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Thoughts on food, health and wellness

Your Mother Was Right - Eat Your Vegetables!

6/26/2015

 
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NEW Delicious & Easy Ways to Enjoy Vegetables


There is a reason our mothers have been echoing their mothers’ for generations with the refrain “Eat your vegetables”, or maybe a more stern “You’re not leaving the table until you eat your vegetables!!!” Well instead of debunking this challenging advice, science continues to reinforce the need for a plant based diet all around. Mainstream food manufacturers are happy to tell us French fries with our hamburger are a serving, or the tomato sauce on your pizza is a serving. Sorry to disappoint you, but neither of these qualify. We’re talking broccoli, asparagus, leafy greens of all sorts and every fresh or frozen vegetable you can think of. 

From a health standpoint, vegetables are an unbeatable food: naturally nutrient-rich; better tasting than a vitamin pill; low in calories; high in fibre and packed with disease-fighting phytonutrients. All types of vegetables can be nourishing and delicious – fresh, frozen, canned and juiced.

To maximize your health with vegetables, nutrition experts suggest at least 5-10 servings per day – but why stop there? With so many ways to enjoy spring-time goodness, you could easily eat vegetables at breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks.  In fact that’s the only way you’re going to get all those servings (I prefer 8-10) eaten in a day, every day. Eat them first in your meal, before you fill up on starches and proteins.

Here are a dozen daily ways to treat yourself to good health!

  • Asparagus: Saute in olive oil with garlic and a hit of lemon zest for a refreshing and seasonal dish. Roasted asparagus is a great finger food for snacking on!
  • Broccoli and cauliflower: Versatile and very healthful – eat them raw (with dip if you like) or cooked, in a salad or even a slaw.
  • Carrots: Sweet, crunchy, good for your teeth, eyes and heart! Perfect raw (as a snack or salad) or cooked in a stew.
  •  Peppers: Green, red, yellow, orange or even purple!  Enjoy peppers in a salad, stir-fry, or casserole or as a snack.
  • Spinach: A salad of baby spinach leaves with pears or apples can turn anyone into a real spinach lover.
  • Onions: The zesty onion family (scallions, leeks and garlic, too!) offer some powerful antioxidant nutrients.
  • Peas: Fresh, frozen or even canned, peas are a treat to eat and they are very popular with small children.
  • Beets: If you’ve never liked beets, try them in a new way – like roasted, grilled or lightly steamed in the microwave.  They increase inflammation-fighting nitric oxide. 
  • Mushrooms: Just a mushroom or two adds rich flavor to a casserole, soup, stew, stir-fry or even a tossed green salad.
  •  Leaf and romaine lettuce: Rule of thumb for a healthy salad – the darker green or red the lettuce leaves, the more nutrients you get.
  •  Green, yellow or purple beans: Like their pea ‘cousins,’ beans offer some fibre and a little bit of protein, along with vitamins and minerals.
  •  Tomatoes: Cooking increases the availability of some tomato nutrients – so enjoy canned sauce, paste and chunks.

Many people don't eat vegetables until dinner. Make a commitment to your health - Check off the new ways you want to try to enjoy more veggies during the day:

I can add vegetables at breakfast by:

□ Adding vegetables like spinach, zucchini, broccoli, mushrooms, onion, green or red peppers to an omelet

I can add vegetables at lunch and snack by:

□ adding leafy greens, cucumber, or peppers to sandwiches

□ adding different vegetables to a green salad, like broccoli, green beans, asparagus or peas, grated carrot, green onion, celery

□ adding a bag of sugar snap peas, carrots, peppers, celery and/or zucchini sticks to my snack

□ adding extra vegetables to soup. You can pile a whole lot of greens in there and they cook down nicely.

□ choosing kale chips or nori instead of potato chips

Be adventurous, try something new and always think of eating a rainbow every day.

To your best health! 


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    Tanya Sullivan is a Holistic Nutrition Consultant with many opinions on the state of our food and health.

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The entire contents of this website are based upon the opinions of Tanya Sullivan C.H.N.C. Please note that Tanya Sullivan C.H.N.C. is not a dietitian, physician, pharmacist or other licensed healthcare professional. The information on this website is NOT intended as medical advice, nor is it intended to replace the care of a qualified health care professional. This content is not intended to diagnose or treat any diseases. Always consult with your primary care physician or licensed healthcare provider for all diagnosis and treatment of any diseases or conditions, for medications or medical advice as well as before changing your health care regimen.
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