Are You Eating Enough Fruits and Veggies?

Hello my friends!  This morning, I received an e-mail kicking off a fitness and nutrition campaign at my job.  We are being asked to pick a personal challenge from a list and pursue that goal throughout the month of September.  One of those personal challenges is centered around consuming the recommended amount of fruits and veggies each day.  In reading this, I asked myself...

"What IS the recommended amount of fruits and veggies that I should be eating on a daily basis?"  

I realized I really didn't know!  Of course, I remember learning 3 - 5 servings back in grade school, but I can't say that I have corroborated that in the past 10 years.  I asked a friend who told me 6 - 8, which was a big difference.  So... off to google.com I went to do some research.  What I found was a calculator developed by the Center for Disease Control (CDC) that can be used to quickly calculate how many servings of fruits and veggies you need per day, based on your age, gender, and activity level.  They also have a handy chart that helps you figure out what a serving size is for different fruit and veggie types.

Here's the link:  http://www.cdc.gov/nutrition/everyone/fruitsvegetables/howmany.html

I found that I need 2.5 servings (1 serving = 1 cup) of veggies, and 2 cups of fruits per day.  I actually am pretty close to that!  I have fruit for morning and afternoon snacks, and a cup of veggies with lunch and dinner.  I am going to figure out a way to bump up veggies a little bit, but pretty good.  Just another step in educating myself while also keeping you all informed!