The new food guidelines issued by the United States government recommend that all Americans eat between five and nine servings of fruits and vegetables each and every day. When looking for fresh fruits and veggies, go for those that are in season, this will save you a lot of money in the long run. Check the internet for a list of veggies and their seasons, keep this list on your fridge so that when you make up your grocery list you can pick and choose your vegetables and know you won't be spending a fortune for those that are out of season.



When you take into account how much a serving really is, it is actually quite easy to get five to nine servings of fruits and vegetables per day. For instance, the recommended daily amount actually equates to a quite reasonable two cups of fruit and two and a half cups of vegetables every day. When you consider how many fruits and vegetables are available, and how low the prices usually are, it is easy to see how easy it is to reach this daily goal.

One great way to get the nutrients you need from fruits and vegetables every day is to take full advantage of the variety of these foods available. Eating the same thing every day quickly becomes boring, so why not pick a variety of fruits and vegetables, in every color of the rainbow and in every conceivable shape, size and texture, to give yourself a varied diet. You might also want to look ingot fruit juices and vegetable juices. There are those on the market that will give you your daily serving of fruits and veggies, so on days you just can't seem to fit them all in, grab yourself a glass of some yummy fruits or veggies!

When shopping for fruits and vegetables, it is important to choose a variety of different colors. This is for more than purely artistic reasons. Different color fruits and vegetables have different types of nutrients, and choosing a variety of colors will help ensure you get all the vitamins and minerals you need each and every day. There are a ton of new and old recipes online, so check them out, this is another great way to ensure you get those five to nine servings of fruits and vegetables everyday. Everyone likes to try out new recipes, and new recipes may just provide the push you need to eat all those fruits and veggies.

New recipes can also provide you the important opportunity to try out some fruits and vegetables you have never tried before. For instance, everyone has eaten oranges, but have you tried kiwi fruit or mangoes? How about spinach or kale? Trying new things is a great way to find new favorites while getting the best nutrition available.

Many people mistakenly think that they don't need to eat five to nine servings of fruits and vegetables every day if they just take a vitamin supplement. Actually, nothing could be further from the truth, this is because fruits and vegetables contain far more than the micronutrients identified by science and synthesized in vitamin pills. While these micronutrients, such as vitamin C, vitamin A and vitamin E are important to good health, so too are the hundreds of other elements that are contained in healthy foods like fruits and vegetables. These elements are not available in any pill, they must be ingested through a healthy, balanced diet that contains plenty of fruits and vegetables. Also it is important to get the fiber you need in your diet. Fiber keeps your digestive system active and healthy, and while a vitamin will give you nutrients, it won't give you fiber.

In addition, fruits and vegetables are much less costly than vitamins, and not all vitamins are created equal. Do you think your vitamin is actually doing you good? Take this test, take the vitamins you take daily and put them in some white vinegar, a quarter cup is enough. Now wait, 20 minutes to half an hour at most. Are they totally broken down? Are their any chunks left or could you stir the vinegar and get a vitamin drink? If your vitamin isn't broken down within a half an hour, then your body isn't getting the benifits from it. The white vinegar acts as your stomach acid, and if your stomach can't break it down it will just be eliminated, which means no benifit to you. So don't forget to get your five to nine servings of fruits and vegetables every day. It may seem like a lot, but you can meet this quite reasonable goal simply by including fruits and vegetables as snacks, as garnishes, as side dishes and as meals.