Good girls eat their fruits, veggies

When we were little kids we learned that fruits and vegetables are good for you. Remember the food pyramid? (If you want to read even more about the food pyramid, click here.)
As a kid I liked most fruits and vegetables. And as an adult I like most fruits and vegetables.
The great thing about summer is the many delicious fruits to choose from. Besides the standard apples, bananas and oranges there is so much juicy deliciousness to eat: watermelon, cherries, grapes, all kinds of berries, honeydew …
One of the wellness challenges at work right now is to get in five servings of fruit and vegetables five times a week. This challenge is pretty easy for me to achieve. On Friday after I had had two servings I hit my 25 mark for the week.
According to the CDC website, fruit and vegetables have many benefits. I know we already know that. Yet, so many people don’t get enough in their diet.
Here are some reasons why they are so great for us:

• Substituting fruits and vegetables for higher-calorie foods can be part of a weight loss strategy.
  
• Fruits and vegetables are great sources of many vitamins, minerals and other natural substances that may help protect you from chronic diseases.
  
• Fruits and vegetables are a natural source of energy and give the body many nutrients you need to keep going.
  
  

Wanna know what qualifies as a cup or ¹⁄₂ a cup of servings of fruit of vegetables? Click here and here.
According to Livestrong.com, the basic serving size for a single portion of fruits or vegetables is a ¹⁄₂ cup, according to the Harvard School of Public Health.
This GFG! post I wrote a couple of weeks ago mentions many of the vegetables I regularly cook with and how they become filling and delicious lunches and dinners. My favorite is probably the zucchini “pasta.” (Picture in the linked post.)
Don’t forget to eat your fruits and veggies every single day!