Get REAL for National Nutrition Month

March is National Nutrition Month and it's time to get real about what's on your plate (and in your cup!). As Americans, most of us don't meet the recommended number of servings of fruits and vegetables on a daily basis. Population studies done by the USDA consistently reflect inadequate intakes of fruits and vegetables in children, as well as adults. Isn't it time to graduate to real food over traditional snacks?Snacking on fruits and vegetables is a great way to improve your diet and reduce the incidence of chronic diseases. Fruits and vegetables are nutrient dense as they pack lots of nutrients in very few calories. Below are some simple tricks to get REAL with your diet:Bite this:1. Keep fresh fruit in sight. Place a bowl of apples, bananas and citrus on your kitchen counter and grab a piece the next time the urge to snack grabs you.2. Use frozen berries. These beauties can be added to smoothies, oatmeal or yogurt for a quick, nutritious snack.3. Grab grape tomatoes, baby carrots and celery sticks. They're great for a crunchy, grab and go snack. Dip in hummus to boost fiber and monounsaturated fat intake.4. Frozen veggies are perfect for lunch for a low calorie, nutrient dense boost. Frozen vegetables are flash-cooked prior to freezing, and take just 2 minutes to cook in a microwave.5. Red or green grapes work in the freezer for a quick cold treat. Skip theice cream!Not that:1. Fruit snacks- let's face it, there's just not much fruit in these things. They are glorified gummy bears.2. Canned fruit. Canned fruit packs almost double the calories as fresh fruit if packed in syrup.3. Canned vegetables offer less fiber, more sodium and fewer nutrients than fresh or frozen. Use the type with no added salt in a pinch.4. Dried fruit. While those dried cranberries are sweet and crunchy in your salad, they offer little more than sugar & calories to your diet. Try a Granny Smith apple in your next salad for more crunch and bite.5. Fruit juice. While we agree that 100% juice is better than soda, juice still contains at least 100 calories per cup and minimal fiber. Unless you're trying to gain weight, we advise most people to eat whole fruit over juice- hands down.