Take 5 to Thrive

Are you getting 5 fruits and veggies everyday? If you struggle to fill this nutrition prescription, here are some tips for upping your daily dose:

Take the color challenge. Challenge a coworker or friend to see who can eat the most servings. Or have a color exchange — each day everyone brings in different produce items (red, orange, green, blue/purple, white/yellow) to share with the group.

Make a rainbow. Have kids track the colors of their food each day by marking a calendar with crayons.

Dig the deep freeze. Don’t give frozen vegetables and fruits the cold shoulder — they often retain more nutrients than their canned counterparts. Toss scrambled eggs with chopped broccoli or spinach. Stir a handful of berries into plain yogurt to pack a heftier punch for the calories than most prepared “fruit on the bottom” varieties.

Swap the usual suspects. Load sandwiches with spinach or sliced zucchini instead of iceberg. Replace ketchup on your burger with chunky salsa or hummus for added zip and nutrition.

Spice it up. If you rely on 1 or 2 produce items to rack up your daily allotment — even nutrition powerhouses like broccoli or apples — you’re shortchanging yourself. Choose a variety of colors and textures with every meal.

Getting your daily 5 is well worth it — pound for pound, no food group offers more health benefits than produce, particularly vegetables. The more you eat, the better.