Vegetables and Fruit

Before you eat, think about what and how much food goes on your plate or in your cup or bowl. 

Over the day, include a variety of foods from all 5 food groups using MyPlate as your guide to make sure you get the nutrients you need.

Vegetables and fruits should make up at half your plate at each meal. Any vegetable, fruit, or 100% vegetable or fruit juice will count for these two food groups. Don’t forget about frozen, canned, and dried vegetables and fruits! Fresh is great, but there are plenty of other options that will help you meet your veggie and fruit goals.

How Much Do I Need?

The number of veggies and fruits you should eat in a day will depend on your age and gender. Check out the charts below from MyPlate:

Veggies:

Fruit:

But what counts as a cup?

Veggies:

• 2 cups of raw, leafy salad greens
• 1 cup of raw or cooked veggies or 100% vegetable juice
  • Carrots = 2 medium
  • Bell peppers = 1 large
  • Sweet potato = 1 large
  • Tomatoes = 1 large or 2 small
  • Corn = 1 large ear
  • Avocado = 1 medium
  • Celery = 2 large stalks

Fruits:

• ½ cup of dried fruit
• 1 cup of fruit or 100% fruit juice
  • Apple = 1 small (or ½ a large)
  • Banana = 1 large, 1 cup sliced
  • Dates = 10 dates
  • Figs = 5 fresh figs or 10 dried
  • Grapes = 22 seedless
  • Kiwifruit = 2-3
  • Mango = 7 slices or chunks
  • Orange = 1 large
  • Papaya = 1 small
  • Peach = 1 large
  • Pear = 1 medium
  • Plum = 3 medium or 2 large
  • Strawberries = about 8 large
  • Watermelon = 1 small wedge or slice

Health Benefits of Veggies & Fruit

Vegetables and fruits are high in essential vitamins and minerals, and most are low in calories.

• Can help you maintain a healthy weight.
• High in fiber which helps prevent constipation and can reduce the risk of heart disease, including heart attack and stroke.
• May prevent certain cancers and reduce your risk of getting some chronic diseases such as type 2 diabetes and heart disease.
• Diets with enough potassium can help maintain healthy blood pressure. Veggie sources = sweet potatoes, white potatoes, white beans, tomato products, beet greens, soybeans, lima beans, spinach, lentils. Fruit sources = bananas, prunes, dried peaches and apricots, cantaloupe, honeydew.
• Tastes great and adds color, flavor, and texture!

How can I get my kids to eat more of their vegetables?

Get Creative

• Serve washed raw veggies with a dip. Try yogurt, salad dressings, peanut butter, or other dips. Kids seem to like raw vegetables since they are finger foods, and the colors are bright!
• Add them to eggs, sandwiches, pizza, stir fry and rice.
• Cut up in small pieces or puree and hide them in casseroles, spaghetti sauce and meat loaf.
• Stuff them with cottage cheese, tuna, meat, or egg salad.

Make Veggies Fun

• Let kids make art using vegetables: broccoli florets for trees, carrots and celery for flowers, cauliflower for clouds, and yellow squash for a sun! They can eat their masterpiece!
• Let children go shopping with you and pick out a new vegetable to try.
• Serve brightly colored vegetables.
• If you have a garden, let your child pick the vegetables for the meal. Be clear about what to pick and how much is needed. 
• Let your preschooler make a salad. They can wash lettuce and tomatoes and tear lettuce into the bowl. 
• Make homemade pizza and let the kids add veggie toppings like onions, bell peppers, tomatoes, and mushrooms.

10 Tips to Add More Veggies to Your Day

1. Discover fast ways to cook: Cook fresh, frozen, or canned vegetables in the microwave for a quick-and-easy dish to add to any meal. Steam green beans, carrots, or cabbage in a bowl with a small amount of water in the microwave for a quick side dish.
2. Be ahead of the game: Cut up a batch of bell peppers, cauliflower, or broccoli. Pre-package them to use when you’re in a hurry. Enjoy them in a casserole, stir-fry, or as a snack with hummus (dip made from chickpeas or other vegetables).
3. Choose vegetables rich in color: Brighten your plate with vegetables that are red, orange, or dark green. They are full of vitamins and minerals. Try acorn squash, cherry tomatoes, sweet potatoes, or spinach. They not only taste great but are good for you, too.
4. Check the freezer aisle: Frozen vegetables are quick and easy to use and are just as nutritious as fresh veggies. Try adding frozen vegetables, such as corn, peas, or spinach, to your favorite dish. Look for frozen vegetables without added sauces, gravies, butter, or cream.
5. Stock up on veggies: Canned vegetables are a great addition to any meal, so keep on hand canned tomatoes, kidney beans, garbanzo beans, mushrooms, and beets. Select those labeled as “reduced sodium,” “low sodium,” or “no salt added.” 
6. Make your garden salad glow with color: Brighten your salad by using colorful vegetables such as black beans or avocados, sliced red bell peppers or onions, shredded radishes or carrots, and chopped red cabbage or watercress. Your salad will not only look good but taste good, too!
7. Sip on some vegetable soup: Heat it and eat it. Try tomato, butternut squash, or garden vegetable soup. Look for reduced- or low-sodium soups. Make your own soups with a low-sodium broth and your favorite vegetables.
8. While you’re out: If dinner is away from home, no need to worry. When ordering, ask for an extra side of vegetables or a side salad instead of the typical fried side dish. Ask for dressings on the side.
9. Vary your veggies: Choose a new vegetable that you’ve never tried before. Find recipes online at ChooseMyPlate.gov.
10. Savor the flavor of seasonal vegetables: Buy vegetables that are in season for maximum flavor at a lower cost. Check your local grocery store sales for the best in-season buys. Checkout the Seasonal Produce Guide below.

10 Tips to Focus on Fruits

1. Keep visible reminders: Keep a bowl of washed whole fruit on the table, counter, or in the refrigerator.
2. Experiment with flavor: Use fruits to sweeten a recipe instead of adding sugar. Buy fresh fruits in season when they may be less expensive and at their peak flavor. See the Produce Seasonal Chart below.
3. Think about variety: Buy fruits that are dried, frozen, and canned (in water or 100% juice) as well as fresh, so that you always have a supply on hand.
4. Don’t forget the fiber: Make the most of your choices whole or cut-up fruit, rather than juice, for the benefits that dietary fiber provides (there is limited fiber in juices).
5. Include fruit at breakfast: Top your yogurt, cereal, oatmeal, toast, or pancakes with bananas, peaches, blueberries, or strawberries.
6. Try fruit at lunch: Pack a tangerine, banana, or grapes to eat or choose fruits from a salad bar. Individual containers of fruits like unsweetened applesauce are easy to carry and convenient for lunch.
7. Enjoy fruit at dinner, too: Add crushed pineapple to coleslaw or include orange sections, dried cranberries, or grapes in a tossed salad. Eat fruit for dessert.
8. Snack on fruits: Fruits make great snacks. Try dried fruits mixed with nuts or whole fruits like apples or grapes. They are easy to carry and store well.
9. Be a good role model: Set a good example for kids by eating fruit every day with meals or as snacks.
10. Keep fruits safe: Rinse fruits before preparing or eating them. Under clean, running water, rub fruits briskly to remove dirt and surface microorganisms. After rinsing, dry with a clean towel.

Discover even more ways to add vegetables and fruits to your meals on MyPlate Kitchen.

Seasonal Produce Guide

Source: USDA SNAP-Ed Seasonal Produce Guide

How to Preserve Vegetables and Fruits

If you are unable to eat your produce before they go bad, try these preserving techniques. 

Remember that you can buy frozen vegetables and fruits with your WIC dollars!

Drying

1. Preheat oven to 170 degrees F. 
2. Wash veggie/fruit and remove pits, seeds or cores.
3. Slice veggie/fruit. Keep them the same thickness. 
4. Place slices in a single layer on a nonstick baking sheet.
5. Keep the oven door open slightly, stir fruit every 30 minutes. Monitor closely as it will take between 4-8 hours of drying time. 
6. Remove from the oven and let stand overnight (at least 12 hours), then store in airtight containers. 

Homemade Fruit Leather

1. Preheat oven to 140 degrees F and prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper. 
2. Wash veggie/fruit and remove pits, seeds or cores
3. Puree the fruit in a blender or food processor until no chunks remain. Add honey or cinnamon if desired.
4. Pour puree into prepared pan and cook until it becomes a leathery consistency.
5. Cut into strips and roll up if desired. 

Freezing Fresh Vegetables

1. Blanch them by boiling in a pot of water for 1-5 minutes, until the color is vibrant. 
2. Prepare a large bowl of ice water. 
3. Using slotted spoon or tongs, remove veggies from boiling water and plunge them into the bowl of ice water. Chill for the same amount of time that you boiled them.
4. Dry the veggies thoroughly.
5. Place in a single layer on a baking sheet and place them in the freezer. 
6. Once frozen, store in an air-tight container or bag in the freezer. 

Freezing Fresh Fruits

1. Wash fruit and remove pits, seeds or cores
2. Slice, chop or leave whole. 
3. Place in a single layer on a baking sheet and place them in the freezer. 

For fruits that turn brown when sliced (apples, pears, peaches), soak the sliced fruit in a mixture of 4 cups water and 1 tbsp lemon juice for 10 minutes before freezing. 

More South Dakota Veggie & Fruit Resources…

Healthy SD Harvest of the Month – Downloadable educational program designed to make learning about veggies and fruit easy, tasty, and fun! This versatile set of materials can be used by parents, teachers, or educators to help kids get excited about eating more vegetables and fruits.

SDSU Extension Pick It Try It Like It Preserve It – Materials filled with tips for selecting, preparing, and preserving a wide variety of vegetables and fruits. Colorful fact sheets, recipe cards, and educational videos provide educators and families with fun, engaging tools to enhance any dietary curriculum! Can be used in the classroom, at home, in grocery stores or farmers markets, as displays or in community programs.