"5 a day" Day 3: Skipped Meals and Mixing Up Veggies

Wednesday

Breakfast: Really, this is starting to get repetitive... I'll need to think of a new breakfast item! 1 medium banana + "banana" oatmeal (again, not a fruit) + skim milk. Fruit intake = .5 cup. Revision... my work day threw me off course, so I actually only got to eat half of my breakfast before it got all cold and solid (boo). So, revised to fruit intake = .25 cup.

Snack: 100% orange juice (11.5 fl. oz). Fruit intake = 1.44 cups. (Being careful though to be aware of my sugar intake from fruit juice)

Snack: Makeshift trail mix -- raisins, almonds, and coconut flakes. Fruit intake = .3 cup (from the raisins).

Dinner: So I was a bit derailed from work today, which resulted in two snacks (if you could call orange juice a snack? Perhaps "hydration" is better?) instead of lunch. So all my veggie intake had to take place during dinner. I put together a "salad" of garbanzo beans, green beans, and artichoke hearts seasoned with salt, pepper, a bit of tabasco, and a few other spices. It turned out delicious! I put a bit of that on a sandwich along with tuna (with some celery) and some of the salad on the side. Measured it out so that it came out to 2.5 cups. Veggie intake = 2.5 cups.

Total

Fruit Intake = 1.99 cups

Veggie Intake = 2.5 cups

Wednesday = Success! I was concerned by my lack of vegetable intake all day, because I wasn't sure how I was going to get in all my vegetables during dinner. But I was actually surprisingly happy with my vegetable servings. The ingredients came together really well and the spices and hot sauce added the kick of flavor I needed. I think the key for me is to mix and match vegetables instead of trying to meet my vegetable daily servings with just one type of vegetable (i.e. Tuesday's broccoli feast). I'm going to implement this same idea on Thursday for lunch (if the weather holds out that is, otherwise I may not wander too far from my office building!).

"5 a day" Day 2: 100% Fruit Juice Makes Fruit Intake MUCH Easier!

Tuesday

Breakfast- Came prepared with my banana again today! AND I realized that 100% fruit juice counts so this led to: 100% orange juice (11.5 fl oz) + 1 medium banana + "strawberry" oatmeal (not a fruit) + skim milk. Fruit intake = 1.475 cups (OJ) + .5 cups (again, rounding down for the medium banana) = 1.975 cups.

Snack - This weekend, I threw together a makeshift snack of raisins, almonds, and shredded coconut (the coconut was an ingredient for my Tyler Florence coconut bread for "Tyler Florence Fridays"). So had a bit of this snack. Fruit intake = .5 cup (1/4 cup of raisins = 1/2 cup)

Lunch - Broke down and went to get soup... 12 oz tomato soup with bagel. Veggie intake = 1.25 cups (I'm assuming that all 12 oz of tomato soup aren't tomatoes, so estimating a little bit less than 1.5 cups of tomatoes). Looks like I'll need to be eating a ton of veggies for dinner...

Dinner - Fettuccine pasta from last night -- shrimp, zucchini, shallots, with added 1.5 cups of broccoli. At least I like broccoli. Veggie intake = approx 1.6 cups. (I ate the majority of the baby zucchini the night before)... and a glass of red wine. Oh wait, that doesn't count as fruit.

Total Intake:
Fruit: 2.475 cups
Vegetables: 2.85 cups

Tuesday = Success! I think I'm beginning to realize though that I need to start cutting back on the portions of my non fruits and vegetables in my meals, so that I'm not just simply eating MORE and instead eating a better balanced meal.

"5 a day" Day One: Veggies Easier than Fruits?

So, as I've been reading all of my friends' food diaries, I've realized that my eating habits, although very delicious, have not included a ton of nutrients. I mean, I can only rationalize so much cheese, chocolate, wine, and sushi! As a result, I've decided to attempt "5 a day" fruits and veggies this week to kick start some better eating habits.

I decided to google "5 a day" to figure out exactly what counts as a serving of fruits or veggies and ta da, I came across the CDC's "Fruit and Veggies Matter" website. The CDC has replaced the "5 a day" program with the "Fruit & Veggies -More Matters" campaign, to emphasize on eating a variety of fruits and veggies instead of simply "5 a day." They also have a handy calculator on their website that told me I should eat about 1.5 cups of fruit and 2.5 cups of vegetables every day.

Now to see what exactly counts as 1.5 cups of fruit and 2.5 cups of veggies, the website offered a few general tips. 1 cup of raw or cooked vegetables, 1 cup of 100% vegetable juice, OR 2 cups of raw leafy greens equals 1 cup from the vegetable group. 1 cup of fruit, 1 cup of 100% fruit juice or 1/2 cup of dried fruit is considered 1 cup for the fruit group.

With these guidelines in mind, I'm kicking off my week of more fruits and veggies! Below I'm keeping track of this week's food intake... so kind of my "A Week in the Food Diary of... Attempts at 5 a day." I think that I'm going to post every day to keep myself accountable (because who knows when I would derail!). Maybe I'll eventually consolidate the entries...

Monday

Breakfast - I'm trying to pick up on eating oatmeal again in the morning. Luckily, I have my good friend/coworker J to keep me accountable for this... "peach" oatmeal + one banana + skim milk. Fruit intake = .5 cup (a small banana = .5 cup, a large banana = 1 cup... I would call my banana medium, so erring on the side of smaller...)

Lunch - homemade veggie and turkey chili. This weekend we cooked up some of my favorite chili -- tomatoes, ground turkey, kidney beans, red peppers, green peppers, onions, and loads of spices. I estimate that this included: 1/6 red pepper (~1/6 cup) + 1 cup of kidney beans (~ 1 cup) + 1/6 green pepper (~1/6 cup) + 1/6 onion (2 slices = 1/4 cup) + 3/4 cup of tomatoes (~ .75 cup). Veggie intake = 2.33 cups (The CDC considers a tomato a vegetable...).

Snack - Pineapple cup. Fruit intake = .5 cup.

Dinner - Cooked up some fettuccine with marinara sauce + baby zucchinis + shallots + shrimp. I would estimate that my portion of pasta had .25 cup of tomatoes + 3 baby zucchini (~ .5 cup) + .25 shallot. Veggie intake = 1 cup.

Snack - Frozen green grapes. SIXTEEN GRAPES. Who knew that it would take SIXTEEN GRAPES to constitute half a cup? Well there you have it. Fruit intake = .5 cup.

GRAND TOTAL:

Veggie intake = 3.33 cups
Fruit intake = 1.5 cups

Monday = success! When looking into my fridge this morning though, I'm starting to think that I might have to go and purchase more fruit this week. The fruit supply is already starting to dwindle...although the veggie supply continues in full force (we have loads of frozen and canned veggies for after the fresh produce runs out).