IF YOU DO ONE THING FOR YOUR HEALTH THIS YEAR, DO THIS!

It’s a big statement I know! But nutrition has become increasingly overwhelming for a lot of people and while they are distracted worrying about how much collagen to have, or when to fast, or where they will source celery for their next juice, they are forgetting the fundamentals of a healthy diet.

It’s not a difficult concept yet it’s one that so many neglect - EAT A MINIMUM OF 5 SERVES OF VEGETABLES EACH DAY. What I want to do is explain HOW this will help you so that you are more likely to stick to it.

1. Meet your nutritional requirements. Veggies are where the nutrients are at and if you’re going to meet your recommended nutrient intakes you need to be getting 5 serves of veggies per day minimum (take note of the word minimum!)

2. Improve your gut health. Our gut loooooves plant foods. It is scientifically proven that eating more than 30 different plant foods each week is enough to see benefits in gut health. This includes other plant foods also (hello legumes, nuts, seeds, wholegrains) but a rainbow of 5 serves of veggies each day will have you meeting this target in no time!

3. Reduce your calorie intake. You all know I don’t like to focus on the calories because there is so much more to food than a caloric value but with a lot of Aussies needing to shift some weight to reach their healthy zone, calorie intake is something that comes into play. Vegetables are very low calorie foods so it makes sense that when they bulk out your diet, your calorie intake will naturally reduce.

4. Increasing your water intake. Without a doubt not enough of us drink as much water as we should (don’t worry, I struggle with this too!) but veggies have a high water content so this way you’re also hydrating yourself at the same time :) (hopefully it goes without saying that’s not an excuse to drink less water if you increase your veggie intake!)

5. Crowd out the junk! This is my favourite trick for reducing junk food intake. When you actually do eat a minimum of 5 serves of veggies per day it takes up a lot of your plate. So when you then balance the meal with protein, carbs and fats, it leaves very little room for any junk to creep in. Don’t get me wrong a little junk here and there is absolutely okay because part of a healthy diet is eating for the soul and I don’t know about you but my soul sure sings when I take my first bite of that very occasional choc mint connoisseur ;P

6. You’re doing your thing for the environment. The EAT Lancet study that looked at diet from a health and planet perspective states that a diet rich in plant-based foods and with fewer animal source foods confers both improved health and environmental benefits. So don’t stress if you haven’t got your stainless steel pegs, your beeswax wraps or your designer keep cup - if you increase your veggie intake you can wear your environmental badge with pride anyway!

So what does one serving actually look like?