Johns Hopkins Health Alerts | Nutrition and Weight Control | Tips on Getting Your 2-4 Cups of Vegetables a Day

Even if you’re not a vegetable fan, there's a lot you can do to get the recommended 2-4 cups of vegetables a day.

Your whole life you’ve been told, "Eat your vegetables!” And it’s good advice. Vegetables contain nutrients that are essential to your health and may reduce your risk of a myriad of chronic diseases from heart disease to diabetes and some cancers. The latest food pyramid recommends that you eat 2-4 cups of vegetables a day (the exact amount depends on your age, gender, and activity level). But that’s not always an easy task. Here, then, are some ideas from the experts on how to get your veggies -- and enjoy them, too.

When Shopping for Your Vegetables:

• Buy fresh vegetables in season. Vegetables will be at the height of their flavor and cost less than at other times of the year.
• Buy bagged and/or precut produce. It may be a bit more expensive, but the time and effort you save can be worth the additional cost, particularly if you have arthritis, low vision, or another health problem that makes cutting and preparing vegetables difficult.
• Buy vegetables that don’t need to be cut, such as baby carrots, grape tomatoes, cauliflower, sugar-snap peas, baby spinach leaves, and asparagus.
• Shop the frozen foods aisle. Frozen vegetables are high in nutritional value because they’re frozen within hours of being picked.
• Peruse the salad bar. Just stay away from the mayonnaise- and oil-based salads (pasta and potato salads, for example) and stick to low-calorie items such as greens, tomatoes, carrots, peppers, and cucumbers. There’s a caveat to the salad bar, however. A sneeze or someone’s fingers can contaminate the food, increasing the risk of getting a foodborne illness. This usually isn’t a problem for healthy people, but if you have a weakened immune system, the convenience of the salad bar may not be worth the risk.
• Go ethnic. Try water chestnuts and bok choy for Asian flair, jalapeno peppers and corn for a Mexican-style dish, or savory cabbage for Thai cuisine. Mixing up your vegetables can help fight vegetable boredom.

When Preparing Your Vegetables:

• Try precooking vegetables. Buy fresh vegetables and partially cook them as soon as you get them home from the store. To do this, blanch the vegetables in boiling water until they’re half done, let them cool, and then store them in resealable plastic bags in the refrigerator. When you’re ready to eat the vegetables, simply sauté them with a little olive oil and some herbs and spices until they’re fully cooked.
• Use a good knife. Be sure to keep knives sharp so they cut easily.
• Try the microwave. You can bake white or sweet potatoes in just minutes in the microwave. Frozen vegetables can be quickly prepared in this way, too.

For more Alerts and Special Reports, please visit the Nutrition and Weight Control Topic page.

Johns Hopkins Health Alerts | Nutrition and Weight Control | Tips on Getting Your 2-4 Cups of Vegetables a Day