Johns Hopkins Health Alert
How To Eat More Veggies
The latest food pyramid recommends that you eat 2-4 cups of vegetables a day (the exact amount depends on your age, gender, and activity level). But that's not always an easy task. Here, then, are some ideas from the experts on how to get your vegetables -- and enjoy them, too.
Sneaking In Your Vegetables
- Pile vegetables onto your sandwiches. Don't stop at lettuce and tomato. You can also add cucumbers, shredded carrots, or peppers, to name a few.
- Hide the vegetables. If you're not a vegetable fan, try adding vegetables to other dishes to hide their flavor. Purée cooked vegetables such as potatoes and add them to stews, soups, and gravies to make them thicker. Add shredded carrots or zucchini to meatloaf, casseroles, muffins, and breads, and chopped broccoli, mushrooms, or green beans to tomato sauce. Use spinach in lasagna instead of meat. Top pizza with mushrooms, peppers, and other vegetables, and load egg dishes such as omelettes and frittatas with sautéed vegetables.
Mix up your cooking routine.
- Try stir-frying or sautéing vegetables, grilling them on skewers or in tin foil, or roasting, baking, or lightly steaming them (to retain their crunch and nutritional wallop).
- Or try stuffing your vegetable. Load a baked potato with some broccoli and low-fat cheese or some tomato sauce, chopped spinach, and part-skim mozzarella; then broil, bake, or microwave until it bubbles. The same goes for a red or green pepper -- fill with lentils or rice and beans and cook.
- Add some flavor. Healthy fats such as olive or peanut oil lightly drizzled over vegetables or in a stir-fry can make them much tastier, as can herbs and spices like basil, tarragon, and oregano.
- Also consider sauces and dips for your vegetables; just make sure they're low in saturated fat. Good options include salsa, hummus, and low- fat yogurt dips.
- Make vegetables the main dish. Plan your meal around a salad, soup, or vegetable stir fry. Add small servings of other foods -- lean meat or poultry or low-fat dairy products -- as side dishes.
Posted in Nutrition and Weight Control on April 8, 2009
Medical Disclaimer: This information is not intended to substitute for the advice of a physician. Click here for additional information: Johns Hopkins Health Alerts Disclaimer
Notify Me
Would you like us to inform you when we post new Nutrition and Weight Control Health Alerts?
Comments
Health Alerts registered users may post comments and share experiences here at their own discretion. We regret that questions on individual health concerns to the Johns Hopkins editors cannot be answered in this space.
The views expressed here do not constitute medical advice, and do not represent the position of Johns Hopkins Medicine or Remedy Health Media, LLC, which has no responsibility for any comments posted on this site.
I ran across a recommendation made by Dr. Mehmet Oz regarding fruits and vegetables in the diet. Although it sounded simple at first, I realized there was a lot of wisdom in it. He simply said: "Make half of every meal fruits and vegetables."
For those people trying to follow institutional guidelines and recommendations regarding weight loss, this trick does it all when it comes to reducing caloric intake.
Posted by: heartMonitron | February 13, 2010 5:57 AM
Post a Comment
Already a subscriber?
Login
New to Johns Hopkins Health Alerts?
I reciently recieved an e-mail that talked about using Asparagus, green or cooked, to fight Cancer. Cook if not already cooked, and place in a blender. Liquefy to make a Puree, store in a refrigerator. Give the cancer patient 4 (four) Tablespoonfulls, twice (2 times) daily. Can be diluted with water, added to drinks, added to soups etc. Since it is a vegie, extra helpings will not hurt. This is said to cure Cancer!!! The inharent Protein Histone is believed to inhibit cancer cell growth. See "Cancer News Journal" for Dec 1979.
Posted by: Ripperr | April 11, 2009 4:17 PM