Hi everybody this is Monica Reinagel and you're listening to the nutrition

diva quick and dirty tips for eating well and feeling fabulous I know you probably

get tired of hearing me tell you to eat more vegetables, but the truth is that most people, despite their best intentions, don't come anywhere close to the recommended five servings of vegetables every day.

The average teenager

eats fewer than two servings of vegetables per day and one of them is usually

French fries which I don't count. Adults do a little bit better but not much.

Now if you've been listening to the show for any length

of time you know all of the fantastic things that vegetables can do for you. Although they

usually contribute only a small percentage of your daily calories, they are where the lion's share of the nutrients are, particularly

antioxidants and lots of other cancer-fighting, anti-aging, and generally good for you compounds.

If you're only getting a couple of servings of vegetables a day,

you're really missing out on a lot of good stuff.

And I know you mean to do better.

So today I'm going to give you some practical tips that can help you get more vegetables into every day.

Five servings of vegetables every day might seem like a tall order, but keep in mind that just a half cup of most cooked vegetables or a whole cup of raw leafy greens counts as a serving.

A half cup is about the size of an ice cream scoop.

A whole cup is about the size of a baseball.

So for example, a good sized salad can easily count as one and a half or even two

servings. It's really not that hard to work in five servings every day, but it might take a few

tweaks to your usual habits. Let me walk you through a typical day and I'll show you

just how easy it can be. Let's start at breakfast. Vegetables for breakfast? You bet. An omelet

stuffed with peppers and onions or asparagus or any other vegetable is a delicious way to enjoy vegetables for breakfast.

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