• Keep a fruit bowl on the counter for quick snacks, or to grab on the way to work.

• For lunches, take a pre-packaged fruit cup, box of raisins or piece of fruit. Add a 100-percent juice box to a child's school lunch or snack.

• For a shortcut fruit salad, buy a container of cut-up mixed fruit at the supermarket, cafeteria or coffee shop. Have some for lunch, and save the rest for an afternoon snack.

• Wash and cut up other fruits and vegetables, like celery or broccoli, and have them ready in the refrigerator for a quick-grab snack.

• Add a half-cup of berries to yogurt for an afternoon snack. Liven up the flavor with grated lemon or orange zest.

• To speed preparation, use prepackaged vegetables or choose precut vegetables like mushrooms, cauliflower, onions and tomatoes from a supermarket salad bar. Use for stir-fries or salads, scatter over a prepackaged pizza crust or sauté and add to jarred spaghetti sauce; there are any number of ways these can boost vegetable servings in a meal.

• For finicky eaters who don't like vegetables, add to foods they do like: Put shredded carrots, zucchini or chopped mushrooms and onions in spaghetti sauce or meatloaf; work frozen broccoli, green beans, corn or peas into a casserole; dice mushrooms and onions and add to ground beef before shaping into hamburger patties. Top burgers with lettuce, tomato and onions.

• Load up sandwiches with fresh vegetables, from the usual lettuce and tomato to cucumbers, onions and bell peppers. Halve grapes for chicken salad, or add mandarin orange sections.

• Roasting caramelizes the natural sugars in vegetables, and gives them a deep, rich flavor. Buy prepackaged vegetables like broccoli and cauliflower, drizzle with a little olive oil and roast at 400 degrees until tender. This works for all sorts of vegetables, including carrots, butternut squash, tomatoes and onions. Start checking for doneness at 20 minutes; the smaller the size of the cut-up vegetables, the more quickly they'll be ready. Larger vegetables may take up to 50 minutes.

•Use canned, mini-diced, seasoned tomatoes to make a quick bruschetta. Slice crusty bread, brush with a little olive oil and top with a spoonful of tomatoes. Place slices on a cookie sheet and bake at 325 degrees until bread is slightly toasted and tomatoes are warm.

• Choose 100 percent fruit juice at a fast-food restaurant instead of soda. Order a side salad instead of French fries.

• At sit-down restaurants, pick a vegetable plate or an entree that includes lots of vegetables or fruit. Order fruit for dessert. For appetizers, choose a salad with dressing on the side, or another dish that includes fruit or vegetables.

For more recommendations, check out the National Cancer Institute's 5 A Day Web site, at www.5aday.gov; or www.nutrition.gov, an index to dozens of government nutrition sites. Also, check out the recipe tips section of the Produce for Better Health Foundation site, www.5aday.org.