Fruits and Veggies

This post is not running related, but I wanted to talk about it anyway... and since my races will both be completed in 9 days (what?!?), I figure I better think of other things to talk about so this blog doesn't just end.

As mentioned in previous posts (maybe? if not, I'm mentioning it now) I have been keeping track of everything I eat on a website called sparkpeople and even though it only tracks calories, fat, protein and carbohydrates for you on your tracker... there is a spot for you to count your fruits & veggies intake as well as water. I know I definitely have mentioned that I need to increase my water intake, which I have been working on, still not hitting eight glasses everyday though, and now I think it's time to concentrate on the fruits & veggies tracker.

As a child - when I saw child I mean until last year - I was the pickiest eater in the world. I have since improved immensly and can actually say that I, Rachel, LOVE fruits and vegetables. There are very few that I won't eat, which says a lot considering I went through a phase where I didn't eat anything that was the color green. Funny, because my favorite vegetable is broccoli now? Also, my mother is probably reading this in disbelief since I put her through a lot of hell when it came to meals.

Though I love fruits and veggies, I have noticed that I am not eating as much as I should. When I was in grad school and the only thing I had to do all day was go to class at 6pm, I snacked on fruit all day long. However, at work, my snacks include the girl scout cookies I bought because the lady selling them came over just before lunch - pretty sure she did that on purpose.

I do really well when it comes to incorporating vegetables into my dinners, but there's no way I can eat the recommended 5 cups in one sitting. So, in order to combat this issue, I have decided that I need to drink at least 1 cup of fruits/veggies a day. That's when I remembered the V8 commercials where they announce that one serving of V8 has one cup's worth of vegetables. Then I remembered that I drank V8 at my friend's house recently and it was so delicious. I asked her what flavor we had and then looked it up on the V8 website so I could pick out the bottle in the store without staring like a lost child forever. Of course, the one she drinks, and I like, is the V8 Splash, which doesn't have the same nutrional value. Therefore, that idea was out. However, the V8 Fusion and the basic V8 drinks both count as 1 serving. There are a whole bunch of choices when it comes to the V8 Fusion, and I am TERRIBLE at making decisions, so I sucked it up and bought the basic V8. It came in six little cans called the "weekly pack" or something else that a sucker impulse buyer like me would enjoy. The cans are only 5.5oz, so I figured I could suck it up and choke it down.

I had my first this morning, and it really wasn't bad. It was basically cold tomato soup (because I put the cans in the fridge, not sure if you're supposed to? couldn't find anything that said refrigerate... or not refrigerate? looking on website now to make sure I don't die). If you talked to me a few months ago, I wouldn't recognize this flavor because I didn't have my first bowl of tomato soup until this past summer. Like I said, serious picky eater. But ever since I had my first bowl at Magnolia's on Park Ave, I have been hooked. Thank you Mandi for forcing me to eat it that day. Though I am much less of a picky eater, I still don't like tomato sauce - I know, worst Italian, sorry Gram - and I feared that this juice would be straight tomato sauce, so I was pleased to find it was more soupy than saucy.

In conclusion, try it, you'll love it... well, only if cold tomato soup is your thing.

So now that I'm such a fan of V8, I have been browsing their website, and they make soups that look absolutly delicious. Here's the link: V8 Soups. Also, there's a whole bunch of recipes that look the bomb and each one includes a V8 Soup, which also contains 1 serving of veggies. I already tried the Southwestern Turkey, Corn and Chile... so easy and delicious.

I bet V8 is loving this free advertising right now!

XOXO