Rock The New Year On The Right Fruit!

Are you able to add one more color to your meals and snacks today? If you answered yes, great! You’re one step closer to living a healthier, tastier life.

Whether you have a New Year’s resolution to lose weight, be more active or eat healthier to keep illness at bay, turning over a new leaf—as in a new vegetable and fruit leaf—is a surefire way to get you there.

Incorporating favorite (and new-to-you) plants onto your plate at every eating occasion will pave a path to resolution success. The solution to your goals can be that straightforward.

First, begin with the initial step: Adding one more color to today’s meals. Over time, work toward adding in more colors from fruits and vegetables one meal, one snack at a time.

For example, focus on eating more green in the form of salad greens. From soups, salads and sandwiches to smoothies, sautés and omelets, something as innocuous as salad greens can add crunch with a punch of nutrition and sense of satiety wherever they’re included.

As you weave more colors from fruits and vegetables into your favorite recipes, you’ll begin reaching for more nourishing foods throughout the day inadvertently. And the result will feel awesome.

Why would including a fruit and/or vegetable every time you eat be so impactful? Fruits and vegetables help your body do its thing by offering co-factors (or partners-in-crime, if you prefer) to cells. Having the essential ingredients do the tasks they’re meant to, your cells are able to resist the impact of invasive bacteria and viruses even more.

These partners-in-crime are a mixture of the usual suspects and their not-so-well-known buddies. Vitamins like vitamins C and E and minerals like zinc and iron tend to take the lead. Whereas, antioxidant-acting plant compounds such as polyphenols like quercetin in apples and onions and ellagic acid in berries and cherries become unsung heroes found in every day foods. Better yet, all forms of fruits and vegetables fit, so you can mingle in frozen options with fresh, canned, dried and 100% juice!

Take home message: Get to adding one more color from fruits and vegetables to daily meals and improved eating will come with minimal effort and great rewards.

What do you think— Can you #HaveAPlant at every meal? Yeah, you know you can. Now get to it, you nutrition rockstar!