Marinas Menu: Eat A Rainbow Every Day

The best advice I ever got about healthy meal choices is to make sure you enjoy food that is colorful or "Eat A Rainbow." Americans simply aren't eating enough fruit and vegetables. The Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently released their report "Adults Meeting Fruit and Vegetable Intake Recommendations - United States, 2013." Research was conducted to evaluate the eating habits of the American public with a focus on the consumption of fruit and vegetables.

The report estimates 91% of Americans failed to eat enough vegetables and 87% failed to eat enough fruit in 2013, based on government guidelines.

Median frequency of reported fruit intake across all respondents for 2013 was once per day, ranging from 0.9 in Arkansas to 1.3 times per day in California. Median frequency of reported vegetable intake for 2013 was 1.7 times per day, ranging from lows of 1.4 times a day in Louisiana, Mississippi, and North Dakota to 1.9 times per day in California and Oregon.

To put the report into perspective, women and men over the age of 20 should be eating approximately 2 cups of fruit every day. And women and men over the age of 20 should be eating at least 2½ cups of vegetables every day. If you are not eating these amounts, it's time to evaluate your diet and make some positive changes.

Fruit and vegetables are a great source of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and fiber. Summer is the ideal time to improve your eating habits. Produce is abundantly available at grocers and farmer's markets. Whether you like fresh snacks, salads, smoothies or use fruit and vegetables as garnishes or when cooking, try to include more your daily diet. The "farm to table" trend and the fact that many eateries source locally insures that the freshest produce is available when dining out.

For more information on eating healthy and making wise choices, visit the website for the United States Department of Agriculture and their suggestions for "My Plate" at http://www.choosemyplate.gov/.