Do you eat the recommended servings of fruit and veggies??? I have such a hard time this!! It's my intention to eat more fruit or veggies, but then I don't do it. I buy the produce and it sits in my produce drawer out of sight and I forget about it until it's bad. I really want to get better at this and get healthier, especially since I'm trying to lose some weight. I was thinking about buying some of Del Monte's chilled fruit in the jar. Has anbody tried this? Figure I could keep fruit on hand, and then just be able to pop a piece or two when I'm hungry w/o having to peel, cut, etc. And it won't go bad. Figure the convenience might motivate me to eat more fruit. What do you think? There's some coupons online if anybody likes this stuff too - Del Monte Foods Premium Fruit Products: Experience Fruit Undressed™

I DO eat enough vegtables and fruits, but i am still fat...

Have you evaluated your nutrition on FitDay - Free Weight Loss and Diet Journal to see what exactly you are eating. You can compare with the information that you learn in the nutrition section (especially in the sticky threads) to find out where you are going wrong.

You can also log your exercise and see your calorie balance to see whether you actually deserve to lose any weight.

I feel like on some days its defintely easier than others to get the RDA of fruits and veggies. But I do get mine most of the time. I think smoothies, and veggie juices really help getting in the nutrients.

I try but fresh fruit and vegetables are so expensive for my budget. When I visit my parents house I definitely eat more than enough

Planning your food in advance (to a degree) really helps with the whole food going bad in the fridge thing.

Also keep in mind that while fruit is good for you, it's possible to eat too much fruit - especially from a weight loss perspective. Fruit had a ton of calories and a lot of sugar. You really should be eating more veg than fruit overall.

I don't find it difficult as I would say about 70% of my meals are vege/salad based. I plan all meals in advance for myself and my family to ensure we all eat well. Lots of salads, soups, stirfries and lean meat or seafood.

We also make our own juices daily to get that little extra boost. REally educational for children too.

You can often buy fresh fruit and vegetables cheaper by following some of the following approaches:
- Is there a fruit/veg wholesaler near you that is willing to sell direct to the public. I have one near where my parents live and I shop there whenever we visit my parents. I get a box of fruit/veg for an unbelievably cheap price. I always come home with about three boxes of fruit/veg...
- Most supermarkets have a shelf where they sell off produce which is going out of date that day. It tends to be quite a lot cheaper.
- Markets can sell things cheaper towards the end of the day. One of my friends gets bargains in this way every week.

Also - it may be worth you checking out the frozen food section and tins for vegetables. Unfortunately the tinned veg often contain sodium - but it can be drained. Vegetables provide so many benefits that it is well worth trying to incorporate them if at all possible.

Here in the States (I don't know about other countries) frozen veg are often MORE nutritious than "fresh". The reason is that frozen veg are flash frozen immediately after harvest - usually within hours of being picked and cleaned. They're at the height of their nutritional life when they're frozen and the flash freezing preserves nutrients and taste far better than any other process.

"Fresh" veg, on the other hand, are often picked while slightly under-ripe in order to help them survive the packing and shipping process. By the time they get to your grocery store, they're many days (sometimes even weeks) old. They've usually been sprayed with an edible, corn-based wax to help preserve them, and they've been artificially ripened.

Unless I'm buying from the local farmer's market or buying local produce from the Whole Foods, I often choose frozen over fresh - especially if I'm going to cook the veg rather than eat them raw. And if you keep your eye out, you can buy frozen veg on sale very cheaply.