If you’ve heard it once, you’ve heard it one hundred times – Eat those fruits and vegetables! It’s an easy rule to remember but a difficult one to follow. Who has time to buy fresh produce every week? Why would you want to spend all that money if it is going to spoil so soon? At the end of the day, do you really want to be stuck in the kitchen chopping, slicing or dicing?
March is National Nutrition Month, and if there is one thing that can improve your health, it is to eat more fruits and vegetables. Contrary to popular belief, stocking up on fruits and vegetables does not translate into traveling to the gourmet market every week or spending lots of money on expensive, out-of-season produce at the grocery store. There are ways to give you and your family the daily allowance of fruits and vegetables, saving time, money, and in some cases, a little sanity: canned, dried and frozen varieties.
Canned, dried and frozen fruits and vegetables are always available in the store, regardless of the season. They can be less expensive than their fresh counterparts. And they are usually pre-chopped or sliced, saving you time for more important things.
Thanks to new technologies such as flash-freezing, frozen and canned produce can be just as nutritious, or perhaps more so, than their fresh counterparts – which may have spent days on a truck. What nutrients do canned, dried or frozen fruits and vegetables provide? Take a look. All these foods are in the “top 10 category” for nutrients that could be missing from your diet.
- Fiber - raspberries, blueberries, broccoli, dried apricots
- Vitamin A - sliced red peppers, pumpkin, carrots, spinach
- Vitamin C - strawberries, green peppers, tomato or vegetable juice, citrus juice
- Folate - brussels sprouts, asparagus , spinach
Here are some tips for stocking your pantry with healthy fruits and vegetables that won’t break the bank or cut in to your busy schedule:
- When buying canned vegetables, look for low-sodium variety. Drain and rinse the vegetables to remove extra salt.
- Frozen produce is picked and frozen at the peak of its ripeness and flavor. Stock up your freezer and use frozen produce liberally.
- Only buy 100% fruit juice. Ignore everything else.
- Avoid fruit canned in heavy syrup. Look for canned fruit in “juice,” “extra light syrup” or with “no sugar added.”
- Beware of dried fruit that has extra sugar added.
Buy The Healthy Carb Diabetes Cookbook and receive 15% off! Soon you'll be preparing savory dishes that are both healthy and good for you. Use promotion code NM08 when ordering. Enjoy this sample recipe ...
(From “The Healthy Carb Diabetes Cookbook”)
Category: Side
Serves 5
Serving Size: 1 bundle
Prep Time: 10 minutes
1 1/2 lb asparagus spears, ends trimmed
2 tsp olive oil
1/8 tsp ground black pepper
1/8 tsp garlic powder
5 slices prosciutto
1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. In a large bowl or dish, toss asparagus with olive oil. Season the asparagus with pepper and garlic powder.
3. Bundle about 4–5 asparagus spears together. Use a slice of prosciutto to wrap the bundle and secure the spears with a toothpick. Repeat the process for the remaining four bundles.
4. Place asparagus bundles on baking sheet and bake for 12 minutes.
Dietitian’s Tip: Asparagus is a great source of folic acid, fiber, and potassium.
Exchanges & Choices
Calories |
70 |
Calories from Fat |
30 |
Total Fat |
3.5g |
Saturated Fat |
0.7g |
Cholesterol |
10mg |
Sodium |
260mg |
Total Carbohydrate |
5g |
Dietary Fiber |
2g |
Sugars |
2g |
Protein |
7g |
| Exchanges | 1 Vegetable |
