Getting More Fruits and Vegetables

A large number of fruit and vegetable servings are required with the DASH diet. This may sound intimidating, but the serving sizes are small.

For instance, one veggie serving equals only a handful of broccoli, and 15 medium grapes make up one fruit serving. Here are some tips to help increase your daily fruit and veggie quotient:

• Add sliced bananas or berries to your morning cereal.
• Heat frozen blueberries or strawberries in the microwave for a toaster waffle topping.
• Pack an apple or a bag of carrot sticks, raisins, or dried apricots for handy snacking.
• Stock up on canned and frozen fruits and vegetables. To reduce the salt content of canned vegetables, rinse them in water before eating.
• Add a little curry or cinnamon to canned fruits, and heat.
• Use your microwave to quickly prepare vegetables. Pop in a potato and top it with salsa and microwaved broccoli and corn.
• Top low-fat frozen yogurt with sliced peaches or berries.