I am having trouble eating that many veggies!

I drink V8 with breakfast and (as of today) I am adding veggies as my morning snack. I have a salad with lunch. Nuts or something for afternoon snack. I ususally have a salad for dinner and a veggie, but I was told that I wasn't getting enough veggies????


OH HOW OH HOW CAN I EAT MORE???

Wow, looking at your stats, I'd say you're doing something right!!!! You're eating more veggies than I am...I need to pick up the pace!!!
Other than doing some grazing on veggies all day, I don't know how you would get more....Someone with more insight?!?!?

Jenn

Hello, I try to follow this general rule at my meal times: fill at least half of your plate with veggies, about 1/4 cup or so of your complex carb, and a serving of protein approximately the size of a deck of cards or the palm of your hand.
I went to a dietician and she gave me this advice and it really helped me be sensible about what I was eating. It does seem like a lot of veggies, but if you train yourself to follow these proportions, it gets to be normal. Good luck!

Let me give you an example from my dinner last night. I had pork tenderloin, sweet potato (I'm phase 2), brussel sprouts and Sesame Asparagus. Three quarters of my plate or more were vegetables but the sweet potato is a starchy vegetable. I try to fix two vegetables with every dinner and then I have leftovers for lunch.

I eat raw vegetables for one or both snacks each day. I get vegetables with eggs on the weekend for breakfast but normally have fruit with my breakfast during the work week.

I find it helpful to see veggies as a couple of different groups. For instance, dinner might be a piece of fish, a half cup of cous cous, one green veggie and one yellow veggie. Or a salad and a non-green veggie. This has helped me expand my veggie routine to include cauliflower, spaghetti squash, yellow beans, sometimes carrots.

That aside, looks like you are getting quite a few veggies.

Thanks pals!

Sunny, try to think more of veggies instead of salads. Unless your salads consist of mostly broccoli, cauliflower, green beans, tomatoes, etc., they aren't going to do what major veggies will do for you (nutrition and fiber). You know what I mean? If you do have a salad, make it with spinach or spring mix rather than iceberg or romaine lettuce and put lots of chopped veggies on it.

Someone here recommended that I look into vegetarian cookbooks to find veggie side dishes. That helped a lot! I love the turnips and greens dish from Moosewoods' New Classics (I posted it in the recipe forum under Phase 1 side dishes) and it's super healthy!

I had a recipe from Cooking Light that substituted angel hair cabbage (cabbage shredded very fine...you can find it prepackaged by Dole in my area) for shredded lettuce in a sandwich. It was delicious and much more nutritious. I do this often now.

Try making side salads like three-bean salad (with green beans) or broccoli-cheese-bacon salad (both recipes are in the recipe forum). These are easy to toss in a tupperware for a snack or add as a side to a meal. One of the girls on here eats the Overnight Slaw (in SBD cookbook) as part of her breakfast because it's so sweet! I also found a great couple of coleslaw recipes with apples and nuts that are amazing! Great way to get cabbage in your diet, and it's a great cancer-fighting veggie!

Try adding veggies to things you usually made without them. I recently read part of Rachel Ray's low carb cookbook. She says she finds it much easier to just reduce the amount of regular pasta she uses in a dish, increasing veggies instead, than to eat low carb pasta. (yuck! ) That idea works for us too. I made a really great mac and cheese with ham recently, but put a ton of steamed broccoli in it, so there wasn't more than a cup of pasta per person on a big plate. It was delicious! Throw mushrooms, peppers, and onions in your tomato sauce, then put on chicken. Add mushrooms to things. Just get creative!

I agree with Barb too...adding two veggies to your meal, plus a starch, if you are in Phase II, helps you stay full and gives you easy to grab food the next day. (Barb is one wise woman! )

You can do this, Sunny...you are obviously doing a great job already!!!

I did post a thread on creative ways to add veggies a while back...I'll see if I can find it and bump it up for you...

Thanks Laurie

Great ideas ladies! I always find it hard to get my veggies in too. I'm defiantely going to try the cabbage suggestion and try adding more veggies to my ww pasta. I love pasta and I always have a bowl full when i eat it - if veggies are taking up half the bowl that would be so much better. I'll have to think of something other than broccoli though (allergic).
Thanks for the ideas!

I buy frozen (unmarinated, unseasoned) artichoke hearts to throw into any dish. I even use them to top off a pizza with some lf feta..yummy! Buy la choy chop suey vegetables and make egg fu yung! delicious! how about scalloped sweet potatoes? I love sauteed cabbage too with lean sliced pork How about some sf coleslaw? I roast a huge pan of veggies and keep them handy in my fridge. Good both cold and hot. I just buy my favorites either fresh or frozen, toss with some olive oil and sea salt, a dash of rosemary and let them roast in the oven to your desired doneness. Yummy! Zuchinni lasagna or egglplant casserole are wonderful italian suggestions.

Yum AZ Lowcarber!

H, you know what else is great? take a b/s chicken breast, spread on a little ricotta cheese, top with italian seasoning and roll it around some asparagus spears or brocolli spears You can easily cook your veggies on the bbq in foil packets too. Keeps your kitchen clean too

My trick on adding veggies:

whenever I'm making anything with ground meat, I always add finely diced mushrooms, carrots and peppers and sometimes celery and/or zucchini that I've sauteed in a tiny bit of olive oil first.

When serving grilled/baked/broiled chicken or fish, I always serve on a bed of sauteed veggies.

I love grilling up a bunch of veggies on the weekend and have them on hand for the week - wonderful as add-ins to anything, or reheated (or even cold). I usually marinate mine in olive oil, lemon juice, garlic and fresh herbs.

I try to have cut up carrots/celery/peppers at hand at all times along with cherry tomatoes. Great snackers.

When I have something like cereal in the morning (I'm on maintenance now) I always have a small can of V8 (spicy!).

Other things- when ordering at a resaurant, always ask for extra veggies or a salad on the side instead of whatever other side-- they're so accomodating now, I've never been refused.

If I have a grain rich breakfast (like cereal)I try to have my lunch be mostly veggies and lean protein with little grains, and have a balance dinner.

Hope that helps!

Love the Spring Mix salad with a lot of mixed veggies, cauliflower, broccoli, carrots, tomatoes, cucumber, squash and beans. LOL

Morning, you make those veggie cups with egg and spinach, or omelet with chopped veggies.

Great way to get in veggies while eating out:

Go to a Chinese Buffet with a Mongolian BBQ....now, you must have the willpower to resist all the horrible fatty food looking you in the face, but nothing is better, or better for you than crisp tender brocolli and chicken with other veggies done Mongolian style!