Why You Should Start Eating More Fruits and Vegetables

The benefits are numerous, but do you really have time to squish in all of those fruits and vegetables into your diet? In a world of processed food, fast food, and hard to pronounce fillers that are taking the place of real food, the real question is, can you afford to not eat more fruits and vegetables? It doesn't take a vegetarian to know that eating plants is good for you, and you don't have to be a vegetarian or vegan to have some of those same benefits. Simply by incorporating more fruits and vegetables into your diet, you'll be doing a few of the following:

• Losing weight (it's impossible to gain weight on fruits and vegetables alone)
• Gaining control of your finances (you'll be grocery shopping more, eating less expensive meat, and maybe even skipping fast food more often)
• Best of all, you'll feel better.

Not fully convinced yet? Read the new lens featuring 30 reasons to eat more veggies, and see if a few of them convince you that you should up your veggie intake. What could you lose? Only pounds, inches, and maybe some debt.

5 Easy Ways to Eat More Vegetables During the Winter

Veggies are good for the environment! Now that the farm stands have long closed and winter is upon us gone are the days of fresh vegetables from the garden or your local farm stand. So how do you maintain your vegetable intake to ensure you are getting everything you need? Here are some tips on where you can find vegetables and incorporate them into any recipe!

1. Frozen vegetables! You can find frozen vegetables in any grocery store at any time of the year. These can easily be added to any dish you like or eaten alone. My personal favorite is to steam them and have them as a side. Veggie Panini's are a huge favorite in my house, and in the winter we switch over to frozen vegetables!

2. Grow your own! If you have some extra room in your kitchen or another part of the house, there are a lot of kits now sold to help you grow your own vegetables inside of the house. While it may not be ideal in the summer, in the winter this is perfect if you are looking for fresh vegetables! There are also many miniature herb gardens which are also sold, allowing you to grow your own basil, rosemary and whatever your favorite spices may be. For some all you need is a sunny window, others will come with a heat light to help them grow!

3. Jarred vegetables! The one item I would caution you on is that a lot of vegetables sold in jars have been pickled or soaked in brine. A favorite, artichokes, are usually stored in brine. To get read of that brine-y salty taste, drain the artichokes or vegetable of your choice and let them soak in water. This will allow the brine to come out of the vegetable, leaving behind the true taste of the artichoke.

4. Grocery store vegetables (from the produce section)! Keep in mind what vegetables are currently in season. Right now that would include a lot of the root vegetables. Root vegetables are great to bake and make for an easy meal. Keep in mind which veggies are in season when buying vegetables in the grocery store. The vegetables that are in season will taste the best and most likely had the shortest trip to the store!

5. Canned vegetables! Last but by no means least is canned vegetables. Now while these may be the easiest ones to use, use caution. Recent studies have shown that these veggies could potentially contain BPA which is coming from the cans. I would use this as a last alternative, and definitely not something to be used on a regular basis.

5 Things to Do to Prepare Your Body for Winter

When winter rolls around, it's only natural people are going to get more lethargic with the lessening sunlight, stay inside because of the colder temperatures, and eat more because of the holidays and cold. Come spring, we might have a little bit of regret and extra work to do to shed those extra pounds of the winter... but there are a few small things you can do to prepare your body for winter and be in good shape come springtime. Read on for some suggestions!

1. Take a walk daily, even if only for ten minutes. If it's raining, walk ten minutes on the treadmill, or use weight bands while watching TV. The extra exercise will keep your metabolism up, and keep your waistline from growing.

2. Use the supermarket to your advantage Park your car far away, and lap the entire store before starting your grocery shopping. Keep a brisk pace throughout the store and you'll also have grocery shopping done sooner.

3. On Thanksgiving, plan on going for a walk. A long walk or a ride to the beach with family is just the thing to get you away from the food, and spend some quality time with the family!

4. Use Root Vegetables in Your Recipes. Just because winter is here doesn't mean that fresh produce has gone away. In the fall and winter, root vegetables are at their peak, and will start to arrive at grocery stores. This guide gives you some great ideas on how to cook root vegetables.

5. Stock up on Frozen Fruits. When winter arrives, we often deprive ourselves of fruit and vegetables since they cost more and are not as fresh. Fresh frozen fruits have a lot of taste and work well in fruit smoothies. If you can find organic fruit, that might be an even better choice.

These small steps might help you prevent getting sick during the winter by keeping your immune system stronger, not to mention improve your cardiovascular health.