Despite the proven health benefits of eating fruits and vegetables, Filipinos are found not to eat enough green produce as they should. From a daily average of 145 grams of greens in 1978, Filipinos consumed only 110 grams of vegetables a day in 2008, based on the latest available data of the National Nutrition Council (NCC).
Reduced fruit and vegetable consumption is also linked to poor health and increased risk of non-communicable diseases (NCDs). An estimated 3.9 million deaths worldwide were attributable to inadequate fruit and vegetable consumption in 2017, says the World Health Organization (WHO). The WHO suggests consuming more than 400 grams of fruits and vegetables per day to improve overall health and, reduce the risk of certain NCDs.
Vegetables as side dishes and fruits as desserts are not only healthy but add variation and texture to any meal. It also introduces more flavors to the meal without the worry of preservatives and promotes a healthier eating habit.
For people who love snacking, salads are a better way to make merienda a healthy fare.
Salads are delicious and are packed full of nutritional benefits such as vitamins, minerals, and fiber. And if you like fancy texture in your salads; throw in nuts like almonds, hazel nuts, walnuts, cashews and peanuts and the like.
Getting children to eat vegetables and fruits has always been challenging. However, there are a lot of tasty recipes that make use of vegetables as the key ingredient. Roasted broccoli with melted cheese, roasted sesame seeds with asparagus toasts and poached eggs, corn cilantro salad, and shrimp and asparagus pasta are just some of the delicious vegetable-based recipes your kids will love.
Store your greens, fruits properly. How well you store your foods, especially farm produce, is also equally important. Using the right appliances to store food better is also part of promoting good health. Fortunately, there are refrigerators now that can help you in storing your farm produce for longer periods of time while retaining its freshness.
For instance, Beko’s RCNT415E50VZWB bottom freezer, no frost inverter refrigerator is equipped with the innovative EverFresh+ technology, keeping fruits and vegetables fresh for up to 30 days. It also boasts of its Active Fresh Blue Light technology that retains the natural flavors of fruits and vegetables. It also has IonGuard, which neutralizes bacteria, viruses, and particles in the refrigerator using negative ions.
