Foodbank New South Wales
Nutrition
Australians on average, eat only 2/3 of the recommended daily requirement of 2 serves of fruit and 5 of vegetables. Most of us need to eat more.
Try these simple ideas:
- put a chopped banana, apple or pear on your breakfast cereal
- keep beans, peas, carrots & corn in freezer for casseroles and stir fries
- eat one vegetarian meal every week (e.g. pasta with a vegetables sauce, & red kidney beans or chick peas for protein)
- add tomato & lettuce to a sandwich, & avocado instead of butter or margarine
- have a piece of fruit or a fruit salad for dessert
- make homemade smoothies with banana, melon & milk
Eating more fruit & vegetables gives us an increased intake of vitamins & minerals, particularly vitamin C, folate, potassium & magnesium. Fruit and vegetables are also high in fibre & carbohydrate, but very low in fat.
Antioxidants like the vitamin C in citrus fruit & capsicum and lycopene in tomatoes, can reduce the chance of heart disease & some cancers, and prevent degeneration of the eyes, which can cause blindness.
Just think of the appealing colour & variety that vegetables add to meals. Your body digests fruit & vegetables very easily, leaving you more energy to "charge through the day". Fresh and in season, fruit & veges are great value!
