New

Editor’s note
The following abstract describes a publication that is available as a downloadable PDF.
See the companion publication N1042, Fruits and Vegetables Eat a Rainbow Poster and N1053, Fruits and Vegetables Handout.

Eating on a budget handout sharing tips for stretching your food dollars.

Sarah Wood
Assistant Extension Professor, Department of Health Sciences

Tammy Roberts
Nutrition and Health Extension Specialist

Abstract

This handout provides tips on eating healthy for adults. It discusses ways to implement the strategy of eating the rainbow and how to include a wide variety of fruits and vegetable in your diet.

Topics

  • Snacking
  • Fruits
  • Vegetables
  • Helping Kids
  • Nutrients
  • SNAP

Pages

  • 2

See handout content below.


Fruits and Vegetables — Eat a rainbow!

Include fruits and vegetables at every meal. Try to fill half your plate with them!

Eat more fruits and vegetables.

  • Aim for 11/2 to 2 cups of fruit and 2 to 3 cups of vegetables a day.
  • Make it easy by blending into a smoothie.
  • Puree vegetables into sauces for a boost of nutrition.
  • Choose whole fruits over juice to get more fiber.
  • Rinse fresh fruits and vegetables before eating them.

fruits

Snack on fruits and vegetables.

  • Eat baby carrots or other cut raw veggies with cottage cheese or hummus.
  • Pack trail mix with dried fruit. Try something new like apples, apricots or pineapple.
  • Spread peanut butter on a banana or apple.
  • Slice fresh fruit and vegetables to keep in the refrigerator for quick and easy snacks.
  • Make fruit kebabs using banana slices, grapes and whole berries.

Fruits and vegetables have nutrients that help fight cancer, stroke and heart disease. They taste great and make our plates colorful! Here are some ways to add them to your meals.

fruits

Breakfast

  • Slice fresh fruit into a bowl of cold cereal.
  • Microwave hot oatmeal with cinnamon and add chopped apple or pear.
  • Top waffles, pancakes or French toast with berries or peaches.
  • Stir fresh or dried fruit into yogurt.
  • Have leftover veggies from last night’s dinner? Throw them in an omelet or make a frittata.

Lunch

  • Top your sandwich with romaine lettuce, spinach, tomatoes, cucumbers or bell peppers.
  • Pack leftover veggies or salad from last night’s dinner.
  • Serve canned peaches or baked beans with a sandwich.
  • Enjoy a bowl of vegetable soup.
  • Add fruits like mandarin oranges to salads.

Dinner

  • Top your pizza with onions, mushrooms, peppers or pineapple.
  • Stir-fry lean beef with colorful veggies like broccoli, red peppers and carrots.
  • Add frozen vegetables — peas, corn or a variety — to casseroles or soups.
  • Sneak in nutrition by adding shredded or diced veggies to ground meat for tacos, spaghetti or sloppy Joes. Try bell peppers, zucchini or carrots.
  • Serve fruit for dessert.
  • Add fruits like pineapple chunks to meat or chicken kebabs.
Funded in part by USDA SNAP.
For more information, call MU Extension’s Show Me Nutrition line at 1-888-515-0016.
Need help stretching your food dollars? Contact your local resource center or go online to mydss.mo.gov/food-assistance/food-stamp-program.
Publication No. N1058