Question: Last week I began answering a question about how to get more fruits and vegetables in your diet, using guidelines from an article in the January issue of Consumer Reports on Health. I mentioned five ways to do this at breakfast and three things to do at lunch. Today I will continue with the guidelines for lunch and mention guidelines for dinner and other times as well.
For lunch (continued):9. Make soup with lots of veggies. Each dish could be a serving of veggies if enough are used.
10. Use vegetables like broccoli, celery and peppers to add texture and color to pasta and rice salads.
11. Add tomatoes, shredded carrots or bean sprouts to sandwiches.
For dinner:
12. Complement poultry and pork with generous helpings of tart fruits such as cranberries, green apples and oranges.
13. Fortify stews, casseroles and dishes like lasagna with extra vegetables.
14. Thicken soups or gravies with finely chopped or pureed carrots.
15. Do a stir-fry or cook an extra vegetable with the meal.
Appetizers:
16. Have a slice of melon, half a grapefruit or a half a cup of fruit salad as a prelude to any meal.
17. Prepare special vegetable appetizers, such as fricasseed wild mushrooms or eggplant with herbed ricotta.
Dessert:
18. Prepare fruit desserts such as poached pears and baked apples.
19. If you treat yourself to frozen yogurt, top it with berries, sliced apples, bananas, peaches or plums.
20. Just use fresh fruit as dessert.
Snacks:
21. Snack on grapes, strawberries, melon balls, sliced kiwi and other bite-sized pieces of fruit.
- EQUIPMENT UPDATE: I have had several requests for information concerning recumbent exercise bikes. The people at Smith-Crown Co., 1993 S. 1100 East, Salt Lake City, were kind enough to loan me a Tunturi model E504 recumbent bike that I have now used for nearly a month. This machine was well-made and smooth to ride, and the heart rate monitor worked beautifully. A recumbent bike is surely a nice alternative for indoor exercise, and the Tunturi I tried was a quality piece of equipment that would last many years.
There are really two problems with traditional upright exercise bikes. First, the seat is always uncomfortable and, second, since the bike sits still while you ride, you need a source of moving air to help evaporate sweat. The bike I borrowed solved one of these problems. The seat was very comfortable and I was able to ride for 30 to 40 minutes without discomfort of any kind.
The second problem can be solved for either an upright or recumbent bike by using a small fan. Tunturi does make a recumbent ergometer that uses an air wheel for resistance. Using a machine of this type would solve the second problem automatically because the faster you pump, the more air you would move to cool your body. For indoor cycling comfort, I can highly recommend the recumbent ergometer.
Garth Fisher is director of the Human Performance Research Center at Brigham Young University.