Annie Himmler of Pittsford makes ratatouille, or vegetable stew, from whatever fresh vegetables she has. She adds salsa for some kick, tops it all with cheese and serves it over noodles.

Freshly picked tomatoes sliced into wedges are great with Italian dressing, suggests Steve Salatino of Penfield. “You’ve got to use summer tomatoes. They’ve got to have flavor.”

Nancy Garlock of Rochester tosses blueberries into a glass filled three-quarters with milk and one-quarter with vanilla soy milk. She doesn’t mind the lumps, so doesn’t use a blender. “It just tastes like a milkshake to me,” she says.

Fruits and vegetables are nutrition superheroes, loaded with nutrients and flavor but not fattening calories. Summer is the peak time for local varieties. Farm markets increasingly accept food stamps and other government food assistance checks, providing more options for people with low incomes.

The latest federal guidelines recommend seven to 13 servings daily. But only three out of 10 adults in the Rochester region eat at least five servings a day, according to a recent study by Excellus BlueCross BlueShield. A serving may be less than you think: one medium apple, one cup of raw lettuce or a half-cup of a cooked vegetable.

“How nice to hear you can eat more of something,” says Patricia Palmisano, a registered dietitian and a health promotion supervisor at Excellus. With fruits and veggies, “you’ll get tired of chewing before you can overeat.”

Other ideas for adding more fruits and vegetables to your day:

Try something unfamiliar that is now in season — such as red gooseberries, which taste like a cross between a grape and a plum.
Palmisano suggests putting fresh or dried fruit in leafy green salads and serving fruit salsa on meat. Add roasted red peppers (available jarred) to sandwiches or pasta, and top baked potatoes with sautéed vegetables.
Himmler makes enough tomato sauce for the week. Her kids — ages 10, 18 and 20 — like to put it on English muffins and add cheese for easy mini pizzas in the oven or on aluminum foil on the grill: “It gets that smoky flavor.”
Keep fruits and vegetables in sight, such as a bowl of washed grapes on the kitchen table or in the front of the refrigerator, suggests Palmisano.
Scott Hewitt of Rochester likes tuna fish sandwiches and varies the flavor — and gets more veggies — by adding slices of tomato or cucumber.
When you’re chopping, cut up extra vegetables and package them in the fridge for snacks, says Palmisano. For a low-fat dip, combine Greek yogurt with dill, garlic and shredded cucumber. When you’re cooking vegetables, cook extra for an omelet or sandwich the next day.
Janice Marsden of Greece finds iceberg lettuce dull, but loves a field mix of greens — mizuna, tat soi, Swiss chard and more — and microgreens from local farm markets.
Ryan Dobson, who sells Lagoner Farms’ produce at local farm markets, slices yellow summer squash in half lengthwise, adds butter and brown sugar and grills it for about five minutes. “It makes it nice and sweet,” he says. “It’s a totally different flavor.”
All kinds of produce work well on the grill, says Palmisano, even avocado, mango, peppers, onions and broccoli. Wrap it in foil or use a vegetable basket.
Whatever you’re making, Palmisano suggests adding extra vegetables. That could be more carrots in beef stew or lots of spinach, mushrooms or zucchini in an omelet.