Tanner Health System’s Get Healthy, Live Well is celebrating Fruits & Veggies — More Matters® Month by promoting the many benefits of eating plenty of fruits and veggies.
Fruits & Veggies — More Matters® Month highlights the importance of healthy eating in keeping our community strong and healthy. Adding more fruits and veggies to your diet doesn’t have to be expensive. There are many low-cost alternatives, like adding chopped vegetables to pasta sauce or replacing your afternoon bag of chips with an apple. And simple changes like these can really pay off; eating healthy can help lower the risk of many chronic diseases like heart disease and type 2 diabetes.
Fruits and veggies are also delicious! This is a great time to try a new recipe that features produce or to bring home a fruit or vegetable that your family hasn’t tried before for fun. Remember, good habits start early. If you have kids, encouraging them to eat lots of fruits and veggies can go a long way in helping them develop healthy eating habits that will last a lifetime.
“Fruits and vegetables are awesome foods to include in your diet every day,” said Christina Schoerner, MS, RDN, LDN, a registered dietitian and health coach at Get Healthy, Live Well. “Sometimes getting five servings of fruits and vegetables in a day seems like a difficult thing to do. To make this a little bit easier, make sure you plan ahead. Check that fruits and vegetables are a staple on your grocery list.”
When you get home, be sure to wash and precut your produce right away. They will be convenient and easy to grab — no excuses!
“Keeping your fruit and vegetables out on the counter where they are visible will also help prompt you to choose them first,” said Schoerner. “Remember, if you snack during the day, it is good to include one fruit or one vegetable at each snack.”
For example, have an apple with peanut butter or carrots and peppers with hummus.
“When you start to base your snacks around a fruit or vegetable, you find it is easily adds up,” said Schoerner.
To help you get started, take a trip to the Cotton Mill Farmers’ Market and see the abundance of seasonable fruits and vegetables available in west Georgia. Together we can help build a healthy future for our community!
Currently, Get Healthy, Live Well is working to increase access to healthy foods in west Georgia. This is part of a larger initiative by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to increase access to healthy foods in communities.
Follow Fruits & Veggies—More Matters® Month activities on Twitter. For more information about Get Healthy, Live Well’s efforts to increase access to healthy foods, visit GetHealthyLiveWell.org.