Hot mess mom- fruit and veggie tips

Since I am a young mom who works full time, I am all about making life easier! Even before I became a mom, I would do this. This post will be talking about easy, longer lasting fruits and vegetables that are technically "processed"( everything is processed in some way) but are a great addition to your diet!

Before we start, did you know you should be getting five servings of fruits and vegetables? A serving is a half cup. It can be challenging to accomplish this recomendation but there are ways that make it easier! I also tell my clientds to think of it like this. If you eat three meals a day and have two snacks, pair a fruit or vegeatble to each one. Voila, five servings!

First, fruits that I use in my everyday life (that are more convenient) are: frozen fruit, apple sauce pouches, freeze dried fruit, and fruit cups. I recommend when buying these items to look out for no added sugars, this way you can still get your serving of fruit in without adding to your daily intake of added sugars. We as adults, should really only be eating about 10% of our diet in added sugars. You can find the added sugar location right under total sugar. In the morning as a hot mess mom, it has been a life saver for me to make a powerhouse of a smoothie for breakfast. You can knock out two servings of fruits and vegetables in one smoothie if you add things like: riced cauliflower, frozen butternut squash, spinach and or kale to your fruit. The sweetness of fruit outweighs the taste of the vegetables- so essentially you are sneaking them in! I want to aslo note that a smoothie made up of fruit, vegetables and water will not be filling. I always recomend adding healthy fats, like seeds, nut butter and to add a protein like a powder, fortified milk, and or extra PB. The goal shouldn't be eating the lowest amount of calories possible.

Next, let's chat about easier options for vegetables. You will have to pry my steamable broccoli bags from my cold hands. I love them and am so happy they are available in my lifetime. Not only do they help with dishes but also steaming your vegetables is a great way to protect those nutrients in your vegetables. Now, however you choose to cook your veggies is fine and getting down to the nitty gritty on loosing nutrients based on cooking methods, (IMO) is irrelevant in the grand scheme of things. Eating your servings of vegetables daily will be what matters most. Although, i'd like to add that when you juice your fruit/vegetables you do lose out on a lot of the fiber content, which to me is something to be wary of. If you enjoy juicing, thats great! But definitely get in other sources of fruits and vegetables through out the day to add to it.

Canned vegetables are also a great option. I recommend when buying canned vegetables that you grab the ones that say low sodium or no salt added. It is important to be minduful of our sodium intake regardless of our health status. Even if you add your own sauce, salt and or seasonings to your vegetables, it is nice to be able to have full control over how much is added.

This leads me to my last and final point. If you need to add things to your fruits and vegetables to make them more tolerable to you it is OKAY! I hate hearing people say things like "what's the point of eating that if you just covered it in cheese?" The cheese or seasonings you might need to add, don't just cancel out the nutrients from the produce. Instead of choking down plain steamed broccoli, It's better to eat it in a way that you enjoy it. Yes, there can be some compromise. I'm not saying to forever dous your vegetables with an entire block of velveeta cheese. I think the misdirect with health and wellness is that things need to be in extremes. It's okay to live in the grey area. I love the grey area, and it's where most people find their true health and happiness.

So, come stay awhile in the grey area and let me know if you will grab any of these things on your next grocery run!

Love, Abby- your relatable hot mess of a mom