It's that time folks! Time for the "eat your fruits and veggies" portion of my Eating Better series. Do I hear you all cheering yet? I should!
How cute is this! I saw this awesome button that Jenn over at Peas and Crayons created, and knew I had to include it in this post! You should definitely pop over and drool over her amazing, HEALTHY recipes.
Since grade school the benefits of eating fruits and vegetables have been drilled into our heads. Everyone is well aware of the fact that eating fruits and veggies is healthy. So why don't we do it?
I am very passionate about health and nutrition, especially when it involves children. I found an alarming statistic (I LOVE statistics) about childhood obesity...17% of children in this country are obese! That means that almost 1 in 5 children had a body mass index (this a neat tool that can help you calculate your child's BMI) of 30 or more! Now, I remember being in school, and every class had "the chubby kid", but this is 4 or 5 OBESE children per average class of 25 kids! There is something wrong here! Another little factoid I ran across...Only 22% of high school students are getting at least 5 servings of fruits and vegetables per day (the recommendation is 9 servings)! Do you think there may be a connection? I DO!
There are two main excuses I have heard for the lack of fruit and veggie consumption. The first being "Produce is too expensive". Well, let's do a little cost comparison...A candy bar costs around 85 cents. A large, organic Gala apple cost roughly the same (I paid $2.67 for 3 huge apples yesterday). The candy bar is nutritionally vacant, while the apple has fiber, vitamins and antioxidants that support a healthy digestive and immune system. Hmmm? Another great example of cost NOT being the real issue...A bag of greasy potato chips costs about $3. Plus you can add in the risk of heart disease, high blood pressure and Type 2 diabetes. A pound of organic carrots costs $2.69, and includes the benefits of better vision, lowered heart disease risk and protection against certain cancers. I know which one is the better deal to me!
That brings me to the second excuse (the one I know you are screaming at your computer screen)..."Fruits and vegetable don't taste very good" (which I don't agree with), so my children won't eat them. There are hundreds of different types of produce available. Experiment! Try something new! Until recently I had never eaten a papaya. They are seriously delicious! The same goes for the kiddos. Get them to pick out their own fruits and veggies! My kids and I will sometimes see who can pick out the weirdest looking fruit, then take it home and try it. There have been some things that weren't to our tastes, but you never know until you try. Plus, it makes them feel like they are in charge of their own diet, and gives them the tools they need to develop healthy eating habits.
The same goes for adults! EAT YOUR FRUITS AND VEGGIES! 9 servings per day!
Tomorrow I will give you some of my favorite fruit and veggie recipes. Plus links to some amazing healthy eating websites:)
Have a wonderful Saturday!
Since grade school the benefits of eating fruits and vegetables have been drilled into our heads. Everyone is well aware of the fact that eating fruits and veggies is healthy. So why don't we do it?
I am very passionate about health and nutrition, especially when it involves children. I found an alarming statistic (I LOVE statistics) about childhood obesity...17% of children in this country are obese! That means that almost 1 in 5 children had a body mass index (this a neat tool that can help you calculate your child's BMI) of 30 or more! Now, I remember being in school, and every class had "the chubby kid", but this is 4 or 5 OBESE children per average class of 25 kids! There is something wrong here! Another little factoid I ran across...Only 22% of high school students are getting at least 5 servings of fruits and vegetables per day (the recommendation is 9 servings)! Do you think there may be a connection? I DO!
There are two main excuses I have heard for the lack of fruit and veggie consumption. The first being "Produce is too expensive". Well, let's do a little cost comparison...A candy bar costs around 85 cents. A large, organic Gala apple cost roughly the same (I paid $2.67 for 3 huge apples yesterday). The candy bar is nutritionally vacant, while the apple has fiber, vitamins and antioxidants that support a healthy digestive and immune system. Hmmm? Another great example of cost NOT being the real issue...A bag of greasy potato chips costs about $3. Plus you can add in the risk of heart disease, high blood pressure and Type 2 diabetes. A pound of organic carrots costs $2.69, and includes the benefits of better vision, lowered heart disease risk and protection against certain cancers. I know which one is the better deal to me!
That brings me to the second excuse (the one I know you are screaming at your computer screen)..."Fruits and vegetable don't taste very good" (which I don't agree with), so my children won't eat them. There are hundreds of different types of produce available. Experiment! Try something new! Until recently I had never eaten a papaya. They are seriously delicious! The same goes for the kiddos. Get them to pick out their own fruits and veggies! My kids and I will sometimes see who can pick out the weirdest looking fruit, then take it home and try it. There have been some things that weren't to our tastes, but you never know until you try. Plus, it makes them feel like they are in charge of their own diet, and gives them the tools they need to develop healthy eating habits.
The same goes for adults! EAT YOUR FRUITS AND VEGGIES! 9 servings per day!
Tomorrow I will give you some of my favorite fruit and veggie recipes. Plus links to some amazing healthy eating websites:)
Have a wonderful Saturday!
Jessie
Great post Jessie! I have been enjoying fruits and vegetables much more since I have found AllRecipes. I love your new background! :)
ReplyDeleteLove fruits and veggies and so do my kids! that is one thing I don't have to fight them on. :) I am catching up here so off to see what other great ideas you have!
ReplyDeletexoxo