ON COOKING: Easily mixing more fruit and veggies in diet

By Chef Dez/Special to Black Press Media

Healthy eating food guides recommend that we, as adults, should be eating an average of seven to 10 servings of fruits and vegetables every day.

Children should be eating four to eight servings, depending on their age.

This is an ongoing challenge for some people, so to assist you I have gathered some helpful ways to fulfill your intake requirements for healthy eating. Please keep in mind that I am not a dietician, and these are merely suggestions from a chef’s perspective.

A single serving of fruit or vegetables can be described as 1/2 cup of fresh, frozen, or canned (or one half cup of 100 per cent pure juice). Alternatively, one cup of raw leafy vegetables or salads counts as a single serving, as well as a single piece of fruit.

Keep pure juices to a minimum as they have a higher concentration of natural sugars per serving.

The first and most important direction to lead you in is to ensure that you are buying fruits and vegetables in the first place.

Chances are if you don’t have them available at your fingertips, you will miss many opportunities to introduce them into your diet: out of sight, out of mind.

One helpful tip is to buy the recommended serving amounts for each member of your family for the number of days you are shopping for. For example, if you are a family of four and shopping to get you through the next thee days, you would need to buy a total of 84 servings of fruit and vegetables combined, based on an average of seven servings each.

Purchase these before proceeding to the other departments and isles and build your meals based on these initial produce selections.

An easy way to incorporate fresh spinach with every meal is to serve every piece of chicken or fish on a bed of sauteed spinach leaves. Simply heat a pan over medium heat with a very small amount of olive oil, add a large handful of clean, fresh spinach leaves and season lightly with salt and pepper. They will cook and wilt very quickly as you toss with tongs. Plate and serve immediately.

If sandwiches are a meal item that you have regularly, then make sure you always have fresh lettuce, tomato, and onions on hand at all times. Fresh spinach leaves are also great in a sandwich. A Mediterranean flair can also be added to your sandwiches by including roasted bell peppers or a spread of roasted garlic.

Fruit can become an easily accessible snack item by always having containers of washed berries and grapes in your refrigerator at all times.

Try not to pre-wash too much ahead of time however, as they tend to deteriorate faster after washing. Always have a bowl of “grab & go” fruit for those times when you’re rushing out the door, like bananas, washed apples, etc.

Vegetable skewers on the grill are another low fat and flavourful way to get your daily servings.

The cold and wet weather days are not ideal conditions for firing up the grill, but barbecuing does continue to offer low-fat cooking year round. If you can rearrange your grill’s location to make it more easily accessible you will tend to use it more often.

I have mine undercover, so I use it all the time.

Even if there is a member of your family who is somewhat fussy when it comes to eating fruits and vegetables, the produce departments seem to always be expanding in selection of imported/exotic goods.

Buy something completely new to your family at least once per month.

The internet and libraries are filled with an abundance of information on preparing and serving almost any ingredient.

Happy cooking!

Dear Chef Dez:

I am on a diet and looking for ways to add flavour to my meals without adding fat or too many calories. Any suggestions?

Dawn W., Langley

Dear Dawn:

Herbs and spices are the way to go. Dry spice rubs and fresh herbs add a ton of flavour without adding calories. Try cooking with fat-free broths. Wine and juices are great to cook with for flavour, but remember they loaded with calories and natural sugars.

Stay away from condiments like ketchup and barbeque sauce, as they are also loaded with sugar.

.

– Chef Dez is a food columnist and culinary instructor in the Fraser Valley. Visit him at www.chefdez.com. Send questions to dez@chefdez.com or to P.O. Box 2674, Abbotsford, B.C. V2T 6R4

.

• ON COOKING: How to make perfect meatballs

• ON COOKING: Cooking should be a way to connect with people

.