I will admit this publicly. Maybe I shouldn’t. You might be shocked.
But I’m semi-horrified when someone tells me they don’t eat veggies or don’t like them.
I’m like… “What did your mother DO to you??”
Oh, I get it. As parents we do try. I had one son who never really got into the veggie thing even though I fed him assortments of veggies as an infant (even then he wasn’t crazy over them) he has select ones he eats now, but at least he eats them.
As my kids grew up I made sure to present them with all varieties of food. I wanted them to at least try it before pronouncing they didn’t like it. I wasn’t a member of the “clean your plate” club like I grew up in but they did need to sample it.
My Mom used to delight in telling a story how I wanted scrambled eggs for breakfast but then changed my mind and didn’t want to eat them. When I stubbornly refused ( ah I was a bit head strong even then 😉 ) she evidently kept them around….
All. day. long.
They made an appearance at lunch… to which I refused to eat them… they were again brought out later.
Isn’t that child abuse or something ?! I had to take her word for it as I guess the trauma of having to see eggs that were becoming older and older by the moment was somehow blocked from my mind.
It’s a miracle I still eat eggs.
Needless to say, I didn’t grow up being allowed to be a picky eater and I was offered a wide variety of foods. It’s pretty much how my kids have been raised.
So when I’m confronted with the revelation someone doesn’t eat them ( more common than you may know) I’m honestly floored.
Upon deeper probing sometimes that person reveals that the only veggies they may have known come from a can or they would be so steamed/overcooked by mom they turned into mush.
ok… well maybe then I’d be down on veggies too. I’ve been in numerous buffet or banquet lines where the veggies in the pan were loose memories of what they used to be.
But beautiful, colorful, fresh produce?
Crisp green veggies perfectly steamed or better yet, roasted? There is no comparison in how delicious they are.
Roasting veggies has to be by far, my favorite way to cook and eat them.
I can eat my body weight in roasted veggies. You think I’m joking….
Roasting is such a simple quick way to prepare them while not killing off the nutritional value. I usually use some olive oil, lots of cracked pepper and some sea salt. Roast at about 450 and stir occasionally to let them crisp up.
Pure. Heaven.
Ok I’m giving you a cheat sheet for common ones so you have no excuse to not try them 😉
Ok maybe you like steamed. Some veggies are lovely when steamed till crisp tender. Steaming also helps retain all of the vitamins and minerals present in them.
And to help you out… here’s a short list of steaming, boiling, and for the always handy micro 😉
And for the record, all of those will roast up quite nicely too.
One of my favorite roasted combos is sweet potatoes and brussel sprouts.
Ok… stop turning up your nose and making gagging noises. I hear you.
Seriously, I’ve turned my kids into brussel sprout eaters by roasting them. If the only memories you have are of Sunday dinner and grandma cooking the life out of them and watching them roll around your plate…well.. leave those memories behind and get in the here and now.
The sweetness of the potatoes blends so wonderfully with the sprouts… yummy. Let them cook long enough to get crispy with the potatoes.
I have some friends who chop up a little bacon and cook them together. Now if you go this route be mindful your also adding additional fat to otherwise healthy veggies…but it is really good 😉
Roasted cauliflower is another favorite. In fact, I have to watch myself ’cause I’ll just nibble at it while I’m finishing dinner then wonder.. “didn’t I make more of this?” haha
It’s another kid favorite too. I’ve now gone to making two heads when I do it to ensure everyone can have what they want. Not only that, leftovers make great additions to my salad lunch the next day.
Ok maybe now I should try and sell you on WHY you should be consuming vast quantities of these.
Keep in mind, this is no where near a comprehensive chart.
Veggies not only fill you up for minimal calories, they deliver incredible health benefits to your body in the way of vitamins and minerals.
They can help protect/prevent many diseases. You can eat wheelbarrow loads of them and not worry about calories.
They do amazing things for your skin, hair, and many offer anti-aging benefits as well as help keep you lean.
A diet high in veggies/fruits also ensures that your internal systems all work regularly and properly.
Eating plenty of veggies also gives you energy and keeps you from that sluggish feeling of to many higher carb foods in a meal.
Listen to me. Just eat your veggies.
Your body wants them. Your health will improve with them. It will help you lose weight. It will help with the appearance of your skin and hair. Oh yeah, and remember me mentioning many have anti-aging properties?
How many reasons do you need to eat them? All you need to do is be willing to be open to try some new things and experiment. If you make a valiant effort with something you don’t like, move on to the next one.
Has it ever made you wonder why there are sooooo many veggies and fruits? It’s because we were made to eat a whole lot of them AND they are amazingly good for us!
Do you have favorite veggies? How do you cook them? Share your veggie tales with me 😉
sassyfitnesschick 