I happen to prefer a vegetarian diet, so I eat a lot of veggies and salads. However, you don’t have to be a vegetarian to enjoy the wonderful variety of vegetables available today. They come in a wide array of varieties, sizes and colors. In recent years dieticians and government food experts have been recommending that we add a healthy serving of veggies as part of our main meals.

In fact, the U.S. government’s new food guidelines recommend that All Americans eat at least five to nine servings of fruits and vegetables every day. That may seem like an awful lot of veggies to eat in one day. However, you’d be surprised at how easy it is to achieve this goal.

Grocery store shelves are overflowing with fresh fruits and vegetables. Did you know that vegetables and fruits are among the least expensive, most nutrient rich, foods in the supermarket? Since you have such a wide choice of available fruits and vegetables, you can easily make these nutritious, delicious foods part of your daily meals and snacks.

The recommended daily amount of five to nine servings of fruits and vegetables every day actually equates to a reasonable two cups of fruit and two and a half cups of vegetables daily. The wide variety of available fruits and vegetables and the relatively low the prices makes it fairly easy to reach this recommended daily goal.

Eating the same thing every day can quickly become boring. So why not break up the monotony by picking up a variety of fruits and vegetables? They’re available in just about every color, and in every conceivable shape, size and texture. Fruits and vegetables in different colors contain different types of nutrients. Therefore, choosing a variety of colors will help ensure you get all the vitamins and minerals you need every day.

Finding new recipes is another innovative way to ensure you get the five to nine servings of fruits and vegetables every day. This also gives you the opportunity to try out some fruits and vegetables you’ve never tried before. Most people have eaten oranges, but have you tried kiwi fruit or mangoes? What about spinach or kale?

Vitamin supplements are important, but they don’t replace the daily serving of five to nine servings of fruits and vegetables. Fruits and vegetables contain far more than the macronutrients identified by science and synthesized in vitamin pills. These macronutrients, such as vitamin C, vitamin A and vitamin E are important to good health; however, the hundreds of micronutrients contained in healthy foods like fruits and vegetables are also important to one’s health. These micronutrients aren’t available in any pill; they must be ingested through a healthy, balanced diet that contains plenty of fruits and vegetables.

It seems that your mom was right when she reminded you as a child to “eat your vegetables. They’re good for you.”

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Pat Moauro is a former veteran journalist, and currently a writer and editor specializing in seniors’ issues. For more articles check his website at maxxseniorslife.com