VEGETABLES — get them in your diet!
A HUGE contributor to lifelong great health and keeping body fat low is VEGETABLES. The average American gets 1-2 servings a day, and SHOULD get 6-8 servings a day (One cup is a serving).
Why Vegetables are the perfect food
- They are from the ground, they are not man-made.
- They are loaded with minerals and protective phyto-nutrients.
- They are anti-inflammatory and healing.
- They have a lot of fiber and water built in naturally, which is nature’s detox.
- They are LOW in calories.
- High intake of vegetables and lower intake of meat is correlated with lower rates of all cancers.
- Over time, they kill cravings for unhealthy foods, because they are nourishing your body.
- High intake of vegetables along with a low intake of high glycemic foods can heal insulin resistance, a big culprit of not losing weight.
How do you get 6-8 cups of vegetables in a day? Here are some tips:
1. Egg and Veggie Bake
This is how I clean out my vegetable drawer.
I throw them all in an egg quiche/casserole dish.
I eat this for dinner all the time, I love not cooking every night!
Steamed Vegetables
Here is a short video for best ever broccoli, you will learn how to perfectly steam and spice vegetables:
You can steam any vegetable, this spice and butter combination works great on green beans, cauliflower, asparagus, etc. The key to steaming is getting the vegetables just past crunchy. If you steam them too long, they are slimy and yuck!
Rainbow Salads
Doesn’t this salad look amazing?! Rasberries, avocadoes, onions, cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers, it’s so yummy. I use my food processor and shred vegetables that I get every week from Johnson’s Backyard, a local farm that does all organic vegetables and delivers them to my store weekly. You can sign up here, it’s an amazing product, and you would be supporting a local, organic farm https://www.jbgorganic.com/signup. I also cheat and go to Whole Foods, and buy all organic raw vegetables already chopped up at the salad bar.
I use this chopper, it cuts down chopping time. I even make my family homemade french fries, both white and sweet potatoes, with this chopper. Toss the raw potatoes after chopping in coconut oil and salt, and then bake them.
Roasted Yummi-ness
Roasted vegetables are so delicious. I like to roast a vegetable medley once a week and eat on it all week. It makes dinners super easy and less time consuming. Most vegetables (except the higher starch ones like carrots, beets, sweet potatoes) take about 15 minutes at 425-450 degrees with a foil tent over the pan, which prevents burning. Toss all your vegetables in olive oil or melted butter, himalayan pink salt, and cracked pepper before spreading on a cookie sheet. They will turn out perfect.
The New Vegetable Trend: Spiral Raw Vegetables
Who doesn’t love spaghetti? Now you can enjoy spaghetti the low glycemic way, by spiralizing zucchini or any other vegetable of your choice. This is my new kitchen toy. The Wonder Veg Slicer, I got it on Amazon.
Kitchen tools that make it easier and faster to prepare vegetables:
- Food processor with a shredder attachment
- A mandolin type chopper
- A spiralizer
Stock your pantry with these necessities to make your vegetables taste amazing:
- Himalayan Pink Salt
- Bragg’s Organic Herb Sprinkles
- Organic Coconut Oil
- Bragg’s liquid Amino’s
I have this pantry starter kit at my store, Local Health Market. It’s 10% lower than buying everything separate!
Now you know HOW to get more vegetables in your daily routine, AND make them taste delicious!
Cheers,
