Tips



    Remember this at every meal!

    How do you eat at least 5 portions of fruits and vegetables in one day? It’s easy. Just eat 1 vegetable portion and 1 fruit portion at each meal. To find out what a portion is, see the leaflet designed by the Québec Produce Marketing Association. You’ll see that from the quantities indicated, it’s not so hard to reach Objective 5. And if you need more ideas to get fruits and vegetables on the menu, you can find inspiration in the fruit and vegetable department at your supermarket.

    Do you eat out often? Don’t forget your fruits and vegetables! Don’t hesitate to order something that may not be on the menu, like a tomato juice or fruit juice, vegetable soup, a side salad (dressing on the side!), or fresh fruit.


Go diversity, go!

According to Statistics Canada, potatoes represent one half of all vegetables consumed by Canadians. Isn't it time to try something new? If you put something new in your plate, you could discover a plethora of pleasures amongst the fruits and vegetables. Remember the old saying: Try it, you'll like it!

    • Try new fruits and vegetables regularly such as mangoes, rapini (also known as broccoli raab), starfruit (carambola), and squash. IGA has a number of very interesting suggestions.
    • Vary your choice of foods from one meal to the next, from one day to the next: for example: Monday – salmon and broccoli; Tuesday – chicken and vegetables; Wednesday – mushroom omlette; and so on.
    • Try vegetarian dishes more often.
    • Make a trip around the world in your dinner plate. Ethnic menus are loaded with health ideas: Greek salads, couscous, Asian vegetables (Check out IGA's Asian Flavours)…


    Pep up your breakfast!

    We’ve all heard the slogan, “Breakfast without orange juice is like a day without sunshine.” To add even more pep to your day, have your juice with other fruits and vegetables. In fact, to give you the fuel you need, your breakfast should meet at least 25% of your daily nutritional requirements and include foods from at least 3 of the 4 food groups. Breakfast is therefore the perfect time to have at least one of the five minimum recommended daily portions of fruit or vegetables. Here are a few ideas:

    • The Classic: a bowl of cereal with milk and sliced strawberries or bananas
    • The Quickie: a peach milkshake with almonds
    • The Takeout: a tortilla with peanut butter rolled around a banana or apple slices.
    • The Gourmet: a chopped vegetable omelette with a whole wheat English muffin.


    Savouring better health

    Experts estimate that it takes 6 weeks to develop a new habit. So you’ve made it through the first step! Congratulations! If you reached your Objective 5, you will see that it gets easier and easier to put into practice. Especially with springtime fast approaching and fresh local produce on its way to fill the shelves: asparagus, strawberries, lettuce, zucchini, corn, tomatoes, cantaloupes… It’s all so tempting!

    In the meantime, if you want to take your program one step further, why not increase your daily portions of fruit and vegetables or look into other aspects of your diet?

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