There is a nutritional difference between fruit and vegetable. Fruits are basically sweet and vegetables are more pungent. Fruits, you should eat for energy or calories and their cleansing action. Fruit is nutritious, but I wouldn’t try to live on it alone. You need your vegetables too, because they provide nutrition fruit doesn’t. Yet, both provide fiber, which is an essential nutrient.
The best I can do is to tell you which fruits and vegetables are the most nutritious. We need to eat what we like. If we don’t have fruit and vegetable favorites, we won’t stick to a healthy whole food plant-based diet.
The top ten most nutritious vegetables are…
- Kale
- Collard greens
- Bok Choy
- Spinach
- Brussel sprouts
- Arugula
- Cabbage
- Romaine
- Broccoli
- Cauliflower
The top ten most nutritious fruits are…
- Strawberry
- Pomegranate
- Tomato
- Blueberries
- Orange
- Cantaloupe
- Apple
- Peach
- Cherries
- Pineapple
For breakfast, I eat berries such as blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, blackberries and cantaloupe. It depends upon how much the berries cost. In other words, if there is a sale on strawberries, I buy more of those if the other berry prices are too high.
I don’t pay five dollars for a small blueberry pack. Ridiculous! But, I do buy two for five dollars or a big one if the price comes down. If none of the above are reasonable in price, I switch to oranges and bananas. But, I usually eat a banana in the morning. The problem is bananas turn brown way too fast.
They are the reason I have to go to the store every other day! I know brown bananas are supposed to be better, but I just don’t like the way they taste! I don’t know, you might, and that’s OK. Eat what you prefer as long as it’s nutritious.
Forget smoothies and green juice! I drank them both for years. They made me feel unbalanced. You need the fiber. Yes, you get it in the smoothie, but teeth are made to chew. The mechanical action of the blender breaks down the fruit and it digests too quickly raising the blood sugar too high, too fast. No good over time. Eat your food, don’t turn it into liquid. Smoothies tasted good, but always made me feel tired and want to take a nap. I listen to my body and only eat fruits and vegetables.
Nutrient content is the reason why I eat two large green salads each day. I like butter lettuce and I also put spinach leaves in. I know butter lettuce is not on my list of the most nutritious, but it contains enough because of how much I eat and the spinach I add.
Leafy vegetables like spinach and butter lettuce are an excellent source of folate, antioxidant carotenoids, vitamins K, C, A, E and B-6. It’s a good source of magnesium, riboflavin and potassium. Go green. Green is good!
I sprinkle a few roasted pumpkin seeds on top my salad. I break up an already baked potato from my fridge in a sandwich bag in pieces and heat it up in the microwave for a minute and dump it over my salad. I call it ‘potato salad’. I also eat at least a cup of pinto beans. Eating this way is never boring.
Note- consult your doctor before you change your diet.
