Adding more fruit and vegetables can provide you a wide variety of health benefits, including weight management. Whether you cook at home or eat out, adding more colorful, nutritious and delicious vegetables and fruit into your snacks and meals is important for a healthy eating pattern.
Which fruits and vegetables are best?
The fact is that they’re all good for you. When you eat many different types of fruits and vegetables, you’ll get a variety of vitamins and minerals to support good health. The American Heart Association suggests filling half your plate with fruits and veggies as a way to meet the recommendation of 4½ cups of each every day.
All produce counts towards the goal of 9 cups, including canned, fresh and frozen fruits and vegetables. When shopping for canned or frozen fruit and vegetables, be sure to compare Nutrition Facts labels and choose the products with the lowest amount of sodium and added sugars.
All fruits and vegetables contain vitamins, minerals and other nutrients that may help prevent heart disease, cancer and other illnesses. Some of these nutrients are fiber, potassium, folate, and vitamins A and C. The best way to get more nutrients is to eat fruits and vegetables of many different colors. The five main color groups and examples in each group are listed on the Eat More Color infographic.
Here are some ways to include fruit and vegetables in your meals and snacks throughout the day:
Breakfast
- Add fruit to whole-grain cereal, such as sliced bananas, raisins or dried unsweetened cranberries.
- Add fruit to plain fat-free/low-fat yogurt or fat-free/low-fat cottage cheese such as berries, sliced cherries or pineapple.
- Add fruit to oatmeal, such as sliced peaches, apples or pears.
- Eat whole fruits. However, if you drink fruit or vegetable juice, keep your serving to ½ cup, and be sure it’s labeled 100%. Skip fruit drinks, punches or fruit co*cktails. They are often loaded with excess sodium and/or added sugar.
- Add chopped vegetables, such as onions, bell peppers and/or spinach, to eggs.
Lunch
- Choose a fruit or vegetable salad as your entree.
- Bulk up a sandwich with vegetables, such as cucumber spears, sliced tomato, sliced avocado and dark green leafy lettuce.
- Enjoy a bowl of soup that’s full of vegetables. You can make easy soup recipesat home. If you buy canned soups, be sure to compare the Nutrition Facts labels and choose the product with the lowest amount of sodium.
- Choose celery sticks or baby carrots with a dipas a side dish instead of chips.
Snacks
- Wash and cut raw veggies, such as bell peppers, celery, carrots, radishes and broccoli, ahead of time so they’re easy to grab for a snack. Pair them with a healthy dip.
- Prepare snack bags with dried fruit, such as raisins, dates or unsweetened apricots and dry-roasted nuts, such as pecans, almonds and walnuts. (Although nutritious dried fruits and nuts are high in calories, so enjoy as a ¼ cup-serving.)
- Keep grab-and-go fruit, such as grapes, cherries, oranges and bananas, easily available when you’re on the run.
- Enjoy eating frozen fruits or vegetables, such as grapes, peas or sliced bananas.
Dinner
- Fill half your plate with vegetables and/or fruit.
- Keep lots of frozen vegetables on hand. They can be easily steamed or microwaved within minutes while the entree is cooking.
- Bake or roast vegetables, such as a sweet potato or asparagus if you’re using the oven for an entree.
- Always add extra chopped vegetables, such as sliced, celery, carrot rounds, chopped tomatoes or spinach, to any soup stew or sauce.
- Stir in cooked frozen or leftover vegetables, such as peas, chopped asparagus or sliced mushrooms, halved Brussels sprouts, to cooked brown rice.
- Throw some vegetables, such as sliced zucchini or yellow squash, corn on the cob, halved bell peppers, on the barbecue too when you’re grilling chicken or another entree.
- Make extra vegetables so you can easily have them again for another meal.
Last Reviewed: Oct 26, 2023
FAQs
Add fruit to plain fat-free/low-fat yogurt or fat-free/low-fat cottage cheese such as berries, sliced cherries or pineapple. Add fruit to oatmeal, such as sliced peaches, apples or pears. Eat whole fruits. However, if you drink fruit or vegetable juice, keep your serving to ½ cup, and be sure it's labeled 100%.
How can I make myself eat more fruits and vegetables? ›
For example, stir fruit into your cereal or yogurt, add strawberries or blueberries to your pancakes, pack your sandwich with extra veggies, add vegetable toppings to your pizza, stir greens into your favorite casserole or pasta dish, or stuff your omelet with extra vegetables.
What are three tips to help you eat more vegetables? ›
Start with these tips:
- Start your day with vegetables. Add leftover cooked vegetables to your omelet or breakfast wrap. ...
- Add variety to salads. ...
- Try a stir-fry. ...
- Spruce up your sandwich. ...
- Go for a dip or a dunk. ...
- Take vegetables on the go.
Fruits and vegetables help you maintain good health.
Because they're low in saturated fat, salt and sugar, fruits and vegetables are part of a well-balanced diet that can help you lose weight or prevent weight gain. Plus, they can help you decrease inflammation, and lower cholesterol levels and blood pressure.
What do 5 servings of fruit and vegetables look like? ›
Five servings of vegetables: three cups of lettuce, a half cup of broccoli and a half cup of peppers. Five servings of fruit: a half cup of blueberries, half a mango, one apple and one cup of cantaloupe. Five servings of fruit: one cup of cantaloupe, one cup of pineapple and one apple.
How to get 5 vegetables a day? ›
20 easy ways to get your 5-a-day
- Love your lentils. Beans and lentils count towards your 5-a-day. ...
- Jazz up rice. Adding vegetables such as peas or sweetcorn to your rice is a great way to increase your vegetable intake. ...
- Fruity breakfasts. ...
- Love your fruit bowl. ...
- Healthier snacks. ...
- Vegetable crisps. ...
- Sandwich fillings. ...
- Pie toppings.
Healthy eating means consuming more dark green vegetables, such as broccoli, spinach, and other dark leafy greens. Include more red or orange vegetables, such as carrots, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, and legumes, in your diet (dry beans and peas).
What are the healthiest fruits and vegetables? ›
The healthiest fruits include blueberries, bananas, avocados, and citrus fruits. The healthiest vegetables include kale, spinach, carrots, and sweet potatoes. Fruits and vegetables are healthy because they're rich in vitamins, minerals, and phytochemicals.
What happens when you don't eat vegetables and fruit? ›
As fruit and vegetables are packed full of fibre, when you reduce this long term in your diet your body is not removing any toxins, regulation of your blood sugar levels and appetite will be compromised and eventually your immune system will not be unable to defend your body from any harmful bacteria.
Which fruit is best for health? ›
Good choices include oranges, blueberries, apples, avocados, and bananas, but there are many more to choose from. Fruits are an excellent source of essential vitamins and minerals, and they are high in fiber. Fruits also provide a wide range of health-boosting antioxidants, including flavonoids.
The 2020–2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans* advise incorporating more fruits and vegetables into U.S. residents' diets as part of healthy dietary patterns. Adults should consume 1.5–2 cup-equivalents of fruits and 2–3 cup-equivalents of vegetables daily.
What counts as one cup of vegetables? ›
In general, 1 cup of raw or cooked vegetables or vegetable juice, or 2 cups of raw leafy greens can be considered as 1 cup from the Vegetable Group.
How do you know if you are eating enough fruits and vegetables? ›
If you get about two cups of fruit and two and a half cups of vegetables per day, then you are on track! If you are not hitting those numbers, try to make that your goal.
How to eat more fruits and vegetables every day? ›
Add fruit to plain fat-free/low-fat yogurt or fat-free/low-fat cottage cheese such as berries, sliced cherries or pineapple. Add fruit to oatmeal, such as sliced peaches, apples or pears. Eat whole fruits. However, if you drink fruit or vegetable juice, keep your serving to ½ cup, and be sure it's labeled 100%.
How do you eat 10 servings of fruits and vegetables? ›
Here are some great ways to easily get to 10 servings per day:
- Enjoy a big salad with every meal! ...
- Roasted (or grilled) veggies! Another part of our routine is to turn the oven onto 400 degrees when we are ready to start dinner... ...
- Start your day off right! ...
- Make snacking easy! ...
- Veggie-loaded pizzas! ...
- Smoothies!
At a glance: what counts? 80g of fresh, canned or frozen fruit and vegetables counts as 1 portion of your 5 A Day (but not potatoes and some other starchy foods). For tinned or canned fruit and vegetables, choose those in natural juice or water, with no added sugar or salt.
What do 9 servings of vegetables look like? ›
Nine servings of fruits and vegetables can be broken up into about 2.5 cups of vegetables and about 2 cups of fruit per day. If you divide these numbers up throughout your meals, you're looking at eating at least 1 serving of fruit and vegetable at each.
Is 10 servings of fruit and vegetables too much? ›
New research states a total of 10 servings of fruits and veggies per day is best for optimal health and wellness. Less than 12% of adults get the recommended servings of fruits and vegetables for a healthy body.
