5 TIPS TO GET MORE FRUITS AND VEGGIES IN YOUR DIET

In keeping with my goal for this week, I planned ahead and went to the produce stand by my house and picked out some fresh fruits and veggies. This here haul is already halfway gone so I may need to get some more sooner than I thought! Like I said yesterday, I really want to incorporate more fruits and vegetables into my diet because, well .. it is healthy for me! So I have thought of a few tips to make it easier for myself and for anyone else interested as well!

1. Prepare. I can't tell you how many times I have had the good intentions of eating all the produce in my fridge but then finally going to grab something and it has gone bad! This is why you need to do a little prep work. On Sundays I have started cutting up a whole pineapple or sweet peppers and throwing them in a tupperware for easy access later in the week. You're more likely to grab some cut up fruit when you're in a rush than take the time to cut it up when you really want to be doing something else.

2. Get what you like. There is no point in buying a bag of apples just because they are good for you, if you already know you don't like them! Buy the things that you like, even if you have to splurge a little here or there, because you will actually want to eat them.

3. Try something new. In order for #2 to work, you need to know what you like! While buying all that produce up there, I asked Paris what those spiked fruits were called. It is roughly translated into "suckers" and we definitely don't have those in the grocery stores where I'm from. Being that a whole bag of them was only $2 we bought some. After peeling off the shell/spikes what is left is essentially a big skinless grape with a huge pit inside. And if you can see, grapes are already good in my book. It never hurts to try new things because you never know what you might find.

4. Make it interesting. Sometimes you just don't want plain old fruits and vegetables. To make them more appealing, add something else! My favorites are peanut butter with apples, or some ranch dressing with sweet peppers. Another thing that I love to add to my salads is feta cheese and lucky for me I was able to find some feta that did not cost me an arm and a leg (cheese here is so darn expensive!). By adding a little extra, your healthy food can be a little more exciting.

5. Mix it up. When all else fails, mix it all together! Fruit salads, regular salads, just put it all together and dive in. You won't even know you've just finished a whole bowl of things that are good for you.

Do you have any other tips? How do you incorporate fruits and vegetables into your diet?