FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 19, 2007
DHEC announces ‘More Matters’
COLUMBIA — More matters! More fruits and vegetables, that is.
“Fruits & Veggies – More Matters!” is the new national campaign for healthy eating, which is recommended by the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control’s Bureau of Community Health and Chronic Disease Prevention.
“The national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Produce for Better Health Foundation and DHEC are promoting increased fruit and vegetable intake,” said Susan Frost, a registered dietitian and DHEC Nutrition Program consultant who serves as the state Fruit and Vegetable Nutrition Program coordinator.
“Research indicates that increasing your fruit and vegetable intake each day reduces the risk for cancer, heart disease, diabetes and other chronic diseases,” Frost said “While more than 50 percent of adult consumers are aware they need to eat five or more servings of fruit and vegetables every day, more than 90 percent are not doing so.”
DHEC’s health promotion teams throughout the state, along with registered dietitians in South Carolina and other community nutrition partners, are encouraging consumers to increase their servings of fruits and vegetables every day.
“Eating more colorful fruits and vegetables every day is an easy way to improve your health,” Frost said. To help overcome common everyday barriers to eating fruits and veggies, the ‘Fruits & Veggies – More Matters’ Web site, http://www.fruitsandveggiesmorematters.org, provides a rich depository of tips and recipes from nutritionists, the Culinary Institute of America and our nation’s moms. While nearly everyone should double the amount of fruits and veggies they eat each day, the campaign especially targets families with young children.
“Families with children are at the forefront of those consuming the least fruits and vegetables,” Frost said. “Research shows that 96 percent of children from 2 to 12 years of age fall short of the minimum recommendation daily, so the ‘Fruits & Veggies – More Matters’ campaign is designed to make it easier to feed healthier foods in a family setting – especially for single-parent households.”
Frost suggested some quick and easy tips for increasing your family’s servings:
- Plan some wholesome and simple recipes, which can be found on the “Fruits & Veggies – More Matters” Web site.
- Add fresh, frozen, canned and dried fruits and vegetables as well as 100 percent juices to recipes.
- Prepare fruit and veggie treats in advance of snack time.
- Buy in-season to take advantage of cost savings.
- Properly wash, cut and store fruits and vegetables.
- Introduce a wide variety of fruits and veggies to children when they are young.
- Add them to dishes your children already love.
- Limit access to unhealthy snacks.
- Allow children to select the types of fruit and vegetables they prefer.
- Be a role model and eat them yourself.
- Put reminders up in your kitchen to remember that “More Matters!”
“Remember the acronym ‘TASTE’,” Frost said. “It can help families creatively optimize inclusion of fruits and vegetables in meals at home, school, work and play.”
T – Try something new at every eating occasion.
- Explore new recipes that include fruits and veggies, or get creative with your own. Add shredded carrots to your casseroles, chili, lasagna, meatloaf or soup. Drop berries into hot or iced tea, hot or cold cereal, pancakes or yogurt.
- Be imaginative at breakfast by making fruit smoothies, egg and veggie burritos and yogurt/fruit mixtures, or simply putting a new fruit on top of your favorite cereal.
- Use leftover veggies for tomorrow’s salad, or add them to a favorite can of soup. Yesterday’s fruit can be mixed into a zesty salad dressing, sauce or fruit salsa to accompany meat.
- Keep a variety of bite-sized munchies on hand for on-the-go snacks, such as boxes of raisins, fresh grapes or berries, dried fruit trail mix and frozen 100 percent fruit bars. Cherry tomatoes and carrot sticks with hummus can be a tasty and refreshing veggie treat.
A – All forms of fruits and veggies count!
- In your menu, feature each of the “Fab Five Forms”: fresh, frozen, 100 percent juice, canned and dried – which are all packed with nutrients for better health and energy.
- Color your family’s plate. A variety of colorful fruits and vegetables provide a wide range of vitamins, minerals and other natural substances that can protect you from chronic diseases including stroke, heart disease and some types of cancer.
- Choose recipes that teach you different – yet simple – ways to cook fruits and veggies to spice up every eating occasion, including steamed, slow-cooked, sautéed, stir-fried, grilled, poached and even microwaved.
S – Shop smart.
- If you find that fruits and veggies spoil before you can use them, consider buying fresh produce to use in three or four days. Clean and cut up the produce, so it will be ready to use, and start by eating the most perishable items first. Buy canned, frozen and dried for later in the week or if time is limited. They are quick to prepare and can be just as nutritious.
- Store produce in the crisper drawer of the refrigerator (except bananas, tomatoes and potatoes) to stay fresh longer.
- When shopping on a budget, consider that fresh produce is more affordable when it is in-season. Also, look for weekly specials on fresh, frozen, canned and dried fruits and veggies.
- At a restaurant, ask what vegetables - including salads - are available as substitutes for high-fat side orders.
T – Turn it into a family activity.
- Have a shish-ka-bob or homemade pizza night so everyone can make their own healthy choices.
- Choose your family’s favorite fruit to make a quick and easy homemade sorbet.
- If possible, shop at a farmer’s market with your children. It will be a fun and educational trip and the produce should be very fresh and economical.
E – Explore the bountiful variety and satisfy everyone.
- For some families, it can be difficult to find fruits and veggies to suit everyone’s tastes. Use salad bars, buffets or family gatherings to try new flavors until you find the foods that your whole family likes, then prepare them at home. There are more than 350 varieties of fruits and veggies to choose from.
- Visit http://www.fruitsandveggiesmorematters.org for great serving suggestions, tips and information on all your favorites, plus inspiring ideas for fruits and veggies you’ve always wanted to try, but never knew how to make.
- Challenge your children on each shopping trip by asking them to pick out a new fruit or veggie the whole family gets to eat.
In partnership with DHEC, Bi-Lo, Clemson University and local chapters of the American Culinary Federation are sponsoring a seven-week series of in-store events to help families find simple ways to serve more fruits and veggies, called “What’s Cooking?”
- Saturday March 24 through Saturday May 5 from 11 a.m. – 2 p.m.
BiLo – 699 Fairview Road
Simpsonville, S.C. - Saturday May 12 through Saturday June 23 from 11 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Bi-Lo – 120 Forum Drive, Village at Sandhill
Columbia, S.C.
At “What’s Cooking?” events, customers may talk with a chef and a nutritionist, receive recipes, menus and tips, and try samples of the featured item of the week.
For more information on “Fruits & Veggies – More Matters,” visit DHEC’s nutrition Web site at: http://www.scdhec.gov/nutrition or visit: http://www.fruitsandveggiesmorematters.org.
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For more information:
Susan Frost – (803) 545-4487
E-mail – frostss@dhec.sc.gov
or
Clair Boatwright – (803) 898-4461
E-mail – boatwrc@dhec.sc.gov
NOTE: Black and white or color logo in jpeg format available on request.