rocery store is an essential skill, and it is veryimportant for those who hope to reach the five a day guidelineset down by the USDA.Just about everyone uses a microwave these days, and microwaveovens can make cooking with vegetables and fruits easy and fun.Using a microwave pressure cooker or microwave proof bowl is agreat way to quickly steam veggies. Cooking vegetables this wayallows them to retain their all important nutrients.The microwave is also a great way to cook baked potatoes, andmicro waved baked potatoes retain more of their naturalmoisture, therefore needing less of that fat laden butter andsour cream. Combining free steamed broccoli with that greatbaked potato gets you almost halfway to your goal of fiveservings of vegetables and fruits per day.The grill is another great way to meet your goal of fiveservings of fruits and vegetables every day. Why not u...

...se greenpeppers, red peppers and pineapple chunks to create deliciousand colorful vegetable kebobs? Whether served with lean cuts ofbeef or by themselves, vegetable kabobs are a great treat forthe whole family. Vegetables are best grilled over medium hotcoals.Those with a blender handy can make some wonderful smoothieswith the great fresh fruit from the grocery store. Delicioussmoothies can be made using peaches, nectarines, crushed ice andfruit juice.For a quick fruit salad, simply open a can of mandarin oranges,add a banana, an apple, and strawberries, blueberries orraisins. The total preparation time for this great fruit saladis all of five minutes.Fruit skewers are even easier to make than grilled vegetableskewers. Fruit skewers can easily be made by stackingstrawberries, melon slices, grapes and chunks of pineapples. Agreat dip can be made using nonfat plain or vanilla yogurt.Another great way to meet your five a day fruit and vegetablegoal is by making your own healthy salsa. There are some greatrecipes for salsa on the internet, using such great and healthyingredients as tomatoes, avocados, red onions, mangoes, cilantroand lime.For those looking for a fun way to enjoy fruits and vegetables,why not make some popsicles? Popsicles are not just for kidsanymore, and pouring fruit or vegetable juice into a popsiclemold is a great way to make a delicious and nutritious snack. Inaddition, these healthy popsicles are a great way to get thekids interested in eating healthy at an early age. Since eatinghabits picked up in childhood can last a lifetime, that is veryimportant.In addition to these great fruit and vegetable servingsuggestions, there are other ways to create memorable mealsusing your five a day criteria. For instance, adding broccoliflorets, slices of carrots, cucumber slices, green peppers andred peppers is a great way to add crunch and zest to a blandpasta salad.A plain old green salad can be perked up by including colorfulfruits and vegetables like carrots, spinach leaves, tangerineslices, nectarines, grapes, slices of apples, pineapples andraisins. Not only to these additions add beauty and drama to anysalad, but they get you closer to your goal of five servings offruits and vegetables a day.For a simple, inexpensive and nutritious salad dressing, trysuch novel approaches as fruit juices, flavored vinegars andhome grown herbs. Creating great tasting salads is veryimportant for healthy eating, and avoiding high fat saladdressings is an important consideration for anyone concernedabout their health.Another great way to ensure you eat plenty of vegetables andfruits is to add those vegetables and fruits to the foods youalready eat. That can be as simple as adding green peppers andred peppers to your pizza, adding pineapple chunks to your shishkebobs, adding bananas to your cereal or adding blueberries toyour daily serving of yogurt....