Choose Smart, Choose Healthy

It’s your life. You’re in control. When you choose to eat right and stay physically active, you choose a healthy lifestyle. Including fruits and vegetables with every meal is a smart place to start, because they’re great for your body.

Most fruits and vegetables are fiber-rich, nutrient-dense foods — meaning they’re packed with valuable nutrients and are low in calories and fat. Compared to people who eat few fruits and vegetables, those who eat more generous amounts — as part of a healthful diet — are likely to have reduced risk of chronic diseases including stroke, type 2 diabetes, some types of cancer, and perhaps heart disease and high blood pressure.

To get a healthy variety, think color. Eating fruits and vegetables of different colors gives your body a wide range of valuable nutrients, like fiber, folate, potassium, and vitamins A and C. Some examples include:

• green spinach
• orange sweet potatoes
• black beans
• yellow corn
• purple plums
• red watermelon
• white onions

For more variety, try new fruits and vegetables regularly. So, if you’re the apple-a-day type, throw some berries in the mix. Or a peach. Or a kiwi. You get the idea.

Easy Ways to Eat More Fruits & Vegetables

• Add fruit to your cereal, low-fat or fat-free yogurt, or oatmeal.
• Snack on fruit during the day. Grab an apple, banana, or some grapes on your way out the door.
• Eat a colorful salad at lunch. Try mixed greens with tomatoes, carrots, broccoli, and bell peppers.
• Make fruits and vegetables about half your plate.
• Snack on raw veggies with a healthy low-fat or fat-free dip.
• Enjoy your favorite beans and peas.
• Add them to salads and low-fat dips.
• Eat at least two vegetables with dinner.
• Have fruit for dessert.

Download the PDF and read on to find out how eating fruits and vegetables is a smart thing you can do for your health.