"Sit down and feed, and welcome to our table." -William Shakespeare

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

10 Servings

a day. No kidding. Of fruits and vegetables.

For me, of course, not my kids. While I commit to 10 servings of fruits and veggies each and every 'normal' day, it's not so likely my kids will reach 10.

HOWEVER, before you roll your eyes and move on, remember that a serving is only 1 cup raw or 1/2c cooked. Plus, for kids, a serving is about 1/4c. So, on days when the green smoothie comes out really yummy, they do reach 10 servings.

That can be a green smoothie- 3 or 4 servings, a salad with lunch or dinner- 2 to 4 servings (remember that 2 cups of torn up lettuce isn't much, really), an apple- or 2 or 3, a handful of snow peas- yummmmmm, with hummus, and a few baby carrots. Hungry at 10 pm? Add an orange or grapefruit or handful of blueberries...

Why? Well, produce- and the fresher the better, as in, canned produce doesn't count unless it's tomato sauce- is full of fiber, vitamins, minerals, good fat, small amounts of protein... pretty much anything you need, you'll find it in fresh produce, just many of these goodies come in minute quantities in produce. Fresh peas- zinc. Fresh spinach- calcium. Fresh lemons, grapefruit, cranberries (and the other sour fruits)- alkalinizing compounds. Berries- antioxidants. Tomatoes- lutein.

Get it? Your body needs it. More of it. Your body needs other things, too. BECAUSE
.

Many people I know think my children are deprived. That they don't eat enough. That one is particularly tickling to me, because some days it feels like ALL WE DO is eat. And we do eat, in volume, a lot more than many people we know. Because it takes a lot more brown rice, lean meat, fresh fruit, lightly steamed veggies, and whole wheat whatever to meet one's calorie requirements than, say, pizza, juice, beer, and cookies.

It's a big plus for whole foods. You get full before you get fat.


"Did you ever stop to taste a carrot? Not just eat it, but taste it? You can't taste the beauty and energy of the earth in a Twinkie."
~Astrid Alauda

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