I've been on the SBD for a little over a week now, and have successfully been avoiding all the foods I need to avoid and only eating approved foods. However, I've been finding it difficult to eat a lot of vegetables, so my diet has consisted mainly of lean meats and dairy products. I don't really like to eat salads too often. So I'm just wondering if you guys have any creative tips on how to incorporate all those veggies into your diet without eating salad all day every day.
Low sodium V8 here (I get the spicy hot for flavor.) Also, there are a ton of recipes to make your veggies tasty on this forum. Some nights the majority of my dinner is veggie (stuffed baby bellas with green beans and salad, for example.) Lots of recipes that sneak in veggies as well. Browse!
You can pack a lot of veggie servings into soups and casseroles. Put veggies in anything you can think of - chili, spaghetti sauce, etc. Rethink breakfast - instead of eggs, have some dinner leftovers that include veggies or a turkey wrap with lots of spinach in it (phase II if you use a ww tortilla) - green smoothies too! I find I do better if I get an early start.
I've been juicing spinach, parsley, celery and cucumbers. (Maybe I'm not getting all of the fiber, but I find it very filling and at least I'm getting the nutrients!) I treat this as a snack/salad. For lunch or dinner, I'll eat one head of steamed broccoli or cauliflower along with steamed chicken (my go-to protein). As long as I add enough spices, I actually enjoy it.
I also got into making kale chips -- making a full head of kale per batch. I used the recipe from Melissa Clark of the New York Times (I can't post the link because I'm a newbie to 3FC). I don't know if there are any nutrients left after baking these to a crisp(!), and I'm a bit concerned about my salt intake, but they are very satisfying.
I love vegetables (almost all of them) - so I have them with every meal or as a snack. In the morning I usually add them to my omelett. I made one with broccoli, ham and a little bit of feta and it tastes great.
If I have meat (chicken or steak) I eat a salad and/or veggies with it. Often some green beans. I like to cook an onion in a little bit of oil and add the frozen beans untill they are cooked.
If you make any kind of stew or soup you can easily add veggies. For instance I made a chilli and added some pepper and an eggplant.
For the times when I don't have a lot of time to cook I always have bags of frozen vegetables that can easily be cooked in the microwave.
My go to snack this past week has been raw veggies (cucumber, peppers, celery) with a light dip.
Every week I buy a thing of pre-washed organic baby spinach. I throw it in my smoothies, in soups, in pasta, in stir-frys, in eggs -- it fits so well into so many things!
I also make a veggie soup every sunday to have with my lunches during the week which fills me up and gets a veggie punch in.
Thanks for all the ideas, ladies! I'm going to try making a big pot of veggie soup on my day off to eat throughout the week, and may also give V8 juice a try... how bad can it be?
I've been having this same problem lately. I drink a large glass of V8 daily and that gets me 2 veggies but not very fiber rich. I love a good salad & can usually get 3 servings that way but when its cold....kinda hard to get excited for salad. I'm thinking I need to wash up some celery for snacking on w Laughing Cow and make some soup w veggies.
Also in winter when its cold out spinach is one of my fave veggies...I like it sauteed with garlic in just a little EVO...cooks up fast & tastes great.
I am like shelflife I buy a thing of baby spinach. I use it with everything, I add some to my turkey rollups, lettuce wraps, soups, and even with my eggs. I make a bean chili or a veggie soup once a week to use with lunches and that helps as well. At first I had a hard time too but I started reading all the post here and thinking outside the box.
I usually get a vegetable that I like and I change them up every week say for instance I love cauliflower so I boil it, mash them like mash potatoes, soup or I eat it raw. Me I do not like v8 or tomato juice but I will eat a tomato raw thats how I get my veggies in. Dont be afraid to try new things. You never know what you might like
Roasted veggies are a favorite around here. two of us can often eat an entire head of cabbage or cauliflower if it's roasted. The cauliflower alfredo is another really easy way to get veggies in. I actually like it on spinach, kind of a cheesy creamed spinach.
As others have said, soups are an easy way to squeeze more veggies in too. I toss all kinds of things in soups and in pasta sauce. I hated eggplant most of my life but discovered I could chop it really small, saute and add to sauce and tomato based stews and it would just disappear after crockpot cooking.
It's really important to mix your veggies up. 4 cups of lettuce just won't do it, you won't be full or get the nutrients or fiber you need.
Waistingtime--- those green bean fries sound great! May I ask how you make them?
I think there might be a recipe on here for them with a wasabi sauce. But I'll tell you how I do it.
I preheat the oven to 450. Then I preheat a sheet pan for about 10 minutes. Spray with olive oil. Add green beans. Spray beans with olive oil. Salt and pepper to taste. I roast them about 15-20 minutes, stirring a few times. I like them when there is some brownness to some of them. They will not be crispy, like fries. But I eat them with my fingers.
I prefer to use fresh, thin green beans. I've been buying mine at Costco lately. But you can also use frozen green beans if you use the thin whole version. You might need to adjust the cooking time.
How do y'all get your 4+ servings of veggies?
