We probably all know that we 'should' be eating plenty of fruits and vegetables... but why?
Fruit and vegetables contain a huge amount of vitamins and minerals that we can't get from other foods, plus they are a great source of fibre. These are the things that help to keep us healthy and functioning properly.
Anyone looking to make changes to their health, performance and body shape needs to make sure that they haven't got any nutrient deficiencies, otherwise this will make things harder and their progress will be slower... much like trying to drive a car with the handbrake half on.
If you’re not getting near the recommended five portions of fruits / vegetables and if you’re not taking a multivitamin, then you should definitely place focus on this.
Also, anyone trying to lose a little bit of weight and are currently struggling with hunger would do well to increase their fruit and vegetable intake, as not only do they have amazing health benefits but they also often tend to be relatively low in calories but really quite filling too.
Fruits and vegetables contain high amounts of something called micronutrients. These nutrients cannot be produced in the body, therefore we need to obtain them from our diet. These micronutrients play a vital role in keeping our body functioning for optimal health and performance, i.e. they support energy production, immune function and pretty much all essential processes in the body.
Different micronutrients are found in different foods, not just fruits and vegetables - i.e. they will be found in meat, fish, grains, etc but fruits and vegetables contain a high concentration of micronutrients, whilst being low in calories.
Fruit and vegetables also contain a high amount of fibre as well, which helps with digestion as well as bloody sugar management, helping us have steady energy levels throughout the day, which can help to reduce cravings and feelings of hunger.
Our advice around fruits and vegetables would be to 'eat the rainbow', i.e. vary your sources and get plenty of different colours in there - greens, reds, purples, oranges, yellows, the lot.
They each will have different vitamins and minerals within them, so it;s important to try to vary your sources and the ‘colour’ too.
Similar to protein, it doesn’t really matter about when we get our fruits and vegetables. The most important thing is our total daily intake. However, common sense would say that it would be a lot easier to space our intake out across several meals.
Most people often tend to favour fruit with breakfast and snacks and vegetables with meals later in the day. Of course there are exceptions to this and it all comes down to personal preference. Furthermore, some people heavily favour fruits over vegetables, all we recommend is that you vary your sources as much as you can in order to get the widest spectrum of nutrients possible!
We often find that people tend to be really good at getting vegetables with their evening meal, as this tends to be people’s most ‘balanced’ meal of the day, however they are not so great at getting them in at their other meals. At night, people will often choose the typical leafy greens, or roasted mediterranean style veg as a tray-bake and of course these sources aren't limited to evening meals, therefore I would recommend having leftovers for lunch when possible, as this will help people bump up their vegetable intake without too much extra effort.
Other great sources of vegetables can be as part of soups, which are a popular option at lunchtime, especially through the winter months.
You can get really creative with salads as well, you can pretty much throw anything in a salad and make it tasty.
At breakfast, a good choice for getting vegetables in can be including vegetables in omelettes, or any cooked breakfast option can include mushrooms, spinach and tomatoes, etc
Regarding fruit, at breakfast time a popular choice is often adding berries to yoghurt, slicing bananas up into porridge or simply just grabbing a couple of bits of fruit as part of a quick breakfast 'on the go'.
At lunchtime, adding fruit to salads is a great way of keeping your salads interesting up and upping your nutrient intake; mango, orange and pomegranate seeds are fantastic options here.
Having fruit as a 'pudding' at lunchtime or your evening meal can also be a really good habit to get into, as it will be a much lower calorie, higher nutrient option, that may satisfy the sweet craving you feel after a main meal.
If you are a) someone who struggles to eat breakfast or b) struggles to get fruit/veg in full stop, then homemade smoothies / juices are a fantastic way of getting loads of nutrients, vitamins and minerals in a quick convenient way. There are thousands of smoothie and juice recipes you can find online, or just experiment with what you've got in the fridge.
If you're someone who struggles to eat enough fruits and vegetables, or you don't feel like you get a wide enough variety, then a good quality multivitamin is strongly recommended.
Even if you're one of the few people that genuinely does get enough fruits and vegetables and they eat a wide variety, I would still probably recommend looking at getting a good quality multivitamin, as this will help cover your bases and act as a cheap, convenient safety net.