Posts Tagged ‘fruits and vegetables’
Fiber is an important part of a healthy balanced diet. There are certain fruits and vegetables that are natural sources of fiber. We take a look at such high fiber fruits and vegetables in the following article.
What comes to mind when we think of the words ‘balanced diet’? Proteins, vitamins, carbohydrates, minerals, salts, even fat. What about fiber? Most people don’t even know what fiber is, let alone incorporating it in their diet.
Looking towards John’s friends, Dr. Jones said, “Fiber is what will keep Genelia away from binging and over-eating. Fiber is what will lower Neil’s cholesterol levels and protect him from heart ailments. Fiber is what Bips can eat to her heart’s content and yet be successful in achieving weight control. Fiber is what will cure Katrina’s constipation and will improve her digestion.” more
Fiber, fiber, fiber. But what exactly is fiber? Is it something that is readily available? If yes, then where, how and in what form? If you too, like John’s friends, are still in the dark about fiber, do not worry. Here is a list of high fiber fruits and vegetables that has been specially provided by Dr. Jones.
High Fiber Fruits List
The following is a list of high in fiber fruits that are readily available and are a natural and rich source of fiber.
• bananas
• pears
• apples
• strawberries
• oranges
• raspberries
• kiwi
• guavas
• avocados
• figs
• blueberries
• grapefruits.
In addition to the above, dried fruits like raisins, almonds, apricots and dates are extremely good sources of fiber. At the same time, nuts in the form of peanuts, walnuts, cashews and pistachios are also rich sources of fiber. So, after that longish high fiber fruits list, it’s time to move on to an even longer list, one that once again has been provided by, none other than Dr. Jones.
High Fiber Fruits for Constipation Treatment
Some fruits are especially useful for treating irregular bowel movement and curing constipation. These are as follows:
• avocados
• bananas
• berries
• peaches
• plums
• melons
• apples
• pears
• grapes.
List of Other High Fiber Foods
This is a list of all the vegetables and cereals which are extremely rich sources of fiber:
• spinach, broccoli and all salad greens
• green peas, beans and lentils
• cabbage
• potatoes
• carrots
• mushrooms
• beetroot
• cauliflower
• corn
• Brussels sprouts
• cereals like oatmeal and bran
• whole wheat products
• barley
• spaghetti and pasta.
According to the nutritionist, around 25 to 30 grams was the amount of fiber that every person’s daily diet was supposed to be containing. As all of John’s friends had different diets and diverse eating habits, to make things easier, he prescribed a variety of high fiber diets for all of them. An apple at breakfast (5 grams of fiber), two bananas at lunch (8 grams), a pear in the evening (5 grams) and a bowl of raspberries for dessert (8 grams) would make an ideal combination for a day’s intake of fiber. Alternatively, an avocado (12 grams) and a bowl of bran cereal (19 grams) would do just fine. Spaghetti and pasta for dinner followed by strawberry yogurt sprinkled with oatmeal cereal would be a terrific, healthy way to end the day.
The nutritionist’s seminar on healthy diets had a profound impact on all of John’s friends and each one of them thanked him profusely. Naturally, John wasn’t surprised when Dr. Jones, in response, presented John’s friends with a special ‘parting gift’ in the form of a fruit basket containing apples and oranges… both high fiber fruits!
Can a diet rich in fruits and vegetables keep you trim? Nutritionists say so, and now there’s data to back them up.
Researchers tracked more than 74,000 women aged 38 to 63 for 12 years. Those who boosted their intake of fruits and vegetables by four servings a day had a 24 percent lower risk of obesity than those who cut their fruits and vegetables by about two servings a day.
What to do: Pack some baby carrots for snacks, start (or end) lunch with wedges of cantaloupe, serve at least two vegetables for dinner, etc. Who can complain about roasted asparagus, broccoli in garlic sauce, or sauteed spinach?
In this busy lifestyle, we have become highly dependent on unhealthy junk food and seem to have forgotten the health benefits of fruits and vegetables. A fruit vegetable diet is very effective when it comes to a healthy life. Read on to know more about fruit and vegetable diet plan, an important aspect of a balanced diet.
The first thing that comes to mind when we hear the term ‘fruit and vegetable diet’ is a vegan type of diet, which includes various types of fruits and vegetables, most often eaten raw, and totally excludes meat. But this is a myth when it comes to fruit and vegetable diet plans. The meat exclusion part of the diet plan makes many faces frown and its not surprising as meat tastes better than plants. Excluding meat from the diet is not a wise thing to do, more importantly because it fulfills the protein requirements of our body, but at the same time one should also understand that fruits and vegetables provide us with various vitamins and nutrients required by our body for healthy functioning, and thus should not be ignored.more
Fruit Vegetable Diet Ingredients
Fruits do contain fructose, a sugar which is easily converted to body fat, but the benefits of eating fruits are much more than the disadvantages. The fructose content is high in some fruits but moderate in others. Vegetables have two main advantages over fruits: firstly they contain complex carbohydrates which cannot be easily converted to fats and secondly they are low in calories. But this doesn’t mean that fruits are not important in the diet. A balanced diet should contain vegetables as well as fruits. Fruits such as apples, oranges, pears, strawberries, blueberries, papaya, cantaloupe, guava and blackberries contain fairly less amount of sugar and hence are ideal fruit vegetable diet ingredients. In fact green apples have the least amount of sugars in them. On the other hand, fruits like bananas and grapes should be consumed in less amounts or are best avoided owing to their high fructose content. Some important vegetables, such as cabbage, carrots, mushrooms, broccoli, lettuce, tomato, spinach, eggplants, collard greens, alfalfa sprouts and Brussels sprouts need to be compulsorily incorporated in your fruit and vegetable diet plan.
Fruit and Vegetable Diet Plan
In order to live a healthy life and for successful weight loss, a person is recommended to have at least nine servings of fruits and vegetables in a day. An ideal breakup would be four fruit servings and five vegetable servings a day. To make sure one is not overeating, the servings should be small and frequent rather than large and few. This will ensure that you are full throughout the day and also help you to stay away from unhealthy and unhygienic fast food. Cooking is also an important aspect of your fruit and vegetable diet plan. Raw foods are high on nutrients and if at all you want to cook them before eating, baking or steaming them is much wiser than boiling them as boiling tends to lower their nutritional value. Another important thing to be kept in mind is that the fiber content in a whole fruit makes it more nutritional than the fruit juice. It’s ideal to include fruits or fruit juices in your breakfast in the early morning. Halfway between your breakfast and lunch you can either eat some fruits or sip another glass of low-sugar (sugarless) fruit juice. Lunch should include a variety of vegetables, either raw or steamed. Boiling and deep frying will make your healthy fruit vegetable diet unhealthy. A fruit or vegetable salad can be an ideal evening snack, followed by dinner consisting of easy to digest food. More importantly your last serving should go in at least an hour or two before you go to bed.
Initially, getting used to a vegetarian diet will be a bit tough, especially if meat is the most important component of your diet but slowly you will get used to this healthy diet regime. A balanced diet is the key to success and this balanced diet should include all the nutritional fruits and vegetables. Good fruit and vegetable diet plans have many health benefits. It reduces the risk of various cancers and heart diseases. Eating fruits and vegetables will make you feel full and you won’t have to depend on unhygienic fast food which is the biggest threat to your health. Remember that the only success formula for a healthy and long life is a balanced diet, and balanced diet is not possible without fruits and vegetables
Weight control, protection form heart disease and some cancers are only some of the benefits. So, if you are looking to add more fruits and vegetables to your diet, here are some ideas to get you there.
1. Have a smoothie for breakfast. This can be anywhere from three to five servings of fruit. Make one at home or go to one of those smoothie places. Just stick to all fruit smoothies. Avoid the “light” smoothie. It is probably filled with artificial sweeteners.
2. Drink vegetable or tomato juice before meals. They curb the appetite and the five ounce can adds half a cup of vegetables to your diet.
3. Make a big pot of vegetable soup for lunches all week. One of the best recipes is at the website Saving Dinner. Click on the “Body Clutter” free menu, scroll down until you see “Veggie Soup”. You can also try a basic minestrone soup. Avoid canned soup. They are too salty, lack in nutrition, and in flavor. more
4. At dinner, make your sides vegetables and skip the starchy sides like pasta and white rice.
5. If a meal is not a meal with out dessert, make dessert a cup of mixed berries, a dollop of vanilla yogurt and a tablespoon of granola. You can change this up with anything from pineapple, baked apples to peaches.
6. The tried and true fruit bowl. Just get a fruit bowl and fill it with organic apples, oranges, bananas, kiwi and peaches. This makes fruit as snack healthy, truly convenient.
7. Snack on fruit and cheese. It is a winning combination. Mix it up- Apples and Parmesan, pears and cheddar, peaches and cottage cheese, berries and mozzarella.
8. Everyone knows that raw veggies make a good snack but, try them cooked as a snack. This can be especially helpful if you get gas from raw veggies. Lightly steam carrots, sugar snap peas, green beans, and broccoli lightly and spray lightly with butter. You can also dip them in a low fat cheese sauce or ranch. They are great warm or cool!
9. Make a salad as your meal. Go light on the dressing and add some tofu or a chicken breast.
10. Go vegetarian for a week and find new ways to eat your vegetables!
11. Mash cauliflower and turnips into mashed and twice baked potatoes. Your family will not even know they are there.
12. Grate vegetables such as zucchini, carrots, parsnips, turnips and squash. Add them to red sauces, pizza, meatloaf and chili. No one will notice and you’ll get the all the nutritional benefits.
Getting creative with your diet and your fruits and vegetables is a sure fire way to get more into your stomach. Hopefully, the above ideas will spur on a few of your own.