Canada’s Food Guide recommends getting 5-10 servings of fruits and vegetables per day. Personally, I recommend aiming for 11 per day. But is that reasonable? How can it be done?
Three fruits: one with breakfast, two servings as snacks. (1/2 cup of fruit, 1/4 cup of dried fruit, one piece of fruit).
Eight vegetables: do a four cup salad at lunch and two cups of cooked veggies at supper (1 cup lettuce/greens, 1/2 cup cooked or raw veggies)
Not so bad eh? Building you meal around your veggies instead of the piece of meat usually helps.
Here is my favorite stir fry recipe. Makes it easy and tasty to get 2 cups of veggies in!
Chicken and Broccoli Stir Fry
1 cup brown rice
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp grated ginger
1/4 cup reduced-sodium soy sauce
1/2 cup water
1 Tbsp brown sugar
1 Tbsp cornstarch
2 tsp rice wine vinegar
1 Tbsp sesame oil
340g skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut into bite sized pieces
1 Tbsp canola oil
6 cups broccoli florets, rinsed (any combination of veggies works well)
1 red bell pepper, sliced into strips
1/2 cup roasted, unsalted cashews
1. Cook the rice according to package instructions.
2. Make the marinade: mix the garlic, ginger, soy sauce, vinegar, water, sugar, cornstarch, and sesame oil in a large bowl. Add the chicken and toss to coat. Set the bowl aside (you can do this step before you go to work!)
3. heat a large deep skillet or wok over med-high heat. Add the canola oil and stir-fry broccoli until bright green, about 5 minutes.
4. Add the chicken and the marinade. Stir-fry until cooked through, about 5 minutes. Add the peppers and remove from heat.
5. Garnish with cashews and serve immediately with the rice.
makes 4 servings.
Bon Apetit!!
Kerri Fullerton ND