Vegetables/Fruits and Reducing Risk for Type 2 Diabetes

How many vegetables and fruits do you need in a day?

According to Health Canada, adult women need 7-8 servings per day and adult men need 8-10 servings per day. Children need 4-6 servings and teens need 7-8 servings. See the chart below:

Tips on eating the daily recommended number of vegetables and fruits:

            Try having 1 fruit with each of your meals or as part of a snack:

·         Have 1-2 servings of vegetables at each meal.  1 serving is only 0.5 cup of vegetables, which is the size of a deck of playing cards or a hockey puck.

o   Add some cucumbers or tomatoes to your sandwich;

o   Add a mixture of different vegetables or fruits to your salads, such as cucumbers, peas, grapes, apples, and broccoli;

o   Add some extra vegetables into your soups;

o   Add some dried fruit to your cereal or oatmeal.

·         Cut up your vegetables ahead of time so you have them available to throw into a stir fry, as part of a meal, or as a quick snack that you can grab and go.

·         Try some vegetables you have never tasted before and look online for recipes on how you can incorporate them into a dish.  Try one new recipe a week! Click here for recipe ideas with seasonable vegetables.

Recent study: Eating more vegetables and fruits and eating smaller portions, can reduced risk for developing Type 2 Diabetes. CTV News.

S    Sally Ho is a Registered Dietitian and Certified Diabetes Educator with the Leduc Beaumont Devon Primary Care Network.   

Back to School, Back to Work - Lunch

Beating the Brown Bag Lunch Blues

This post is part 2 of a 3 part series on back to back to school, back to work and healthy eating. 

Now with breakfast all figured out its time to address lunch!

Top Reasons People don’t eat lunch:

Time:

“I am too busy to make a lunch in the morning”
“I am too busy at work/school to eat lunch”
“I have to catch up on emails and work during lunch”

Making sure you take time to eat is very important for very similar reasons as why eating breakfast is important.  Eating lunch ensures we are meeting our nutritional needs from Canada’s food guide, provides our mind and body fuel for the rest of the day, helps with weight and other health conditions and allows us to be role models for our kids.

Other ways eating lunch is helpful: 

- If you job is stressful, sometimes taking the time to stop and eat can be a way to “take a break” and remove yourself from the situation.
- Often, with feelings of lack of time, comes eating in front of your desk/computer which can cause “mindless eating”.  We are distracted by other things and not focusing on what we are eating, how much we are eating and not in tune with what our stomach is telling us (full or not full).
- Lack of time also means scrambling to find something to eat, which can lead to eating out! Research has shown that eating out more than twice a week increased calories/pounds more than 30%

Time saver ideas:

- Pack your lunch the night before so its ready for you to take in the morning
- Involve the whole family in the lunch packing/planning process
- Clean and cut raw vegetables and pack them in small bags/containers to grab and go
- Have a lunch drawer with all packing needs (containers, bags, utensils, napkins, lunch bags)
- Have a drawer of non-perishable foods at work in case you are running late (canned fruit, cereal, crackers, high fibre canned soups, canned tuna or salmon)
- If there is a fridge at work, USE IT!!  Stock with yoghurt, fruit, vegetables, milk, cheese, or hard boiled eggs
- Packing your lunch in the long run saves you time and can save you money

Alternatives to the boring sandwich:

There are many other alternatives for lunch than the ordinary sandwich. Remember; aim to have at least 3 food groups present at lunch and always include a fruit or vegetable, milk and milk alternatives, meat and meat alternatives and grains:

- Add variety to your lunch
- Vary the bread choices (whole grain breads, tortillas, pitas, crackers)
- Hummus with pita or cut up vegetables
- Try a cereal
- Have a mega salad – start with greens, add bits of low fat cheese, vegetables, meat (tuna, egg, turkey or chicken), chick peas or your favourite toppings
- Leftovers
- Yogurt, fruit and granola
- Whole grain muffin, boiled egg , fruit and yogurt

I don’t have anywhere to store my lunch:

If you don’t have a fridge at work, that is not enough of a reason not to pack a lunch!

- Get an insulated lunch bags/containers
- Freeze water bottles or milk containers to keep food cold but also to have a drink as well
- Use ice packs
- Use your thermos (not just for coffee) try with hot soup, stews or chilies

Packing Healthy School Lunches
Brown Bag Lunches Everyone Will Like
Brown Bag Lunch Ideas
Food Safety Tips

Recipes to Try:

Refreshing Lentil Salad
Jerk Chicken Salad
Lunch Box Chili, Rice and Beans
Cheesy Chicken Crunchy Quesadillas
Jack's Special Veggie Bread