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Fruits and veggies: more matters |
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Tuesday, 20 March 2007 |
By Sharon E. Buhr, MPH, LRD
Public Health Nutritionist
at Mercy Hospital
While research indicates that more than 50 percent of adult consumers know they need to eat five or more servings of fruits and vegetables per day, more than 90 percent of all Americans do not eat the recommended amount. To meet the new dietary guidelines introduced last year, most consumers will have to more than double the amount they currently consume.
Fruits & Veggies—More Matters is a new health initiative designed to help close this “consumption gap,” making increased consumption attainable and easy for people to understand.
Led by Produce for Better Health Foundation (PBH) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), this initiative replaces the existing 5 A Day awareness program.
Fruits & Veggies—More Matters will leverage the 5 A Day heritage and success to further inspire and support consumers to eat more, showcasing the unrivaled combination of great taste, nutrition, choice and product variety of fruits and veggies—fresh, frozen, canned, dried and 100 percent juice. It also will build upon the body of science that indicates that increased daily consumption of fruits and vegetables may help prevent many chronic diseases.
In October 2006, PBH surveyed more than 500 moms to learn what kind of information would increase their likelihood of serving their families more fruits and vegetables. If they are to succeed in introducing more fruits and vegetables into their family’s diet, Moms emphasized their need for:
- Access to fast, simple recipes and serving suggestions.
- Tips on how different forms of fruits and veggies can fit into family mealtimes.
- Ideas on how to include fruits and vegetables on a tight budget.
Fruits & Veggies—More Matters launches in March 2007 to help Americans overcome common everyday barriers to eating fruits and veggies. The Fruits & Veggies—More Matters Web site www.fruitsandveggiesmorematters.org will have f tips and recipes.
Moms may want to try the following fun recipe for their kids afternoon snacks.
Prickly Bananas
Cup Rice Crispies or Cheerios
1 banana
Put cereal in a bag and crush it. Cut peeled banana in bite sized pieces. Put in slices in the bag with the cereal and shake until the banana is coated with crushed cereal.
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 05 December 2007 )
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