Hey
Fitfam Foodies!
This is
me tryna do a 5part series on Food Groups!
Hopefully
I will pull through, lol!
So ,
so, so...
The key
to eating well is to enjoy a variety of nutritious foods from each of the Five
Food Groups.
These
Five Food Groups will make up a Guide to Healthy Eating. Please note this does
not necessarily mean the “CLASSES OF
FOOD” however quite similar.
Foods
are grouped together because they provide similar amounts of the key nutrients
of that food group.
For
example, the key nutrients of the milk, yogurt, and alternatives food group
include calcium and protein, while the fruit group is an excellent source of
vitamins, especially vitamin C.
To meet
the nutrient requirements essential for good health, you need to eat a variety
from each of the five food groups daily, in recommended amounts.
It is
not necessary to eat from each food group at every meal. In fact, in some
instances, you only need to eat some of the foods in each food group a couple
of times a week
In this
post we will look significantly at Vegetable and Legumes / Beans.
By eating
vegetables, especially colorful vegetables, there is a reduced risk of stroke
and weight gain.
Vegetables,
including legumes/beans are nutrient dense and are a good source of minerals,
vitamins (such as magnesium, vitamin C and folate) and dietary fibre.
Vegetables
come from many different parts of the plant, including the leaves, roots,
tubers, flowers, stems, seeds and shoots.
Legumes
are the seeds of the plant and are eaten in their immature form as green peas
and beans, and the mature form as dried peas, beans, lentils and
chickpeas.
Vegetables can be broken up into different groups, with each group
providing their own unique nutrients.
The main sub-groups for vegetables are:
Dark green or cruciferous
- Broccoli, brussels
sprouts, cabbages, cauliflower, kale
- Lettuce, spinach
Root/tubular/bulb vegetables
- Potato, cassava,
sweet potato, carrots, beetroot, onions, garlic, bamboo shoots, turnip
Legumes/beans
- Red kidney
beans, soybeans, chickpeas, lentils, tofu
Each day
it is important to eat a variety of different types of vegetables from each of
the main vegetable groups. This will ensure you are eating a colorful
range and variety of vegetables which will provide you with many of the health
promoting benefits.
Starchy vegetables such as sweet potato, taro, cassava or sweet
corn should form only part of your daily vegetable intake.
It can be
hard work trying to eat the number of recommended serves of vegetables per
day. However, you can do almost anything with vegetables!
Eat them
raw, grate them, slice them, stir fry, steam or boil them and bake them.
Mix them together and add herbs, spices and other low salt flavorings... the
options are endless.
It is
also easy to slip veggies into other mixed dishes, especially if you are trying
to increase your daily intake
Vegetables
can be used fresh, frozen, canned or dried varieties.
However, if
using canned varieties, avoid those with added salt.
Hope I
didn't bore you with this post?! But this is part of what eating healthy
entails. *winks*
Follow me
on instagram @bukikolade
