8 Veggies A Day

The next month I upped it to two servings of vegetables a day. And then my dear sweet sister-in-law whom I adore introduced me to a podcast which talked about having EIGHT to NINE servings of vegetables a day!!! I thought, "WHAT?!?! How in the world?!?! I can barely do two, let alone NINE!!! I would be too full. That sounds expensive. I would be cooking all day. What do you eat? A salad for every meal?" And all the excuses started to roll in.

Do you eat a serving of vegetables everyday? No, potatoes (fries) don't count. Or do you mostly consist on grains and dairy and/or meat? That was me at the beginning of the year and I decided to start small and just have one serving of vegetables a day. Just ONE. It can't be that hard, right? I couldn't believe how difficult it actually was. I think it took me a month of consciously trying before I was able to manage it.

But guess what, you don't have to start at eight servings a day. Start where you are. I love that phrase. I have been using it a ton. Like, every time I go to write a blog post and think of how incompetent I am. I have to remind myself, Start where you are.

Thankfully there are some great reasons behind eating so many vegetables a day. One of my favorite is that for every serving of fruit or vegetables we eat, the risk of all-cause mortality goes down five percent! That is a good enough reason for me to pick the apple over the pretzels. Vegetables can also help reduce diabetes risk, cardiovascular disease, autoimmune disease, osteoporosis, cancer and obesity. There was even a study done that pretty much said the more fruit and vegetables you eat, the less risk of depression! It pretty much makes your life better in every way to eat more vegetables.

And don't feel like you are stuck eating a salad for every meal. Or eating a vegetable you don't like for the sake of being healthy. There is a huge variety of fruits and vegetables out there and half the fun is trying new ones or new ways of cooking to see what you like best. I personally LOVE Brussels sprouts, though my husband is not a big fan. On the flip side, he can eat green bell peppers raw and the flavor is just too strong for me. My mom thinks that boiled okra is disgusting so we roast them instead.

Try different flavors with your veggies. We love Mexican food but I recently found a Pakistani dish that uses seasonings I never would have thought to use and it is DELICIOUS!!

Fruit counts too!! We all know berries are great for you and are lower in sugar than other fruit so it is a win-win!

What makes a serving?

The World Health Organization defines a serving as 80 grams raw, or just shy of 3 ounces. This comes out to roughly 1 cup raw vegetables, 1/2 cup cooked vegetables, a medium fruit or 2 cups for leafy greens.

Some ways I have added veggies to my diet

• I will cut up and saute an onion with either Brussels sprouts, spinach, or kale, with some eggs in the morning. This starts the day with about 3 servings of veggies!
• Having cooked or raw veggies on hand to snack on like carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, green beans. I have made a deal with my kids that they can have a peanut butter and honey sandwich for lunch as long as they pick out two veggies to go with it.
• Having some dip increases children’s likelihood of eating veggies too.
• Having them already cooked makes them more accessible as well as more appealing, in my opinion. Plus it gives a chance to add some healthy fats, so slather on that grass-fed butter!
• I add avocado to just about EVERYTHING!! And 1/3 of a medium avocado counts as a serving so it is an easy way to add a serving of vegetables. (Side note, my father’s heart doctor just told him to eat more avocado as it helps with circulation. Finally! Doctors are catching up to food being a healing medicine!)
• I also add a handful of lettuce/spinach/spring mix to most savory foods as well. Even spaghetti. It isn’t really a ‘salad’ per se but just a way to eat greens while eating something else and not having just leaves in my mouth but still eating them.
• I LOVE Stuffed Sweet potatoes. I will be doing a recipe on that soon because we have it so often and it is super tasty and pretty easy to make. You basically stuff a sweet potato like a regular baked potato but with a twist.
• Obviously smoothies are a great way to sneak in veggies without feeling like you are eating them. A giant handful of spinach blends in without any flavor, in my opinion. I have heard that celery blends in well but that vegetable is nasty so I won’t be trying it but if you want I won’t stop you.

• You can get adventurous and switch out foods too. Cauliflower has to be the most diverse and can be made into just about anything. Mashed potatoes, rice, mac and cheese, pizza crust, sauce bases, risotto, tots. I usually do zucchini noodles for our spaghetti. Spaghetti squash has been around longer and might be more acceptable to some. It makes a great base for a burrito bowl. Cabbage leaves can be used as cooked wraps. Get creative and try those recipes!

We all know that we need to eat more vegetables. I don't think we realize how much we need them but also how easy it is when we put in a little effort. Aim for at least five servings but upwards of eight or nine is best. But if you have to start at one and work up that is fine! Your body will thank you for your effort. And your future self and your family will too.