Eat Your Veggies! + A Giveaway!

Congratulations to our book winner,
Christy Troxell-Thomasgreen and red healthy food

Veggies are so awesome that even though they?re complex carbs, we?ve given them their very own group in carb cycling! In fact, you can eat 2 handfuls of non-root/non-starchy type veggies with every. single. meal. 🙂

So why do veggies deserve such a distinction? They are packed with vitamins, minerals, and fiber, and have amazing health benefits:

Veggies pretty much nourish every part of your body! And one of their main benefits? They are so low in calories that you can fill up with veggies without even making hardly a dent in your daily calorie bank account. Try doing that with any other food group!

I?m often asked about fresh vs. frozen vs. canned veggies. While fresh, in season veggies are best, frozen and canned are great alternatives because fresh veggies start to lose their nutrients within days. Since the frozen and canned variety are picked and then processed at their peak, they continue to hold the majority of their nutrients for an extended period of time. Processing actually increases the lycopene found in tomatoes, which protects you against heart disease and even some cancers. And what?s the best part about choosing frozen or canned veggies? They allow you to eat your favorites year-round! They?re also quick and easy to prepare, and you?ll save money because you?ll throw away less due to spoilage. Just be sure to choose no sugar and low or no salt added varieties.

Since most people consume only about half of the recommended servings of veggies each day, here are some ideas to help you add more of these nutritional necessities into your diet:

  • Add a handful of spinach to your smoothie. You won?t even know it?s there!
  • Buy pre-washed bags of salad.
  • Pre-package your own veggies for a healthy, on-the-go snack.
  • Add veggies to sandwiches and soups.
  • Choose to snack on veggies instead of other not-so-healthy options.
  • Get creative?try something new! You might discover a new favorite. 😉
  • Make sure your veggies are colorful!
  • Just gotta? have ranch dip with your veggies? Try this healthier version: 1) Mix together equal parts each of onion powder, dried dill, and garlic powder. 2) Mix in three times the amount used for the ingredients in step 1 (if you used 1 tablespoon for step 1, use 3 tablespoons in this step) of dried parsley. 3) Add sea salt and pepper taste. 4) Add this mix (to taste) to plain nonfat Greek yogurt and enjoy!

What creative things do you do to incorporate more veggies into your day? Share your ideas in the comments below. Winner of the?autographed copy of Chris? book, Choose to Lose?was chosen randomly and announced on Friday, March 14, 2014.

Now go eat your veggies! 🙂

142 Responses

  1. I have to say I’m not the best at eating my veggies thru out the day. But when it comes to dinner I load up on veggies love stirf frys, soups, or just steaming a little to go with a chicken. Would love more ideas on how to had some to my daily diet.

  2. I trade our spaghetti squash for spaghetti, my “meatloaf” is 50% pur?ed veggies and I love veggie sandwiches 🙂

  3. I can’t live without frozen chopped kale (or spinach.) I put it in everything. Smoothies, soups, sauces. Most of the time I just heat it up on the stove with a little garlic and that’s it. If I’m out of fresh greens for salad, it’s perfect!

  4. I have my veggies every day for lunch with hummus. Another way is I add a number of veggies to make a quinoa salad to have for supper with chicken or I make a salsa to add to chicken also with a little cheese and put in the oven. Thanks.

  5. I make roll ups to snack on. Turkey slice filled with spinach, romaine, bell peppers, cucumbers and banana peppers. Protein, low calorie, convenient and taste great!

  6. I love my Nutribullet that can turn any vegetable into a delicious drink….I like spinach or kale with pineapple/strawberries, flax seeds and Bode Vanilla Ice Cream protein/water and ice.

  7. My husband works at a movie theatre and so we see a lot of movies. A lot. I like to bring a bag of sliced peppers or carrots to keep me busy instead of that big tub o’buttah. By the end of the movie- boom! A whole bag of veggies gone. My wallet- and my jeans are happy happy happy.

  8. I am a big dip person so I swapped out my norms for homemade hummus with peppers, carrots, celery.. I also love to snack on PB and apples at work. Yummmmmmo!

  9. Since i have my very own DayCare, I encourage healthy habbits
    And so, fruits and veggies are always on my menu and with kids I have to make
    Food fun so i make designs with their snacks or sometimes when i make a big veggie
    Soup ill add magic beans (red kidney beans) the kids love it and i sure love what it does to my body 🙂

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