I’ve never been much of a vegetable eater.  In fact, my mom gave up trying to force me to eat them when I would literally gag every time I tried to put a pea into my mouth.

I’m all grown up now, and my tolerance for vegetables has increased, but they are just not a staple in my diet.  I’m not much better with fruit.  I’ll have the occasional fruit salad on a warm summer day, and sometimes I will throw a few berries into a protein shake just to mix it up a little.  So, I’ve tried a few different ways to get fruits and vegetables into my diet.

I started out drinking juices like V8, but the standard versions have way too much sodium, and the reduced sodium versions (to me) don’t taste as good.  If I’m going to drink tomato juice, I’d prefer to have some premium vodka and spices mixed in for a kick butt Bloody Mary

So, I found a product that helps me to get the necessary fruits and vegetables into my diet without compromising quality.  One serving of Greens+  is equivalent to 5 full servings of fresh fruits and vegetables.  I take two servings a day to supplement the fruits and vegetables I’m already consuming.  I throw it into my protein shakes and it mixes in great.

I don’t think I have to tell you how important fruit and vegetables are in terms of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants.  They also contribute to your overall energy and vitality as well as speeding recovery from your workouts.  Isn’t it time you go green?

Eating soup as an appetizer will cut your calorie intake for that meal by 20 percent according to a study conducted at Penn State. After serving men pasta lunches for a month, the researchers found that the study participants ate an average of 135 fewer calories when they started their meal with 1 1/2 cups of a broth-based vegetable soup (approximately 150 calories of soup). Eating soup forces you to slow down, allowing your body to recognize that it is becoming full before moving on to the next course. The same held true in a University of Texas study of fatty soups like a clam chowder – men consumed 227 fewer calories when a pizza meal was preceded by soup.

So drink up a cup of homemade vegetable soup before your lunch and dinner as a sneaky way to get vegetables into your daily diet and to help you eat less overall calories.