Abstract
Tapping Into Vegetable Power
Current Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend that all of us “focus on consuming nutrient-dense foods and beverages.” 1 The guidelines first recommend vegetables (and fruits) to achieve this goal.
Yet less than 10% of Americans daily eat the recommended 5 servings (2½ cups) of vegetables. 2 Here are benefits and some tips to help you enjoy eating more vegetables more often.
Why Eat More Vegetables?
Vegetables provide many nutrients that promote good health and help prevent chronic diseases such as heart disease and some cancers. They are good to excellent sources of
Vitamins (such as A, C, folate) and minerals (such as potassium, magnesium, and calcium) Antioxidants and other healthful plant nutrients Dietary fiber
Most vegetables are low in calories. Even starchy vegetables, such as corn, potatoes, or beans, are nutrient rich.
Most vegetables are naturally low in fat. Vegetables also have no cholesterol. Vegetable oils, such as canola or olive, provide healthful unsaturated fats.
Vegetables, in all their variety, taste good.
Tips for Enjoying More Vegetables
Make Vegetables the Center of the Meal
Start with a favorite vegetable (or 2 vegetables) and plan a lunch or dinner around it.
Go for a variety of vegetables for balanced nutrition. Dietary guidelines especially recommend eating more dark green and red and orange vegetables.
Feature vegetables in entrees. Aim for 3 to 6 times as many vegetables as lean protein. This strategy works for soups, stews, chilis, casseroles, salads, stir fries and pasta sauces.
Go “all veggie” for a lunch or dinner.
Make half your plate vegetables and fruits.
Jazz up vegetables with herbs and spices and use cooking techniques such as roasting to enhance flavor. Substitute healthful oils, such as olive or canola, for solid fats such as margarine or butter.
Go for the Green
Dark green vegetables include broccoli, bok choy, collards, salad greens, spinach, kale, mustard greens, and turnip greens. They are rich sources of vitamins A, C, E, K, and folate. They have high levels of fiber, potassium, calcium, magnesium, and iron.
Salads are a popular way to use leafy greens.
Try them also in soups, stews, and pasta sauces.
Make (or purchase) baked kale or spinach chips.
Use romaine with other greens as a wrap for a lean protein.
Highlight the Red With Versatile Tomatoes
Tomatoes are the most popular American vegetable after potatoes. Other popular red and orange vegetables include red peppers, sweet potatoes, and winter squash.
Tomatoes are nutritional powerhouses. They are the major source of lycopene, a powerful antioxidant, in the American diet. They are rich in vitamins A and C, fiber, and potassium.
Tomatoes are nutritious in all forms—fresh, frozen, canned (whole, puree, paste, sauce), dried, and 100% juice. Cooking tomatoes, in fact, makes lycopene more available to the human body.
Enjoy fresh tomatoes sliced, in salads, on pasta and pizza, in salsas and dips, in stirfries and sautés.
Combine tomatoes in all forms with other green, red, and orange vegetables for entrees and snacks.
Select 100% tomato juice as a breakfast or lunch beverage or as a snack.
Emphasize Veggie-Powered Snacks
Pair vegetable salsas with whole-grain pita chips, baked veggie chips, or whole-grain crackers. Tomato salsa and black bean-corn-tomato salsa are popular choices.
Create dips with vegetables and/or beans. Hummus, pinto-bean dip, and low-fat spinach dip, for example, are easy to make. Low sodium and lower fat versions may also be purchased.
Make or buy baked veggie chips. Kale, turnips, beets, carrots, fennel, sweet potatoes, snap peas, and green beans are tasty possibilities.
Fire-Roasted Tomato Salsa
Total Prep Time: 15 Minutes. Makes 10 servings (1/4 cup).
Ingredients
1 can (14.5 oz each) roasted diced tomatoes, drained (such as Hunt’s® Fire Roasted Diced Tomatoes)
2/3 cup frozen whole kernel corn, thawed
2/3 cup drained, rinsed black beans (such as Ranch Style® Black Beans)
1/3 cup chopped white onion
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh cilantro
½ teaspoon garlic powder
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon ground cumin
¼ teaspoon ground red pepper
1 teaspoon lime juice
Tortilla chips, optional
Directions
Place drained tomatoes in large bowl; mash into smaller pieces with fork. Mix in corn, beans, onion, cilantro, garlic powder, salt, cumin, red pepper, and lime juice.
Serve with tortilla chips, if desired.
Nutritional Information
10 servings (1/4 cup each) calories 29; total fat 0 g (saturated fat 0 g); cholesterol 0 mg; sodium 148 mg; carbohydrate 6 g (dietary fiber 1 g, sugars 1 g); protein 1 g; percent daily values (based on 2000 calorie diet): vitamin A 2%; vitamin C 4%; calcium 1%, iron 3%.
Resources
www.fruitsandveggiesmorematters.org
www.conagrafoodsscienceinstitute.com
Sources. 1. Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2010 www.health.gov/dietaryguidelines/2010.asp. 2. Kimmons J, Gillespie C, Seymour J, Serdula M, Blanck HM. Fruit and vegetable intakes among adolescents and adults in the United States: percentage meeting individualized recommendations. Medscape J Med. 2009;11(1):26. Recipe used by permission of ConAgra Foods Inc.
Footnotes
Science of Choices Fact Sheets are sponsored by the ConAgra Foods Science Institute. This handout is from your heath care provider and provides a general overview that may not apply to everyone. Be sure to discuss how to use this information with your health care provider.