Food prep basic training

Getting started. Not sure how to increase your fruit and vegetable intake?

• Start the day with 100 percent fruit or vegetable juice.
• Slice bananas or strawberries on top of your cereal.
• Have a salad with lunch, and an apple for an afternoon snack. Include a vegetable or two with dinner and a piece of fruit for a snack after dinner.

When you keep fruits and vegetables visible and easily accessible you tend to eat them more; for instance, store cut and cleaned produce at eye level in the refrigerator, or keep a big bowl of fruit on the table.

How to Properly Wash Your Produce

Add fruits and vegetables to salads or pasta. Try these tasty additions to add flavor to your salad:

• Green or red pepper strips, broccoli florets, carrot slices, or cucumber add crunch to your pasta or potato salad.
• Baby carrots, shredded cabbage, or spinach leaves bring color to a green salad.
• Apple chunks, pineapples, and raisins perk up coleslaw, chicken or tuna salads.
• Orange, grapefruit, or nectarine slices add extra flavor to any salad.

Fruits and vegetables can be fun!

• Top a bowl of cereal with a smiley face: sliced bananas for eyes, raisins for a nose, and an orange slice for a mouth.
• You can use broccoli florets for trees, carrots and celery for flowers, cauliflower for clouds, and a yellow squash for a sun. Go ahead and eat your masterpiece—you’ll feel GOOD!
• Make frozen fruit kabobs using pineapple chunks, bananas, grapes and berries.
• Take kids along to the grocery store or farmers’ market to let them see all the different sizes and colors that fruit and vegetables offer. Let them pick out a new fruit and vegetable to try. If you involve them and make it fun, they'll be more likely to eat healthy foods