As a nurse, I hear from a lot of people who want to eat more fruits and vegetables. We all know that they’re good for us. We know we “should” eat them. But it’s not always easy to get the recommended amount.

They contain fiber, vitamins, minerals and are associated with lower mortality rates (Wang et al., 2021). It’s best to consume 5 servings of fruits and veggies daily (Want et al., 2021). One of the best ways I’ve found to get my fruits and veggies in is to take advantage of their portability. I like to incorporate my 5 a day in a very easy, dare I say lazy fashion. Because everyone is busy. And just because you want to be healthy doesn’t mean you need another complicated to-do added to your schedule.

So here are 5 easy ways to get your 5 servings today:

1. Have at least one apple and orange daily. Right off the bat, you’ll have 2 servings of fruit. I like to have an apple as a snack, or maybe after work and before dinner. Bananas work for this too! Easy to grab and eat as part of your breakfast.
2. Carrot sticks. I’m telling you , carrot sticks are crunchy, satisfying, and very portable. If you use baby carrots, you can throw a few in a container or baggie and take them along with you. There is virtually no prep with these. Just grab and go.
3. Celery. Celery is very easy to wash and cut into sticks. Have a little peanut butter with them for a tasty snack.
4. Cucumber boats. Take a cucumber and cut it in half longways. Hollow it out and fill it with tuna salad and you have a very easy and portable lunch.
5. Lettuce with healthy dips. Lettuce leaves are easy to use as a dip mechanism (think hummus, bean dips, plain yogurt dips). It’s best to use somewhat “stronger” leaves like romaine for this.

Other portable fruits/veggies: grapes, cherries, radishes, broccoli. Think of bringing a piece of fruit or a bag of veggies as a snack. Sugar peas make a tasty sweet veggie treat. Make sure that you have a serving at each meal in addition to snack time and you will get your 5 easy-peasy, pun very much intended!

What’s your favorite way to get your fruits and vegetables? I’d love to hear from you!

References:

Dong D. Wang, MD, ScD, Yanping Li, PhD, Shilpa N. Bhupathiraju, PhD, Bernard A. Rosner, PhD, Qi Sun, MD, ScD, Edward L. Giovannucci, MD, ScD, Eric B. Rimm, ScD, JoAnn E. Manson, MD, DrPH, Walter C. Willett, MD, DrPH, Meir J. Stampfer, MD, DrPH, Frank B. Hu, MD, PhD. (2021). Fruit and Vegetable Intake and Mortality. Circulation, 143(17), 1642-1654. https://doi.org/10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.120.048996