Journey to a Healthier Heart Week 2: Fruits and Vegetables

Welcome to Week 2 of the Journey to a Healthier Heart provided by Penn State Extension. This program is based on the National Institutes of Health (NIH) DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) Eating Plan and is designed to help improve heart health. This week will focus on fruits and vegetables with recommendations on how much to eat, health benefits, and tips for adding more of these nutrient-packed foods to your day!

DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) Recommended Daily Amount

• 4 to 5 servings of fruit per day
• 4 to 5 servings of vegetables per day

Serving Size Examples:

• 1 medium whole fruit
• ¼ cup dried fruit
• ½ cup fresh, frozen, or canned fruit
• 1 cup raw leafy vegetables
• ½ cup cooked vegetables
• 6 ounces vegetable/fruit juice

What Are the Benefits of Fruits and Vegetables?

People who eat more produce as part of an overall healthy eating style are likely to have a reduced risk of some chronic diseases. The World Health Organization recommends eating more fruits and vegetables to reduce the risk of heart disease, stroke, and some cancers. Vegetables and fruits provide nutrients, such as potassium, dietary fiber, vitamin C, and folate, vital for health.

Eat the Rainbow!

Fruits and vegetables offer a wide variety of colors, flavors, textures, and preparation options, making it easier to find nutritious choices that you like and support healthy eating habits. The healthiest options are the ones you will eat every day!

Focus on whole fruits—fresh, canned, frozen, or dried—instead of juice. The sugar found naturally in fruit does not count as added sugar.

Fruits and Vegetables Fill You Up!

Eating fruits and vegetables can help manage body weight when they replace energy-dense foods, which are high in calories, fats, and sugar. You will feel fuller with fewer calories by substituting vegetables or fruits for those energy-dense foods. Vegetables also add color, crunch, and flavor, not found in other food groups, to meals and snacks. 

Tips for Incorporating More Fruits and Vegetables:

• Keep visible reminders. Keep a bowl of whole fruit on the table, counter, or in the refrigerator.
• Snack on fruits and veggies! Pack whole fruit like apples or dried fruit with nuts, or keep packaged, pre-cut produce, like carrot sticks or pineapple chunks, on hand for grab-and-go healthy snacking.
• Buy fresh fruits and vegetables in season as they may be less expensive and will be at their peak flavor.
• Change up your usual routine. Choose a cooking or preparation technique that enhances a vegetable's flavor. Roasted Brussels sprouts are loved by many who would not eat them boiled. Soften the bitterness of greens in a salad by adding fruit or a tangy vinaigrette.
• Add ingredients such as mashed bananas, unsweetened applesauce, shredded zucchini, grated carrots, or pumpkin puree into recipes. These additions can boost the nutritional value, add moisture and flavor, and may even help reduce the amount of added fat or sugar needed in the recipe.
• Set a good example. In families where eating fruits and vegetables is the norm, children generally pick up this habit. Support a veggie-friendly home by eating and serving fruit and vegetables every day with meals or as snacks. Keep in mind, it may take repeated offerings — sometimes 10 or more — before a food is accepted!
• Celebrate successes. If your family accepts at least one new vegetable, consider this a victory toward good health.

Did you know?

Vegetables and fruits are naturally low in fat, sodium, and calories. They are good sources of fiber and contain no cholesterol.

A 2019 report found that only 10 percent of American adults eat the recommended 2 to 3 cups of vegetables each day.

Weekly Vegetable and Fruit Goal

Write a weekly goal to eat more fruits and vegetables or to try a new type of vegetable or fruit. Use the example below to get started.

Example Goal: This week, I will choose to eat at least three different types and three assorted colors of vegetables.

Learn More

Fantastic Fruits

Totally Veggies Online Course

Do you need recipes and advice for preparing delicious vegetable dishes? Try our Totally Veggies online course, designed to help you make eating vegetables a family affair. You will learn how to buy high-quality produce, handle produce safely, prepare veggies using simple cooking techniques, and prepare easy vegetable dishes.

Recipe of the Week:  Roasted Beets with Orange Sauce

References

Lee, S. H., Moore, L. V., Park, S., Harris D. M., & Blanck, H.M. (2022). Adults meeting fruit and vegetable intake recommendations — United States, 2019. MMWR and Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. 2022;71(1):1–9.

National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. (2025).  DASH eating plan. National Institutes of Health and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

World Health Organization. (2023). Increasing fruit and vegetable consumption to reduce the risk of noncommunicable diseases.