You probably know about the five a day guide regarding your daily intake of fruit and vegetables you need in order to stay healthy, but knowing how to incorporate this into your daily routine is not always easy.

Most of us lead a busy lifestyle, and taking time to sit down and eat a well-balanced, home cooked and nutritious meal can sometimes seem daunting to organize.

The easy way out is to choose the processed, high calorie ready prepared meals. However, if you want break this cycle and start getting your five a day, the easiest way to do so is by replacing your unhealthy snacks with healthy ones.

The following easy-to-prepare snack recipes should get you started down the right road.

1. Tropical Fruit Breakfast Smoothie

This recipe will give you a good supply of vitamins first thing in the morning to help you start your day out right. Perhaps the best thing about making a healthy breakfast smoothie is that you can get two or more of your five servings in one go, before the day has even got going.

Ingredients:

  • One chopped banana
  • One cup of chopped fresh pineapple
  • Half a cup of yogurt (full or low-fat, depending on your diet)
  • Small amount of fruit juice concentrate, flavor of your choice
  • Couple of ice cubes
  • One tablespoon of wheat or oat bran

Just put the ingredients together in the blender and mix them until the texture is right. You can vary this recipe with different types of fruit to bring some variety to your breakfasts. It’s refreshing and takes less than five minutes to make, and should work out cheaper than the products sold in store.

2. Vegetable Sticks with Avocado Dip

This recipe is quick and easy to prepare and can even be taken along in a Tupperware container to eat on the go if necessary.

Ingredients:

  • Celery
  • Carrots
  • One fresh avocado
  • Half a lemon or lime
  • Seasoning of your choice (salt, pepper, chili, etc)
  • One fresh clove of garlic
  • Few tablespoons of yogurt

First chop the desired amount of carrots and celery to make your vegetable sticks. Next, combine the avocado, lemon/lime, garlic, yogurt and seasoning in the blender. Mix it until it is smooth and you are ready to hit the road with your super healthy, low-fat snack. If you are planning to eat it at work, however, you may want to consider your work colleagues and leave out the garlic !

3. Gazpacho

This delicious Spanish delicacy is perfect when you are on the go, as unlike regular soups, this one is eaten cold. Gazpacho is almost like a liquid salad, making it just the thing when you are looking to fulfil your five a day requirement. Prepare a batch the night before so that it is ready for you to grab on your way out in the morning.

Ingredients:

  • Two chopped onions
  • Two chopped cloves of garlic
  • Two chopped peppers, one red one green
  • One finely chopped cucumber
  • Four chopped tomatoes
  • Two tablespoons of vinegar
  • Seven tablespoons of oil
  • Seasoning of your choice (salt, pepper, chili, etc)
  • Two tablespoons of water
  • Two toasted slices of bread

Combine the onions, garlic, tomatoes, vinegar, oil and seasoning in the blender and mix until smooth. Cube the toasted bread to make croutons. Pour this mixture into a bowl and add the cucumber, peppers and croutons. If you are taking this to go, you should keep the cucumber, peppers and croutons aside in a separate container and add them in once you are ready to eat it.

As you can see, eating healthy and getting your five a day doesn’t have to be complicated. It just takes a bit of planning. You may want to consider creating a weekly meal plan and buying all the ingredients you will need beforehand. This will allow you to prepare your snacks when you need them, and avoids the need of running to the store at the last minute.

What's your thought?