Farm Facts That Feed You

According to CDC data, only 12.3% of U.S. adults consumed recommended levels of fruits and 10% got the recommended levels of vegetables. Data showed that overall, Hispanic adults had the highest rate of meeting fruit consumption recommendations, while men had the lowest prevalence, and adults ages 51 and older were best at meeting vegetable consumption recommendations.

So, what are the practical tips for eating more fruits and vegetables?

1. How Much: The recommended daily servings of fruits and vegetables: 4 to 5 servings.
2. Serving Size: The size of a baseball or your fist, for a simple example.
3. Here’s the breakdown of recommended servings per day for several kinds of foods for a 2,000-calorie diet with examples of serving sizes of foods within each group:
   1.  Grains: 6 ounces (oz) per day. Serving sizes = ½ cup cooked rice, pasta or cooked cereal; 1 oz. dry pasta or rice; 1 slice bread; 1 cup ready-to-eat cereal flakes.
   2. Vegetables: 2 ½ cups per day. Serving sizes= 1 cup equivalent of vegetables is 1 cup raw vegetable or vegetable juice, 2 cups leafy salad greens.
   3. Fruit: 2 cups per day. Serving sizes = 1 cup equivalent is 1 cup fruit or ½ cup of 100% fruit juice (orange juice, etc.) or 1/3 cup of a fruit juice blend.
   4. Protein foods (beef, pork, poultry, fish, dry beans, and nuts): 5 ½ oz. per day. Serving sizes = 3 oz. cooked lean meat, poultry, or fish; 2 egg whites or 1 egg; ¼ cup cooked beans; 1 tbsp. peanut butter; ½ oz. unsalted nuts/seeds. Note that ¼ cup cooked beans = 1 oz. protein equivalent but ½ cup cooked beans = 1 vegetable.
   5. Fat-free or low-fat dairy foods (milk, yogurt and cheese): 3 cups per day. Serving sizes: 1 cup equivalent is 1 cup milk or yogurt, 1½ oz. natural cheese such as cheddar cheese, or 2 oz. processed cheese.