Getting the right amount of vitamins in your diet is something everyone understands is important but many wonder how to make changes in their diet so they are getting more of them naturally. Eating a wide variety of whole, fresh foods and eliminating or limiting the amount of processed ones is the easiest way to insure you are getting your essential nutrients.

Our bodies require vitamins to help fight off disease, infection, allow our brains to work a peak performance and even affect our mood. When we are deficient in a vitamin, our bodies react and suffer, from fatigue, depression, weight gain, hair loss, acne to more life threatening conditions.

Everyone knows that eating more fresh fruits and vegetables and whole grains is best but how can they fit this into their busy life style and way of eating? Try following some of the tips below to add more vitamins in your family's and your own diet.

1. Snacking can provide a boost to your daily intake of vitamins and keep energy up and blood sugar stable.

Keep fresh vegetables, cut up and ready to eat available. Snack on carrots, cucumber, zucchini, squash and tomato with a humus dip for a filling healthy snack.

Spread a natural peanut butter on celery and apples.

Keep fresh fruit available, whole and cut up ready to eat. Lots of fresh fruits are easy to carry with you, apples, banana and oranges are good for packing.

Nuts and dried fruits are filling and packed with vitamins. Try making your own trail mix to keep handy. Mix sunflower seeds, walnuts, raisins and other dried fruits with a little dark chocolate.

2. Sandwiches can be healthy when made right.

Try using spinach instead of lettuce on a sandwich, adding onion, tomato, cucumber and green peppers will add flavor, fiber and many vitamins.

Buy the pre-washed bags of salad and put a handful inside a pita pocket and add lean meat with a spread.

3. Breakfast is important to start the day off right but it's a great opportunity to pack in several of your days vitamin requirement.

Try making an omelet with tomato, onion, red and green pepper and a little low fat cheese for a delicious treat. Serve with it a good quality whole-grain bread toasted with a little honey.

Cereal is a great choice, especially oatmeal. You can add fresh fruits, frozen blueberries, almonds, wheat-germ and flax seed making this meal a power house in vitamins and minerals.

4. Dinner doesn't have to be the boring steamed vegetable.

Try lightly frying, in a little olive oil, several vegetables and mixing with brown rice.

Cook in olive oil chopped tomatoes, onion, garlic, red, green orange and yellow peppers, squash and add some left over chicken or seafood, toss with whole-wheat pasta and add spinach at the end to wilt. You have a vitamin packed, tasty main dish.

Add vegetables to sauces. Shredded carrots sweeten a dish and will add fiber and vitamins. Make soups and stews that have lots of vegetables and brown rice, beans or lentils.

5. Purchase a juicer and make your own fresh fruit and vegetable juices.

It doesn't have to be difficult to add more vitamins in your daily diet. Planning in advance, having items that are healthy and available and making small changes and replacements is all you need. Soon, this way of eating will become habit and your tastes will change allowing you to enjoy fresh, healthy foods more then the sugary highly processed ones.

Learn more about this author, beth king.
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