10 Tips To Increase Your Fruit And Vegetable Intake This Summer

Summers are here again, and so are the risks we all face during the season. From dry skin and constipation to heatstroke and dehydration, there are many issues that can arise as the temperature soars. Most of the Indian subcontinent faces very ruthless summers, making it necessary for all of us to adopt coping and prevention mechanisms. But did you know that one of the best ways to cope with summer season’s onslaught is to increase your fruit and vegetable intake? 

The reason behind this is not just the fact that seasonal fruits and veggies are always more organic, packed with nutrients and best eaten fresh off the farm. In fact, the main reason why you should increase your intake of fruits and veggies in summer is that these seasonal produces are extremely hydrating. Think about all the fruits available in summers—from watermelon to the juiciest tomatoes, the season’s freshest is also the most hydrating. Similarly, cucumbers to gourds, almost all summer vegetables have a hydrating and cooling effect on the body.  

All of these summer fruits and vegetables are packed with plenty of water, vitamin C, minerals like iron and folate, and loads of antioxidants. Eating plenty of fruits and vegetables in summer can therefore not only replenish and power your body, but also prevent dehydration and the ill effects of heatstroke. But if you are wondering how to increase your intake of fruits and vegetables to benefit your health this summer, then here are all the tips you need. 

Juice Up! 

One of the easiest ways to increase your fruit and veggie intake is to convert the best of them into freshly pressed juices. All you need is a good juicer, and you can relish everything from tomato juice to the much healthier and beneficial juices of gourds like bitter gourd and bottle gourd. Yes, these juices are usually packed with concentrated sugars due to the juicing process, but a glass full of karela juice before breakfast is more likely to do you good than harm. 

Consider Smoothies 

Did you know that you can experiment with any number of fruit and veggie matches to make delicious smoothies? For example, try pairing a bowl of berries with baby spinach, and you will get a power smoothie so good that both dehydration and exhaustion will hit the curb! You can also make smoothie bowls packed with dry fruits, nuts and seeds to convert the smoothies into wholesome yet summery light meals. 

Breakfast Essentials 

One of the easiest tricks to increase your fruit and veggie intake is to start their consumption from the very moment your morning begins. Include plenty of fruits and veggies, ranging from tomatoes and cucumbers to mushrooms and lettuce, in your breakfast itself and you will stay motivated to eat more of these goodies throughout the day. On the other hand, if you postpone it for later, it’s quite likely that you might forget to eat fruits and veggies all day as you get busy with work and satiate your hunger with other foods. 

Snack Right 

Don’t underestimate the power of hunger pangs and cravings for snacks. You know they hit hard during those hours when you are in between meals, but instead of giving in to the cravings with a hot samosa or plate of chaat—both of which can be very dehydrating—snack on grapes or bite-sized fruits and veggies. While eating a whole carrot might seem like a boring chore, eating carrot chunks slathered with lemon juice is a delicious way to snack properly. 

Eat The Rainbow 

A plate full of food that looks like a monochromatic painting is often boring. But can a plate full of colourful fruits and veggies ever be anything but interesting? Include a whole variety of fruits and veggies in your daily diet and you won’t find any of it repetitive or monotonous—and hence you will keep your fruit and veggie intake high throughout summer. It is also important to remember that fruits and veggies of different colours can also provide you with a whole spectrum of nutrients, thereby keeping your immunity fighting fit. 

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Explore Local Markets 

One of the main reasons why most foodies end up getting bored with fruits and veggies is that we keep circling back to consuming the same produce all the time. Year-long availability of veggies like potatoes and capsicum and fruits like apples have tricked us into believing that that’s the whole extent of fresh fruits and veggies we can depend on. Instead of doing that, step into your local sabji mandi this year and pick out everything from java apples and fresh sugarcane to a plethora of green veggies like snake gourd and ridge gourd. 

Salad Experiments 

Forget all about fruit salads and vegetable salads as separate entities. Instead, open the refrigerator—or better still, go to the market—and pick out all the salad flavours you feel belong together. Experimenting with salads is one sure-shot way of increasing your fruit and veggies intake. For example, if you think making a salad with strawberries, apples, baby spinach, cucumbers and walnuts is a good idea, do that instead of thinking the fruits and veggies need to be separated. 

Cold Soups Flavour Bombs 

Did you know that cold soups are all the rage in other parts of the world where summer heat waves wreak havoc? Think Spanish heatwaves and Gazpacho for example. So, another way to increase your fruit and veggie intake is to eat more cold soups make of a whole range of vegetables. Try onions, capsicums, tomatoes, bell peppers, zucchini and add a few berries here and there for that tart flavour. A dash of garlic, vinegar and fresh herbs can turn any cold soup into flavour bombs. 

Meal Prep Matters 

If you think about whipping up a meal at the last moment, it is quite likely you’ll end up skipping the fruits and veggies and instead go for unhealthy takeout. Instead, you could plan ahead and do quite a lot of the prep involved in increasing your fruit and veggie intake. For example, you could peel and chop carrots and cucumbers beforehand and both could come in handy during dinnertime. Similarly, doing some minimal prep before going to bed can help you increase your fruit and veggie intake during breakfast. 

Go Indian! 

Did you know that every region of India which faces hot summers has plenty of fruit and veggie dishes that are prepared specifically to increase the intake of these seasonal products? Whether it’s a wide variety of Sambhars and Rasams from South India or veggie-packed Jhol dishes from the Eastern states, there is no dearth of starters, main courses, chutneys and even desserts that sing with the flavour of fruits and veggies. Explore these Indian cuisines and you will naturally feel more inclined to eat more of these fruit and veggie options.