Sunny warm days are on their way and once those temps start climbing, our bodies crave fruits and vegetables more than ever. One of the most refreshing ways you can enjoy spring and summer produce is with crisp salads. When it comes to choosing fruits and vegetables, the key is to think about a rainbow of color: green, red, yellow, orange, blue, purple, white, and more. Each color contains unique health-promoting antioxidants, vitamins and minerals – and most importantly, great flavor. Every food and every nutrient has a different role in your body… so enjoy them all. Try mixing fruits and vegetables into the same salad and you’ll uncover a wonderful world of sweet and savory. Here are a few ideas to get you started … Avocado & Orange Quinoa, Tomato & Feta Salad Spinach & Strawberries Mango Salad with Grilled Salmon Jicama Mango Salad Watermelon Feta Salad Lettuce Wraps Jennifer Shea MS, MPH, RD Corporate Dietitian SUPERVALU Fruit & Vegetable Recipes Video Center: Selection, Storage, and Preparation of Fruits & Vegetables.
Toss thinly sliced avocado with orange or grapefruit segments. Add extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper.
Combine cooked and cooled quinoa, halved cherry tomatoes, fresh basil and feta cheese. Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and lemon juice. Serve with lemon slices.
Combine rice vinegar, sugar, extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper. Whisk well. Toss with spinach, sliced strawberries and toasted walnuts.
Combine 2 tablespoons rice vinegar, 1 tablespoon honey, 1 tablespoon grated ginger, a dash of salt and pepper and ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil. Whisk well. Toss with grilled salmon, leafy greens and diced mango.
Combine diced mango, sliced jicama, shredded cabbage, chopped cilantro and diced red onion. Add salt and cayenne pepper to taste. Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil, rice vinegar and fresh lime juice. Top with slivered almonds and serve with lime slices.
Combine cubed watermelon and feta cheese. Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and balsamic glaze. Season with freshly ground pepper. Top with fresh mint leaves.
Sauté chicken breasts with scallions, water chestnuts, mushrooms, garlic and ginger. Add a drizzle of sesame oil and soy sauce and toss with mandarin oranges. Spoon into radicchio leaves (or any large lettuce leaves). Roll and enjoy.
FAQs
What fruits and veggies pair well together? ›
- Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program. Fruit & Vegetable Pairings.
- Apples and Bell Peppers.
- Snap Peas and Cantaloupe.
- Peaches and Cherry Tomatoes.
- Peaches. Cherry Tomatoes.
- Persimmons and Carrots.
- Blood Oranges and Cauliflower.
- Grapes and Baby Okra.
Aim to focus on green vegetables as much as possible. And low glycemic fruits like berries, apples, pears etc. Mixing fruits into salad vegetables shouldn't affect the digestion rate but fruits should be eaten before you eat protein as it is digested at a slower rate than fruits.
How do I get enough servings of fruits and vegetables? ›- Choose a fruit or vegetable salad as your entree.
- Bulk up a sandwich with vegetables, such as cucumber spears, sliced tomato, sliced avocado and dark green leafy lettuce.
- Enjoy a bowl of soup that's full of vegetables. ...
- Choose celery sticks or baby carrots with a dip as a side dish instead of chips.
Avoid mixing your watermelons, muskmelons, cantaloupe and honeydews with other fruits. Try not to mix acidic fruits, such as grapefruits and strawberries, or sub-acidic foods such as apples, pomegranates and peaches, with sweet fruits, such as bananas and raisins for a better digestion.
What fruits and veggies should not be mixed together? ›- Keep Onions Away From Apples and Potatoes.
- Store Melons Solo.
- Keep Cauliflower Away From Apples, Kiwis, and Onions.
- Place Mushrooms Away From Pungent Foods.
- Use Your Crisper Drawer.
- Separate Ethylene Producers and Ethylene Sensitive Produce.
- Bananas + Spinach. Creamy bananas perfectly mask the taste of leafy spinach. ...
- Pineapple + Kale. Sweet pineapple balances the slight bitterness of kale wonderfully. ...
- Peaches + Carrots. ...
- Kiwi + Celery. ...
- Apple + Cucumber.
Eating salads is a simple and painless way to start incorporating fiber into your diet. Most vegetables naturally contain large amounts of fiber. It is recommended that you eat five servings of fruits and vegetables a day due to the fiber found inside of them.
What foods are not to mix together? ›- Cereal and orange juice. The acids in orange juice destroy the enzyme that helps digest starches present in cereal. ...
- Melons and milk. ...
- Fruits after meals. ...
- Beans and cheese. ...
- Ghee and honey. ...
- Tomato and cheese pasta sauce.
With at least 15 grams of protein per serving, these dishes help you feel more full and energized for longer. Plus, these salads also boast at least 6 grams of fiber and no more than 575 calories per serving which can help support weight loss if that is your goal.
What do 5 portions of fruit and vegetable look like? ›Five servings of vegetables: three cups of lettuce, a half cup of broccoli and a half cup of peppers. Five servings of fruit: a half cup of blueberries, half a mango, one apple and one cup of cantaloupe. Five servings of fruit: one cup of cantaloupe, one cup of pineapple and one apple.
How many combined servings of fruits and vegetables should you eat every day? ›
Everyone should have at least 5 portions of a variety of fruit and vegetables every day.
What happens when you start eating more fruits and vegetables? ›Fruits and vegetables help you maintain good health.
Because they're low in saturated fat, salt and sugar, fruits and vegetables are part of a well-balanced diet that can help you lose weight or prevent weight gain. Plus, they can help you decrease inflammation, and lower cholesterol levels and blood pressure.
Avoid mixing acidic fruits with sweet fruits
Acidic and sub-acidic fruits such as grapefruits, strawberries, apples, pomegranates, and peaches, should never be combined with sweet fruits such as bananas and raisins. This is because it often leads to digestive problems, nausea, acidosis, and headaches.
| DON'T EAT | WITH |
|---|---|
| Nightshades, e.g., potato, tomato | melon; cucumber, dairy products |
| Radishes | bananas, raisins; milk |
| Tapioca | fruit, especially banana and mango; beans, raisins, jaggary |
| Yogurt | fruit; cheese, eggs, fish, hot drinks, meat, MILK, nightshades |
- Dates. Dates are known for their sweet, almost caramel-like flavor. ...
- Dried fruit. Some of the most common varieties of dried fruit are apples, raisins, apricots, figs, mangoes, pineapples, and cranberries. ...
- Lychee. ...
- Mangoes.
“Berries can be stored together, brassica vegetables can be stored together, leafy greens can be together, and most root vegetables (except potatoes) can go together.” If you'd like to keep your fruits and vegetables beyond their usual best-by date, consider preservation.
Can you pair fruits and vegetables together? ›There isn't any scientific evidence supporting the theory that eating food groups separately has any beneficial effect. In fact, mixing fruits and vegetables, as part of an overall healthy diet, can help ensure that you're getting enough vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, phytochemicals and fiber in each meal.
Is it OK to blend fruits and vegetables together? ›People with a sensitive gut can face an occasional bloat or gassiness when they consume fruits and veggies together, so they should consume them separately. But experts agree that there is no harm in mixing some apple or berries in your smoothie, as it allows you to access all the nutrients.
What fruit combinations go together? ›- 20 Best Fruit Combinations for Smoothies.
- Banana + Mixed Berries. ...
- Pineapple + Mango. ...
- Peaches + Cherries. ...
- Blueberries + Pomegranate. ...
- Apple + Cranberries. ...
- Watermelon + Pineapple. ...
- Dragonfruit + Orange.