This is Day 9 of Live a Healthier Life in 21 Days Challenge, Jan 2012 run. Subscribe to the free newsletter for lifetime access of personal development articles and future challenge announcements like this one.

Hello guys! Today is Day 9 of our 21-day challenge to live our healthiest life ever.



Do you know that it's recommended that we have at least 5-9 servings of fruits and vegetables every day?

Here's a quote from About.com site:

Many experts suggest we need from five to nine servings of fruits and vegetables every day. That is a total. Older or inactive women and smaller children need at least three servings of vegetables and two servings of fruit. Growing kids, teen girls, most men and active women would eat at least four servings of vegetables and three servings of fruit everyday. Teen boys and active men should eat at least five servings of vegetables and four servings of fruit. Unfortunately many people fail to eat even five servings each day.

Unfortunately most people don’t even have at least 2 servings, much less 5-9. The health benefits of fruits and vegetables need no introduction. Fruits and vegetables are loaded with vitamins and minerals - they pretty much contain every single nutrient we need to live an extremely healthy life (with the exception of vitamin B12).

Hence for today's task, we're going to consume at least 5 servings of fruits and vegetables!

Knowing what's a serving size

If you're wondering what counts as a serving size, here are some examples:

Fruits

• one banana
• six strawberries
• two plums
• fifteen grapes
• one apple
• one peach
• one half cup of orange or other fruit juice

Vegetables

• five broccoli florets
• ten baby carrots
• one roma tomato
• 3/4 cup tomato juice
• half of a baked sweet potato
• one ear of corn
• four slices of an onion

Pick bright colored fruits/vegetables, in different colors

Fruits and vegetables with bright colors are usually high in anti-oxidants. Anti-oxidants are good for health because they remove free radicals in our body that damage our cells. So get your fill of fruits/vegetables of different colors:

1. White: Bananas, Mushroom, Onion, Potatoes, White Corn, Sprouts
2. Yellow: Pineapples, Mango, Yellow Pears, Starfruit
3. Orange: Orange, Papaya, Cantaloupe, Apricots, Carrots, Grapefruit
4. Red: Apple, Strawberries, Tomatoes, Watermelon
5. Green: Guava, Avocados, Cucumber, Lettuce, Celery
6. Purple/Blue: Blackberries, Eggplant, Prunes, Grapes, Blackcurrents

Here are more examples of fruits/vegetables under the color wheel.

Different Ways of Meeting Your 5-9 Servings

If you are wondering how you can meet your 5-9 servings quota today, here are some tips:

1. Mix them in a smoothie. This is the most effective method. You can easily take in 3-4 servings this way!
2. Have a fruit with every meal. Having fruits for breakfast is a fantastic way to start off your day!
3. Replace your daily snacks with fruits. Highly nutritious and low calories! What more can you ask for?
   

Oh, for some random fun: Just in case any of you are eating bananas today, here'a a video on how to peel a banana like a money (thanks to participant Matt for sharing the video in last year's 21DHL run. )




And here's a video on how to break an apple with your bare hands.





Continue this habit for the whole of 21DHL

After you've completed this habit, continue on for all remaining days of 21DHL. Create a tracking table with 12 columns that represent the 12 remaining days of 21DHL. Mark a tick whenever you meet your 5-9 servings of fruits/vegetables a day. Mark a cross when you haven't. At the end of 21DHL, you'll be able to see how you fare in this area.

Day 9 of Your 21-Day Healthy Living Plan

What are your tasks listed for today? Do them with excellence and report them in your 21DHL Journal.

Also, read your group mates' 21DHL journals and cheer them along! Pick a few members' journals and make it a point to post meaningful replies there.

Update Your 21DHL Journals

Once you are done for the day, update your 21DHL Journal. You are also welcome to update your 21DHL Journal multiple times throughout the day. Post all your results for today's task and your 21-Day Healthy Living Plan directly in your journal.

If you have any questions specific to today's task, post them here.

"If you want to get something you have never gotten before, you've to do something you've never done before."
Personal Excellence - For people passionate about achieving excellence in life

Haha, that's fun ways of opening fruits. Unfortunately, they leave the bits you do not eat, so you still need a knife!

"The truth will set you free, but first it will make you miserable."

What surprised me about this task is how few fruits and vegetables we need to meet the healthy requirements! I honestly thought I wasn't getting nearly enough fruits and vegetables. After reading this article I now realize have been eating 5 to 9 servings every day without evening trying that hard.

Only five broccoli florets to equal one serving? I love steamed broccoli so I usually have 20!

Making a smoothie definitely is the best way to get a huge does of vegetables and fruit. I have had a green smoothie nearly every morning during the challenge. I like to combine an orange, half a cucumber, a bunch of Kale, a handful of spinach, and 2 celery stalks. My concoction usually fills up my 48 oz blender. Sometimes it does take a little will power to finish it all but I always feel fantastic after.

Has anybody been able to break an apple in half like in the video? I tried this a while ago but wasn't able to do it. I was using a red delicious apple so maybe it doesn't work with that kind.

Hey Matt, word! I see the 5 fruits/vegetables recommendation, as with the 33% energy from carbs/protein/fats recommendation, to be average recommendations relative to what can be the highest standards for us/our body (IMO). But at the very least it's a starting point, and does help the person who is on the average diet (fast, junk food) to be healthier. As low as it may seem, many people today are still eating below this requirement.

On the apple, I've only tried it once but couldn't get it to work either. I wasn't able to remove the stem cleanly like the person did in the video, which seems to be the crucial step. Not that it matters because I usually just eat an apple as it is, with the skin and all. (without cutting it). The banana one is a pretty good tip though.

"If you want to get something you have never gotten before, you've to do something you've never done before."
Personal Excellence - For people passionate about achieving excellence in life

Here's a video on pitting and gutting an avocado. I always have trouble removing the pit. It's always a struggle even when I try using the method shown here. It just doesn't work quit as well for me.





I love avocados and have been using them a lot in veggie wraps.

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Here's a video on slicing a pineapple. I'm posting this because it a couple of great tips on choosing a ripe pineapple.

(01-10-2012 11:27 AM)Matt Wrote:  What surprised me about this task is how few fruits and vegetables we need to meet the healthy requirements! I honestly thought I wasn't getting nearly enough fruits and vegetables. After reading this article I now realize have been eating 5 to 9 servings every day without evening trying that hard.

Only five broccoli florets to equal one serving? I love steamed broccoli so I usually have 20!

Making a smoothie definitely is the best way to get a huge does of vegetables and fruit. I have had a green smoothie nearly every morning during the challenge. I like to combine an orange, half a cucumber, a bunch of Kale, a handful of spinach, and 2 celery stalks. My concoction usually fills up my 48 oz blender. Sometimes it does take a little will power to finish it all but I always feel fantastic after.

Has anybody been able to break an apple in half like in the video? I tried this a while ago but wasn't able to do it. I was using a red delicious apple so maybe it doesn't work with that kind.

Steamed broccoli?!? How long do you steam it for?? Do you add salt or something??