In general, and especially in the summer, when I have all the goodness of fresh vegetables from my CSA and garden, I aim for 10 servings of fruits and vegetables a day. I know that sounds insane, but the latest dietary guideline call for 5-13 servings a day. I feel like 10 is a great goal, and if I’m I’m cooking for myself, it’s not that hard to do.
Lots of people squeeze in extra servings through juicing. While I like juice and juicing, I want to make sure to get the benefits of all that healthy fiber, too. I aim for 1-3 fruit servings for breakfast, and then 3-4 veggie servings for lunch, another fruit in the afternoon, and a few more veggies for dinner! The above collection of salads is what I had for lunch today:
1 small zuchini, julienned
1 small summer squash, juilienned
about 10 tiny heirloom tomatoes, halved
with red wine vinegar, olive oil and sea salt
a pile of pickled red cabbage salad from Hummus
a pile of red beet salad from Hummus (a local Mediterranean take-out spot)
The best thing about this collection of salads (besides the taste) is all the different colors (and vitamins and minerals) and flavors. And let me tell you, it’s taking me forever to eat!
It’s really hard for me to eat that many servings of fruits and vegetables everyday.
I’d like to though.