Food For Thought 4-26-16

Last week I touched on Traffic Light Eating and how important fruits and vegetables are in your daily diet.  This week I’d like to focus on vegetables and how you can incorporate them into your diets without too much fuss!

I think most of us grew up either loving or hating their veggies as kid.  I was the one who always loved my vegetables in any form. I was very lucky to have a dad who was an original organic home gardener and we were rewarded with bountiful crops of fresh vegs every year!  I never lost my love of vegetables and have incorporated them into my diet on a daily basis.  I like to recommend nine servings of fruits and vegetables consumed a day. A serving being 1/2 cup.  As I favor vegs over fruits, my higher end is going to be them.  I usually eat at least five a day.  Vegetables got a bad rap over the years, boring, not much you could do with them but boil or steam.  Not so much any more!  With so many more vegetarians and vegans, the world of cooking veggies has exploded.  There are so many options to try you’d never be able to make them all!

My suggestion is to start slow.  Choose three or four of your favorites.  This can include lettuce, celery and tomatoes.  There are three, two of which are in my morning shake and I eat half a tomato a day.  Boom.  I would go for two at lunch and two at dinner to start.  Once you pick your favorites, look up a new recipe for each one.  Try it.  Worst case scenario you start over, and best case it tastes delicious!

I make vegetables for dinner every night and my favorite ways to cook them are steaming, roasting and sauteeing.  A couple of tablespoons of olive oil, coconut oil and even butter can add flavor and the right amount of a healthy full fat needed daily.  Try adding one or two of your favorite fresh herbs to the veggies right after they are cooked.  If you add them in too soon, they will wilt and lose their color and some of the nutritional value.  Make extra so you have lunch ready for the next day.  Lunches can be prepared the same way as dinner or eaten in raw form as in a salad with grated veggies such as carrots, beets, whatever you like!  Add some nuts or seeds and a  homemade dressing and you are on your healthy way!

Speaking of nutritional value, vegetables are loaded with it!  This is a great link with the following information and more on vegetables nutrients.

http://www.nutrition-and-you.com/vegetable-nutrition.html

“Vegetables, like fruits, are low in calories and fats but contain good amounts of vitamins         and minerals. All the Green-Yellow-Orange vegetables are rich sources of calcium,                 magnesium, potassium, iron, beta-carotene, vitamin B-complex, vitamin-C, vitamin-A,         and vitamin K.

As in fruits, vegetables too are home for many antioxidants. These health benefiting              phyto-chemical compounds firstly; help protect the human body from oxidant stress,            diseases, and cancers, and secondly; help the body develop the capacity to fight against          these by boosting immunity.

Additionally, vegetables are packed with soluble as well as insoluble dietary fiber known       asnon-starch polysaccharides (NSP) such as cellulose, mucilage, hemi-cellulose, gums,           pectin…etc. These substances absorb excess water in the colon, retain a good amount of         moisture in the fecal matter, and help its smooth passage out of the body. Thus,                       sufficient fiber offers protection from conditions like chronic constipation, hemorrhoids,        colon cancer, irritable bowel syndrome, and rectal fissures.”

I always try to buy fresh and organic when I can.  If not organic, local is next, and if not local the freshest varieties you can find.  When fresh is not available, frozen is a great alternative because most frozen veggies are flash frozen at their peak of freshness.  Many times much more costworthy too.  My least favorite choice for vegetables is canned.  When all avenues are exhausted it is an option.  Try not to eat canned vegetables too often. They are very over processed and not always the best tasting.

Eat your veggies whenever you can!  I’ve attached a recipe for my tiny tostadas made with my homemade tortillas.  If you’d like to know more about vegetables and your diet or to sign up for any of my coaching services or event, please contact me and we’ll work on your best program. Take care and eat healthy!

If you’d like a copy of the Traffic Light poster, opt in with a email to me from the contact page.  Just note you’d like the Traffic Light poster.  I’ll send it out to you and you can begin your healthy journey.

*Disclaimer:

This information is solely for informational purposes.  IT IS NOT INTENDED TO PROVIDE MEDICAL ADVICE.  Kim Gerhardt, Certified Health Coach, does not take responsibility for any possible consequences from any treatment, procedure, exercise, dietary modification, action or application of  medication which results from reading or following the information contained in this information.  The publication of this information does not constitute the practice of medicine, and this information does not replace the advice of your physician or other health care provider. Before undertaking any course of treatment, the reader must seek the advice of their physician or other health care provider.