Eat Your Veggies!

Many people have a hard time eating the recommended 3+ vegetables per day.  Here are a few tips to help you eat your veggies and like them too!

1.  Try different cooking methods.  If your idea of eating vegetables is opening a can and warming them on the stove, you are missing out on some great flavors!  Lightly brush vegetables such as asparagus, tomatoes, onions, portobello mushrooms, peppers, or zucchini with olive oil and grill.  The char-broiled flavor will be much better than anything from a can.  Alternatively, toss vegetables with some olive oil and roast in your oven.  The roasting will cause the natural sugars in the vegetables to caramelize resulting in a very tasty dish.
   
   
   
   
   
2. Add vegetables to dishes you already like to eat.  Incorporate some broccoli or tomatoes into macaroni and cheese, grate carrot or zucchini into spaghetti sauce, add spinach, peppers, mushrooms or salsa to your omelet.  Substituting vegetables for meat on your pizza is another great option.  Try roasted asparagus and fontina cheese, or caramelized onions, mushrooms and goat cheese for some great combinations.
3. Add vegetables to commercially prepared soups.  Why not add some extra frozen vegetables to chicken noodles soup or minestrone?  Just put the extra vegetables in the soup while heating it up.
4. Make your salad a vegetable power house.  First, substitute iceberg lettuce with spinach, arugula, or darker leaf lettuce for more nutrition. Then add cucumbers, tomatoes, sprouts, carrots, broccoli, zucchini, onions, mushrooms, radishes - the possibilities are endless.  Just be sure to top with a good dressing that is not loaded with bad fats or high fructose corn syrup.  In fact the best dressing can be made at home using a ration of 3 parts oil to 1 part acid.  For example, olive oil and balsamic vinegar, olive oil and lemon juice, canola oil and rice wine vinegar - you get the idea.  You can also add some herbs, shallots, garlic, or mustard for even more flavor.
5. Having a snack attack? Try munching on raw vegetables with dip or hummus instead.  Baby carrots, sugar snap peas, red pepper strips, cut up cauliflower and broccoli all are much better for you than any chip, cracker or pretzel.

If you need more help with your nutritional goals, contact Dr. Laura Kemps who is Certified Chiropractic Nutritionist at 920-738-0200.  She'll help you devise a nutrition plan that works just for you!