Despite the proven health benefits of eating fruits and vegetables, Filipinos are found not to eat enough greenproduce 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).
Meat consumption, on the other hand, is at an all-time high thanks to so many ready-to-eat canned products as well fast food chains. While eating meat is a good source of protein, excessive consumption can increase the risk of heart disease and high cholesterol.
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 way to combat the risks of these diseases is to promote a healthy lifestyle by eating meat in moderation and consuming the right amount of fruits and vegetables. 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.
To help you and your family lead a healthy lifestyle, BEKO Philippines, Europe’s leading brand of home appliances, shares some simple tips to introduce fruits and vegetables to family meals.
Add fruits and vegetables to the menu
Make it a point to incorporate vegetables and fruits on the plate. 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.
Serve salads as the merienda
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. These not only add crunch but are rich in protein, vitamins B and E, folates, magnesium, oleic acid, calcium, omega 3 and so much more.
Experiment with recipes that make vegetables and fruits more appealing
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. What good are the nutrition of these foods if they can’t keep fresh long enough? 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 with a precise humidity control that minimizes condensation in the crisper.
Beko’s RCNT415E50VZWB also boasts of its Active Fresh Blue Light technology that retains the natural flavors of fruits and vegetables, as well as the benefits of Vitamin Cas it allows for a continuous photosynthesis in the crisper. It also has IonGuardTM, which neutralizes bacteria, viruses, and particles in the refrigerator using negative ions, allowing air inside to continue circulating so, foods stay clean for much longer.
To learn more about Beko and their technologies visit http://www.beko.ph/ or follow them on their Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/beko.ph/.
Dapat talaga as we are getting older, we eat more veggies and fruits. Thanks. Very informative ☺️