Growing up we are always told the importance of eating our veggies. I was a quirky kid- I remember eating salad without dressing, loving peas (only the baby ones out of the can, never frozen or fresh), liking only the stem part of broccoli, would never try cauliflower and the thought of spinach made my stomach turn but I couldn’t get enough of sweet okra gumbo made with stewed tomatoes and corn. At some point as I “grew up”, my tastes changed and I started to like many vegetables (with the exception of collard greens- while my mother is from the south, I couldn’t seem to acquire the taste for this southern style vegetable). The fact is, I can eat vegetables at every meal and eating vegetables for my meal simply makes me happy.
So, are veggies really as important as we were led to believe? Do you have to eat veggies in order to be healthy. Yes, you have to eat vegetables in order to be healthy. They are loaded with important vitamins and minerals that you can’t get by just taking supplements. Vegetables are nutrient dense and can fill you up (not out). But what about the person who really doesn’t like vegetables. Well, let’s look at this another way- maybe you haven’t found a vegetable that you really enjoy. Ok, let’s not be a 5 yr old. Let’s be a mature adult. Let’s try to find a vegetable that you like and then prepare it in a way that is pleasing. My kids never liked avocado until I started to make it as guacamole and served it with tacos. Voila, got the veggie in! Now, they eat avocado in their salads or on their sandwiches. And red yellow and green peppers taste better in a stir fry (made with chicken, beef or shrimp). I don’t like raw asparagus, but served roasted with melted truffle cheese=heaven! And what about spinach sauteed with mushrooms and tomato in an omelette! There are so many ways to enjoy vegetables, it doesn’t have to be in just a salad (although I love that too!).
Just to show you how to incorporate veggies into your meals, here are 3 of my favorites made with simply veggies:
1. GREEN JUICE SMOOTHIE
2. CRISPY GLAZED TOFU WITH BOK CHOY (I will add some broccoli and snow peas to the dish as well)
3. HEALTHY BANANA ZUCCHINI BREAD
Do you have a favorite vegetable to eat? A healthy recipe you want to share? Or simply want to learn some more ways to eat your veggies and get healthy? Contact me at rachel@livehealthynyc.com and I would love to hear from you!