I am someone who spent years - decades - eating pretty much low fat, low calories. Huge portions of veggies have been the backbone of my diet until low carb. I actually restrict my veggie portions now, but it's because I'm capable of eating so many of them, and have for so long.
Salads are an exception - at least the greens part. I am careful of what I put on a salad - the other veggies are pretty skimpy, and I always try to eat salad with dressing (which I make myself, so I know there are no hidden carbs - usually a vinaigrette).
For non-salad veggies I put butter on them, or make sauces - this has been a pretty new thing for me. And I buy almost exclusively very low carb veggies so I don't need to worry about it.
I do eat celery & cauliflower with a homemade blue-cheese ranch dip (made w sour cream). I cut up carrots too for my family but I don't eat the carrots. I eat this frequently but don't let myself go hog wild like I used to.
Managing veggie portions has been new to me - and I don't always succeed (one of the reasons I buy the very low carb veggies, like green beans). The hardest thing for me was tomatoes this summer - having a big platter of organic heirloom tomatoes around and needing to make sure I only ate one at the most... rough. (In summer we often ate a salad of tomatoes and cheese twice a day, each time each of us eating 3+ tomatoes).
I do think the fat at the same time as the veggies helps - both to slow us down (fat makes you feel fuller sooner) and also to balance the impact on blood sugar/insulin that a big bolus of even just veggies can give you.
I have a similar approach with berries (which I again try to eat in moderation) - I eat them w cream or mascarpone not just plain...
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