A veggie is a veggie is a veggie, right? Nope! When I visited my nutritionist last year, she told me that I should be using veggies with greater nutritional value to not only help me get the most from what I eat, but also to help me feel more full and thus make weightloss easier. For instance, she suggested that I eat tomatoes in my cottage cheese in the morning instead of cucumbers, which have minimal nutrient value.
Perhaps reading about this from other sources will help us get a better feel for which veggies will help us be more healthy and lose more weight (because they fill us up better than things like iceberg lettuce...). Check out these resources:
http://www.whfoods.com/foodstoc.php?...87072737eb99d1 (has a list of the healthiest foods, including veggies)
http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/search/ (from USDA...incredible, searchable database).
Just to give you an idea, check out this info for Spinach (from the website above) and compare it to this info on iceberg lettuce (put iceberg lettuce in the search box and follow the directions). Think about what a change it would make if you made your salads with baby spinach instead of iceberg!
This explains what the nutrients do and gives examples of where they can be found: http://www.nms.on.ca/Elementary/know_your_nutrients.htm
Don't boil your veggies...it leaches the nutrients out of them into the water! Try microwaving instead. Here's an article from Mayo Clinic on why this is better:
http://www.mayoclinic.com/invoke.cfm...59F410&si=2765