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Plan to Mix it up!™

Always on the run? Too busy to eat a healthy diet rich in fruits and veggies? Doing a little prep work can help you include more fruits and veggies in your day. Here are some ways I try to Mix it up!™:

My favorite breakfast is a smoothie. Once fresh bananas start getting a little overripe, I peel them and place them in freezer bags to have on hand as the start of my breakfast smoothie. Check out CPMA’s Guide to Freezing Fruits and Veggies for more tips. I add some low-fat yogurt and then whatever fruits and veggies tempt me. Yes, veggies too! Carrots, celery and cucumber work great. My latest favorite is mango, banana, carrot, Clementine and yogurt. It takes just a couple of minutes to blend together and off I go. My son likes to experiment and choose what to layer in the smoothie – then we try to guess what colour it will turn out once blended.

Pack lots of fruits and veggies into your lunches - plan a little extra time after a shopping trip to prep your fruits and veggies for the week. Having cut up veggies makes it easy to throw together a quick salad for lunch or stir fry for dinner. I try to pack a small portion of veggies – red peppers, carrots, snow peas – for my afternoon snack.

Sunday afternoon we try to batch cook - spaghetti sauce, stew or soup – we keep enough on hand for a couple of lunches then freeze the remainder in smaller portions for a quick weeknight meal. I always know I have something in the freezer in a pinch.

-Melanie





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