Just about everyone can explain to you on some level the plethora of benefits these naturally grown beauties have on our physical and mental well being. Antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, fibre, protection against cancer and cardiovascular disease, the list goes on and on. So why is it so damn hard to get these powerhouse foods where they need to go?!

Well, one of the reasons is that we’re hardwired to crave certain tastes like salt, fat and sugar. Not having access to these nutrients generally made it so that our ancestors would eat them in abundance whenever possible. This drive to consume energy that would later be useful to us meant our continued survival and propagation.

So then it’s no wonder why most of the food made for us has at least one of these characteristics, if not all three.

Unfortunately, access to these flavours is in an unforeseen abundance and yet our nature and drive to consume them remains. So nowadays rather than consuming what for thousands of years made up the bulk of our diets (meat, veggies, fruits, nuts and seeds) we now have the luxury of unwrapping these cheap pseudo nutrients with all the flavours we crave without having to go through any of the strain or dangers that once came with finding them. And unfortunately many of us do this all day, everyday at the expense of our lives.

What we need to understand is that our ancestral diets are a key player in our evolution. The continued growth and optimal functioning of our brains and bodies are RELIANT on these nutrients. We are in symbiosis with these foods. And our survival and propagation continues to rely on them to this day.

There is no way of getting around it. Fruits and veggies are an INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT PART OF A HEALTHY DIET!!! Sustainable weight loss, soaring energy levels, healthy skin, nails, hair, muscles, bones, connective tissue, stress levels, sleep patterns, and on and on and on, rely in large part on the quality of food that we put in our bodies. And it all starts with fruits and veggies.

A couple things to remember:

Aim to Add Vegetables to Every Meal

Adding to our use of the hand method we can’t overestimate the importance of filling up your plate with veggies once you have filled your macronutrient requirements. Be creative! Any colour, and style of prep, any flavour. Make it your own and eat as many colours as you like.

Focus on How You Feel After Consuming Fruits and Veggies

Bring mindfulness into the equation and see how much better you feel after eating enough fruits and veggies for a couple of weeks. What is your level of energy/stress and mood like? Write the answer down and send it my way.

Here are a few articles and infographics to sum it all up and make it easy for you to make these beauties a big part of your life going forward.

https://www.precisionnutrition.com/all-about-fruits-vegetables

https://www.precisionnutrition.com/color-chart

https://www.precisionnutrition.com/dont-like-vegetables-infographic