Fruit and Vegetable Allowance while on Nutrisystem
Nutrisystem does not deliver any vegetables with their meals and yet vegetables and fruit are necessary additions to this strict diet plan. You can’t be on Nutrisystem for a long period of time and not eat any fresh produce. Yes, you will have to obtain them yourself, but you have to and you are encouraged to.
Fruits and vegetables help lower diabetes risk, provide vitamins and nutrients, and are very light on calories (we are not talking about fried potatoes here though). Nutrisystem is a balanced diet plan, but it lacks vitamins, which can be easily compensated with vegetables.
Most diet plans include daily recommendation of at least 4 servings of non-starchy vegetables and fruit. There are also vegetables included in some frozen meals from Nutrisystem, but you will need extra supply of fresh ones.
How much fruit should you eat?
Most Nutrisystem plans, especially women’s and men’s Basic suggest you add one serving of fruit with your breakfast, one with snack, and a choice of fruit or vegetable with dinner.
The entire Nutrisystem is focused on glycemic index, which is measuring how food affects blood glucose levels and helps separate good carbs and bad carbs.
Good carbs are encouraged because they digest slowly and help keep you full for longer.
Most fruit is considered good carbs according to those principles and are allowed, with a few exceptions. High glycemic impact fruit like watermelon or lychee are not advised at all or only in very small portions, because Nutrisystem knows summer is not fully summer without ice cold watermelon.
How many vegetable servings should you eat?
Vegetables are encouraged even more than fruit. Most plans suggest consuming two servings of vegetables with lunch, two with dinner, and one extra vegetable or fruit serving with dinner, making it 4-5 daily servings.
Most vegetables can be consumed without limits (hello, asparagus, tomatoes, and broccoli!). Those can be eaten as much as you want. Other vegetables, such as carrots, turnips, and squash should fit into those 4 servings per day.
What vegetables and fruit are included in Nutrisystem meals?
Quite a few fresh produce staples are included in ready-to-eat meals, and they are not counted as separate. For example, roast turkey meal has vegetable medley included and stuffed chicken breast come with a serving of broccoli.
If your meal has vegetables and you add extra 5 servings per day, it’s very possible to consume up to 10 fruit and vegetable servings Daily. A few Nutrisystem meals also include fruit.
What do you do if you don’t like fresh produce?
This might be a problem. Nutrisystem does not provide enough servings of fruit and veggies to get all the necessary vitamins and nutrients. If you don’t like fresh stuff, consider supplements or Nutrisystem is not a diet for you.
Another option is fresh fruit and vegetable juice. 4 ounces or ½ a cup of 100% juice can be counted as one serving. This means that 12 ounces of vegetable juice can be your both vegetable servings and an optional fruit or veggie serving, so drink up if you don’t like to eat up!
