We all know the importance of eating enough fruit and vegetables, so how do we eat the recommended amount in our everyday life? Here are some tips from our dietitians for you to try out:
When you snack...
- Fruit and vegetables can be healthy snack options. For example:
- Replace chips with salad vegetables such as cucumbers, celeries, carrots and cherry tomatoes. These provide a crisp and crunchy texture and can be dipped into a small amount of plain low-fat yogurt or low-fat salad dressing for added flavour.
- Replace candies and chocolate with dried fruit that contain no added sugar. They are healthier alternatives to sweets, offering less sugar and energy while providing far more dietary fibre and vitamins than candies and chocolate.
- Try replacing desserts with your favourite fresh fruit after meals.
When you eat out...
- Instead of ordering your usual/favourite item on the menu, look through the menu again and you may spot alternative healthier options that include vegetables.
- Besides choosing vegetable dishes, meat dishes and soup should come with fruit and vegetables also. This is especially important when eating out with friends, since many people tend to order too much meat.
- At buffet restaurants, start with the salad bar or other vegetable-based dishes first.
- Avoid frequently eating a full plate of fried rice with a lot of meat. Instead, opt for plain rice or whole grains such as brown rice and red rice, paired with more vegetables and less meat. This helps reduce overall fat intake.
- When eating western-style food:
- Choose vegetable soups instead of creamy soups.
- Select options that come with fruit or vegetable salads.
- For breakfast, sandwiches with vegetables are better choices than sweetened buns or toast with butter and jam. Examples include a whole-wheat tomato sandwich with grilled chicken, a whole-wheat tuna sandwich with lettuce, or a whole-wheat hard-boiled egg sandwich with cucumber.
When you go to school or go to work...
- Bring your own lunch instead of eating out. This usually helps increase your vegetable intake.
- When packing your lunch, make sure at least one-third of your lunch box is filled with vegetables. For optimal nutrition, grains should make up half of the lunch box, and the remainder should be filled with protein foods such as meat, fish, egg or meat substitutes (such as dry beans and tofu).
- Bring fruit that require minimal effort to peel or eat, such as bananas, plums, grapes or pears, so that you can easily snack on fruit throughout the day.
- When choosing from school lunch menus, select options prepared with more vegetables.
When you prepare your own food...
- Start with fruit and vegetables when you do your grocery shopping.
- Count the number of people you are cooking for, and buy at least 3 to 4 taels (1 tael is equivalent to about 40 grams) of vegetables per person for lunch or dinner.
- Include vegetables in most of your dishes. For example, if you plan to prepare three dishes, make sure at least two of them contain vegetables.
- Dry beans are rich in dietary fibre, vitamins and minerals as well as protein. So, when cooking soups, use less meat and more dry beans.
- Be creative and vary the types of vegetables you use. Onions, green and red bell peppers, dried daylily buds, and mushrooms all make excellent ingredients for soups or other dishes.
- Tomatoes pair well with many ingredients. Add them to recipes that include pork chops, shredded beef, fried eggs, or shrimp.
Other smart tips...
- Be sure to eat a wide variety of fruit and vegetables of different types and colours, as they provide different nutrients.
- Always keep a good supply of fresh fruit and vegetables in your refrigerator so you are prepared to eat healthily at any time.
- Make it a habit of eating two servings of fruit daily.
- Avoid overcooking fruit and vegetables, as this can damage or reduce their nutrients.
- Add fresh or dried fruit (without added sugar) to breakfast cereal, yogurt or salads.
- Not all nutrients in vegetables or dry beans dissolve in water. Therefore, when drinking soups, don’t forget to eat the vegetable and dry bean ingredients in the soup.