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Jul
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Broccoli, cauliflower, Collared Greens, Asparagus, Kale. Yum!…ya right.
If you are anything like me, you may have never developed a craving for veggies. When I was pre-teen I can remember disliking vegetables with a passion. My mother would “order” me to eat them. I couldn’t leave the dinner table unless I cleared my plate. I would resort to many skillful tactics to avoid consuming veggies. I often fed them to the dog…thank god he ate them. Particularly Brussell sprouts. I could barely stomach them and I would chuckle when “snoopy” ate them because I couldn’t believe he could tolerate them. Other times I would wait until my parents went to the kitchen to do the dishes and when they weren’t looking, I would put the veggies in my mouth and chew them briefly them spit them into a napkin, fold them up and drop em in the trash en route to unloading my plate to be washed. Of course I also did the ol’ hold my nostrils shut while I chewed and quickly swallowed my with a big sip of water along with my veggies. For some reason or another my mother would also buy frozen veggies which to me were even less appealing.
I really hated vegetables and I couldn’t understand why my mom was so adamant about me eating them. She really worked hard to discipline me to eat them but I’m sorry to say ma, your efforts were falling on deaf ears. Even my brother resorted to them same tactics as I did.
As a responsible adult however, I really make a strong effort to eat veggies…at least 5 servings a day. Guess what? I still don’t like them. I still hate brussell sprouts and I can’t really stomach green beans. But I now make a very strong conscious effort to consume them. Not the brussell sprouts or green beans (because I still can’t stomach them) but a big variety of other fiberous veggies. Its just a matter of my health being one of my top priorities in my life.
The veggies that I consume on a daily basis:
- Collard greens
- Broccoli
- Kale
- Mustard greens
- Cauliflower
- Cabbage
- Swiss Chard
- Red Leaf Lettuce
Do I like any of these veggies? Not particularly. The only one I can somewhat tolerate is cauliflower. However, because I am aware of the importance of veggies to a healthful diet rich in anti oxidants, fiber, minerals, and phyto-nutrients, I make it a priority to eat them daily. The only way I am able to do this however is that I have discovered ways to tolerate them.
For example, and you may think this sounds crazy, but I mix broccoli and cauliflower in with my steel cut oatmeal.
Here’s how.
From the recommendation of my good friend Danny (a self proclaimed chef) a few years ago I purchased a Zyliss food chopper for $20.00. I bought it at “The Kitchen Store” located in the Belz Factory outlet mall on S. Las Vegas Blvd. I love this thing. It dices veggies within 5 seconds. All it takes is a few pounds of my hand to chop the veggies into tiny little (tolerable) pieces. I then stir the “fist size” serving of minced broccoli and cauliflower into a serving of Steel Cut Oatmeal. The taste of the oatmeal is strong than the minced veggies. This is how I can tolerate two large servings of those RAW veggies in one meal. I couldn’t eat them outright on their own that’s for sure.
Here is another example:
For lunch, I eat a huge salad that is loaded with fiberous veggies. It includes minced Collard greens, Kale, Mustard greens, Cabbage, Swiss Chard, and chopped Red Leaf Lettuce as my filler. After mixing them all in a huge bowl, I separate the salad into portion sizes of separate Tupperware containers. When I am ready to eat a serving, I then add Balsamic vinegar and oil. This is really the only way I can tolerate all those greens. Again, the dressing masks the nasty taste of all those greens.
But look! I just consumed 4 of the 5 recommended servings of veggies for the day and I did this all by lunchtime. As you can see I have found ways that I can tolerate my veggies and get the nutrients I need for optimum health.
In order for you to be successful with the RealResults 12 week Eating plan here is the main key: You must commit to eating no less than 5 servings of RAW “Rougage/fiberous” veggies every day. This is not an easy task. I know this from personal experience and from looking at our clients food logs every day. But this is how it works and that’s just the way it is. Fiber is one of the big keys to weight loss. I didn’t make up this rule…it’s just the truth.