my go-to fruits and veggies

Eating a rainbow of different colored fruits and vegetables is a fundamentally healthy way to eat. Whether you are following a low carb, keto, paleo or vegetarian diet – getting color into your diet should always be the priority. Our bodies need a variety of vitamins and minerals to stay healthy, and nature has color coded these for us. And in case you needed the reminder, eating more fruits and vegetables can help to reduce your risk for chronic diseases, like high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, obesity (which has been shown to be one of the most significant risk factors for being hospitalized with Covid-19) and cancer. But which vegetables and fruits should you be prioritizing?

Hands down – getting your greens in should be at the top of your veggie-eating list. And the biggest powerhouse green vegetable is spinach, IMO. Personally, I loved spinach, sautéed with ghee and garlic – but if it’s not your favorite, my favorite way to ‘sneak’ it into my diet is into a smoothie with strawberries, blueberries, unsweetened almond milk, flavored protein powder, flax seeds and ice. Outside of spinach, dark leafy greens like kale and cruciferous green vegetables like brussel sprouts, arugula, bok choy and brocolli are great to add into your diet. Note, if you are new to eating cruciferous vegetables like broccoli or brussel sprouts (or just don’t eat them that regularly), I recommend lightly steaming them THEN baking/roasting/sautéing or air frying them. Eating raw cruciferous vegetables actually suppresses your thyroid’s hormone production, creating fatigue, coldness in your body and a slowing of your metabolism. Also, the process of steaming cooks those vegetables at a relatively low temperature, makes it easier on your stomach to digest them and helps retain all their essential nutrients. If dairy does not agree with your stomach and thus you need to supplement your diet with calcium in other ways – collard greens, broccoli rabe, kale and soybeans are calcium-rich green vegetables worth adding into your diet. Last thing I will mention about greens – many of them are good sources of plant-based protein. Take peas for example. One cup of cooked peas contains 9 grams of protein. Other vegetables with a good source of protein include lima beans, bean sprouts, spinach, sweet corn, asparagus, artichokes, brussel sprouts, mushrooms and broccoli. 

Getting those orange fruits and vegetables in is a great way to pack your diet with vitamin A and vitamin C. Carrots and orange bell peppers are my go-tos. Carrots contain beta-carotene (as does spinach), which is an antioxidant that has been proven to help in cancer prevention. Oranges (the fruit) are most commonly thought of as the go-to source for vitamin C, but actually bell peppers contain nearly 3x more vitamin C than an orange.

When it comes to fruits – go with “real” fruit. Not juices. Not even freshly squeezed juice. The liquid contains most of the vitamins and minerals found in the fruit. However, whole fruits and vegetables also have healthy fiber, which is lost during most juicing. Also, fruit juice elevates blood sugar more quickly that whole fruit, and the level of sugar that can be obtained from fruit juice is higher than the level found in whole fruit. This matters because foods high in sugar (even natural sugar) cause a blood sugar spike in the body. Short term, that can leave you feeling tired after that spike crashes and actually make you more hungry. Over time, your body may not be able to lower blood sugar effectively, which can lead to type 2 diabetes. To mitigate that blood sugar spike that can come with fruit, I recommend pairing fruit with a protein-rich food or a food packed with healthy fats. For example, I would pair an apple with natural peanut butter (a healthy fat) or a hardboiled egg (protein). You can also lean on fruits lower on the glycemic index (GI), which essentially means they have less natural sugar than other fruits. Berries are your best option there. Bonus: strawberries may help to whiten your teeth naturally.

The biggest takeaway here – no matter what diet you are following, vegetables should be a key staple in your diet and loading up your plate with colorful fruits and vegetables will be the easiest way to support your health.