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Date: 5/6/2016
GREATER SPRINGFIELD – “Eat your vegetables!” Nearly everyone hears that admonishment growing up, but according to a 2013 survey by Gallup Healthways Well Being Index, only 57 percent of adult Americans manage to get in the five cups of fruits and veggies recommended under the USDA Dietary Guidelines.
The numbers are even worse when we look what our kids are consuming. Boys between nine and 13 years of age and girls between 14 and 18 years of age score even lower than adults on daily fruit and veggie intake.
Our collective veggie avoidance comes at a heavy cost. Research shows regular consumption of broccoli can stave off fatty liver disease and some cancers; eating spinach can help suppress appetite and overall veggie consumption cuts the risk of heart-related problems.
So what’s keeping us out of the produce aisle? Paula Serafino-Cross, a registered dietitian with Baystate Health chalks it up to a lot of mistaken beliefs about these dietary components.
“Personally, I think a lot of people don’t know how to prepare them, or they don’t take the time to prepare them, or they only eat the few veggies that they know,” Serafino-Cross said.
However, there are plenty of alternatives to boiling up a pot of green beans, peas or corn, Serafino-Cross said, especially with the summer grilling and farmers’ market seasons right at hand.
“Roasting veggies really brings out the flavor,” she said. “If you have access to a grill, take an old cookie sheet, line it with foil and roast them outside.”
Her favorite grill roasting combination includes slices of zucchini, summer squash, red and green pepper and onion, drizzled with a little olive oil.
“Eggplant sliced thin, sprinkled with herbs and olive oil is also easy to grill,” she added.
If all that chopping seems like too much work, Serafino-Cross said frozen bagged veggies are a quick way to get your produce in, whatever the season.
“If people have a mistaken belief that [frozen vegetables] aren’t as good, remember, most are flash-frozen out in the farms in the Midwest,” Serafino-Cross said. “The nutrient value is very good, they haven’t been travelling across the country for five days like some fresh produce.”
When choosing frozen veggies, it doesn’t matter if you go for the national or the store brand, she said. The quick steam-in-bag varieties, available in every supermarket’s frozen food aisle, are a great quick alternative for busy families and individuals.
“There’s no salt on them, and you just pop them in the microwave for five minutes,” she said. “There’s no excuses.”
Canned vegetables can also provide an easy way to meet that five-cups-a-day requirement, though Serafino-Cross said it’s important to watch the sodium levels on these veggies. Opt for the low-sodium varieties of national or store brands, she suggested.
The fresh, pre-cut veggies and bagged salads available in the fresh produce section of the supermarket means there’s not excuse not to “have a salad every day,” Serafino-Cross added.
When it comes to upping the veggie intake of your kids, Serafino-Cross said research by the American Academy of Nutrition found something as simple as offering a dip with baby carrots increased preschooler’s veggie consumption by 80 percent.
And, she noted, “It didn’t matter if it was low-fat or regular dip.”
Sneaking veggies into macaroni and cheese is another way to increase your kids’ intake. Tossing some frozen veggies into the pot while the macaroni cooks, or blending small chunks of cooked butternut squash in with the cheese sauce are two easy add-ins, Serafino-Cross said.
For more suggestions on ways to up your family’s veggie intake, Serafino-Cross suggested visiting http://www.choosemyplate.gov/vegetables-tips
Serafino-Cross said changing your – and your family’s – eating habits is all about changing attitudes, starting with how the family cook perceives preparing vegetables.
“They think they have to stand there and cut them up. But there’s frozen vegetables and there’s the bagged ones that are all cut up and ready to go,” she said. “There’s definitely ways to do it, it all depends on your motivational level.”