Anyone else having trouble getting the required amount of the food groups?

I find it IMPOSSIBLE to get the Canada's Food Guide recommended number of veggies and of grains. Anyone else in the same boat? It just seems so unrealistic for those two groups. The dairy and meat I'm fine with though.

Jamie

dairy grain and meat I do fine but veggies and fruits are my downfall.  Today so far...hmmm let see... uhhhhh.... nope not one.  LOL

I'm in the US, so I'm not familiar with the Canadian food pyramid. Today i had a large banana (counts as two servings), 1/2 cup blueberries - for breakfast; for lunch a salad that had two cups raw spinach, serving of green beans, and a serving of sliced mushrooms; for dinner I'll be having a serving of broccoli rabe and of baked yams. So that's 8 servings of fruits & veggies right there.

Grains are harder for me: I had none at breakfast and at lunch. For dinner, I will be having a serving of quinoa and a serving of this stuffing mixture that comes on the Trader Joe's salmon roulettes we're having. So just two servings of grains today. Normally I have oatmeal at breakfast so that would be three servings.

I'm headed for a 1200 calorie day today, 33% fat, 40% carbs, 27% protein. I kinda overdid it this past weekend, so I'm not as hungry today - usually I am in the 1400 range. On those days, I might have one extra fruit, usually an apple or some strawberries, and sometimes also a serving of baby carrots.

I probably have too much fruit, but I have been craving fruit ever since quitting smoking, so I figure my body needs it, since I wasn't much of a fruit eater before.

I find it really helps to plan your meals around your fruits & veggies. I don't like veggies at breakfast, so I plan around fruit: like this morning I had a smoothie. But you could do oatmeal or cereal and fruit, for example. Then for lunch having a big salad is a great way to get a lot of servings. Then dinner we always have two cooked veggies - even when I eat out, I usually order myself a side salad or an extra side veggie or I ask if they'll swap the fries for a second helping of veggie.

Another great way to work in veggies is to make a big batch of veggie soup at the beginning of the week, then drink a cup or more of it every day. For example broccoli, onion, chicken broth... cook, puree into a soup. This same simple recipe works just as well with cauliflower, spinach, etc. You can add cream or cheese or milk, if you can afford the calories. It's pretty good without.

Hope that helps!

I think I'll try the veggie soup. No trouble with the grains and fruit i can handle but veggies? yuk. I choked down half a carrot today but couldn't get the rest down.

i have been following the canadian food guide for a while now and i too find it hard to get all the servings in sometimes.  most days i have a nice big salad with a variety of veggies (and sometimes fruit).  Or if i feel like i'm low i'll have a mug of V8 heated up with some horsradish and hot sauce (perhaps an aquired taste?) or hot sauce and fresh cilantro. 

i do veggie soup similar to jenmcc - i'll roast a mix of veggies i like with herbs, garlic, and olive oil, and then whip it up in a blender with broth.  sometimes it looks a little nasty, like if i've used something green and something yellow/orange.  Aside from aesthetics, my shat soup is amazing haha!! 

i have nutrition book (from 2003 i think) that outlines the canadian food plan guide for weight loss and it recommends getting 6 servings of grains per day (at 80kcal/serving).  How many servings are you aiming for?  If you are interested i can look it up again and tell you what i says for each food group. 

I usually average out ok with the plan (weekly), but if i try to get everything covered on a day by day basis then i sometimes fall short on a couple of things.  When i followed the plan to a tea i drove myself up the wall trying to get everything in.  I wouldn't let it get to you if you fall short or eat too much of a food group on any given day.  If you're loosely keeping track, it should even out. 

Julie

I guess I'm more interested in it from a health perspective than a weight loss perspective. I just want to make sure I'm giving my body enough good things.

That said, the more I think about it I probably do fine grains wise, as I'm eating 2-3 bowls of Cheerios/day and usually some sort of sandwich on wheat or whole grain bread. I should really eat more rice, but I love instant white rice so much and don't like brown rice, so I doubt that does me any good!

I try to eat a salad every day, but it usually ends up being about 3/5 work days by the time I get to the store to buy them. I can't make them at home, I am just too lazy. I have a hard time believing one salad is the same amount as a medium banana servings wise, but everyone keeps saying it's probably only a serving or two.

In any case, I'm definitely going to try that veggie soup option. What a good idea. I also love V8 juice so I might pick up a bunch on the next grocery run.