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Have you made a resolution to eat better and lose weight? Follow our month-long program of daily nutrition tips, created by dietitian Leslie Beck to change your lifestyle for January - and beyond. And to get your fitness on track, try our personal trainer-designed Boot Camp 2012 program .

DAY 5: Increase your vegetable intake today with at least four servings

Increase your vegetable intake today – get at least 4 servings each day

Despite the overwhelming evidence that eating plenty of produce is good for us, most Canadians fall short of the recommended 7 to 10 servings of fruits and vegetables (combined) a day. (1 serving = ½ cup cooked or raw vegetables, 1 cup salad greens, or ½ cup of 100 per cent vegetable juice)

Work toward this target by adding more vegetables to your diet today. Try these tips:



  • Drink low-sodium vegetable or tomato juice with lunch instead of a diet soft drink or coffee.
  • Add sliced tomatoes, cucumbers and dark green lettuce or spinach leaves to your sandwich.
  • Pack leftover grilled or roasted vegetables in your lunch.
  • Add a handful of baby carrots or strips of red and green peppers to your brown-bag lunch.
  • Add quick-cooking greens such as spinach, kale, rapini or Swiss chard to soups and pasta sauces.
  • Bake, microwave or boil a sweet potato for a change from white potatoes or rice.
  • Snack on carrot sticks, cherry tomatoes, red or green pepper strips, broccoli florets and mushroom caps with hummus.

Want more information related to today's tip? Read on:

To live longer, pick your vegetables - and their colour - carefully

Eat more salads – your brain will thank you

Go ahead, nuke those carrots

Missed earlier days? It's easy to get caught up.

DAY 4: Practise eating slowly

DAY 3: Boost fibre at breakfast

DAY 2: Drink a large glass of water before each meal

DAY 1: Keep a food diary for the next seven days

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