

4 Ways to Add More Dark Green Veggies

  • Add spinach to a smoothie.
  • Dip fresh broccoli in hummus, yogurt-based dip, or another low-fat dip.
  • Not used to eating salads with leafy dark greens? Try mixing romaine lettuce, spinach, or baby kale with a lettuce you normally use.
  • Liven up a pasta dish, stir fry, omelet, or salad by adding spinach or chopped broccoli.

See the recipe for Clover Power Smoothie. Try this simple green smoothie for a fun and festive way to add dark green vegetables by using spinach.

VEGETABLE SUBGROUP EXAMPLES
Dark Green Broccoli, spinach, leafy salad greens (including romaine lettuce), collards, bok choy, kale, turnip greens, mustard greens, green herbs (parsley, cilantro)
Red and Orange Tomatoes, carrots, 100% tomato juice, sweet potatoes, red peppers (hot and sweet), winter squash, pumpkin
Legumes (beans and peas) Pinto, white, kidney, and black beans; lentils; chickpeas; lima beans (mature, dried); split peas; edamame (green soybeans)
Starchy Potatoes, corn, green peas, lima beans (green, immature), plantains, cassava
Other Lettuce (iceberg), onions, green beans, cucumbers, celery, green peppers, cabbage, mushrooms, avocado, summer squash (includes zucchini), cauliflower, eggplant, garlic, bean sprouts, olives, asparagus, peapods (snowpeas), beets

By: Jamie Rathbun

Add More Plants to your Plate!

Posted on by Marci Metz

The Dietary Guidelines for Americans encourages increased consumption of plants — whole grains, fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts, and seeds — and reduced consumption of solid and added fats, added sugars, and refined grains. However, people are not eating nearly as much plant food as is recommended. Only 19% of Kansas adults eat enough fruits and vegetables. Don’t let a busy schedule keep you from choosing healthful foods. Instead, turn to a diet with more plants, one that is full of flavor and nutrients, low in calories, and very satisfying.

Benefits of Consuming More Plants

  • Weight control: Weight gain is generally correlated with high daily calorie intake without nutrient-dense foods full of dietary fiber and complex carbohydrates. Fruits, vegetables, legumes, and whole-grain foods typically provide a feeling of fullness with fewer calories, compared to other types of foods. Putting more of these kinds of plants on the plate makes it easier to manage appetite and maintain body weight.
  • High dietary fiber: Only plant foods contain fiber. Dietary fiber is a complex form of carbohydrate. Several decades of studies have confirmed the health benefits of eating a fiber-rich diet. Specifically, diets rich in foods containing fiber — such as fruits, vegetables, and whole grains — may reduce the risk of coronary heart disease and improve regularity. A healthy elimination system allows bodies to get rid of toxins. Beans and legumes contain more dietary fiber than almost any other food, so they are an integral and versatile part of a balanced diet. The dietary fiber in legumes is both soluble, which is especially useful in helping control cholesterol levels to lower heart disease risk, and insoluble, which improves regularity. Beans are also filling, so they help promote weight management by satisfying hunger.
  • Chronic disease management: Consuming a diet featuring more plants is good for your health, today and tomorrow. Complex carbohydrates are easy to digest, and the antioxidants in plants help strengthen your body’s immune system. Many people with heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and various autoimmune diseases have been able to alleviate their symptoms by eating more whole grains, fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts, and seeds, and consuming fewer solid and added fats, added sugars, and refined grains.

Adopting a more plant-based diet requires a change in thinking. It is not easy to change eating habit.  But gradually, as more vegetables, fruits, and grains and legumes are added to your daily menu, you will discover how “real food” looks, smells, and tastes.

For more information about adding more plants to your plate, please view our K-State Research and Extension publication MF2977, which is the source of this information.

By:  Ashley Svaty