Some advance planning can help you include more vegetables and fruits at meals and snacks.

• Make a weekly meal plan.
  • Involve the whole family or others in your household in deciding what to eat for the upcoming week, including vegetables and fruits. Then you can plan your shopping and have them on hand for every meal.
• Wash and chop vegetables ahead of time for tomorrow night’s dinner and store in a closed container in your refrigerator.
• Pre-peel oranges or pre-cut apple slices (add a little lemon juice to apple slices to slow them from turning brown) or carrot sticks and have them handy in the refrigerator for snacks throughout the day.
• Make a smoothie with both vegetables and fruits the night before. Store it in the refrigerator to have ready in the morning.
  • Try using spinach, frozen berries, milk, and yogurt to make a smoothie.
• Make large batches of soups or stews with canned vegetables like peas and carrots. Freeze the leftover soup or stew for meals later on.
• Cook extra supper to have leftovers the next day or to freeze.
• Add thawed frozen fruit such as berries to yogurt for a snack.
• Heat a can of peas or corn and add them to your meal. This requires minimal preparation.
• Pack fruits that have their own “packaging” and need minimal preparation for snacks, like bananas and apples.