This St Patrick’s Day, instead of downing drinks at the local tavern, proudly wearing your 4-leaf clover, and singing Irish anthems all night, celebrate the day by eating green fruits and vegetables. (Yes, you heard correctly.)

Start your own green tradition. Get a good supply of vitamins, minerals, water and antioxidants daily. Here are some green ideas:

1. Increase fiber with broccoli.

2. Vary your leafy greens – the darker the better.

3. Choose vitamin K for increased bone health – good source of this found in greens.

4. Improve cholesterol with avocado - contain good monounsaturated fats & vitamin E.

5. Alternate oranges with kiwifruit - contains more C than oranges and lots of fiber.

6. Snack on green apples - contain more fiber to aid digestion & heart health.

7. Drink tea - green tea - has the most antioxidants and flavonoids for heart health.

Raw or cooked – this is a good time to get greens in your diet. Not as exciting as eating pub burgers and fries? Hey, you can always meet your friends for a guilt-free St Paddy’s cocktail, knowing you’ve eaten a healthy meal at home first!

Chester is a health nutrition consultant and is the owner of
AstroNutrition - a provider of premium health nutrition and sports supplements.