VEGGIE TIME
One of the most common things that comes up when I’m working with new clients about their diet is played out in the little scenario below:
me – “so, how many vegetables are you eating daily?”
super excited new client – “I eat a ton of veggies every day!”
me – “okay great! give me an example”
client – “well, I can’t think of any off the top of my head, but… I normally have mashed potatoes with dinner! And I LOVE french fries…”
And then it normally ends up with us finding out they eat a severe lack of veggies. Veggies are literally one of the most important things you SHOULD be eating but probably aren’t eating enough of.
Daily recommended totals for green veggies are roughly 2-3 cups per day, which honestly I find pretty low, and for people who make it a priority will end up eating plenty more than that.
There are two HUGE benefits of eating raw veggies, one that I espouse to everyone who will listen to me:
- The more green you eat, the more full you feel, and the less garbage you’ll put in your mouth
- Eating green veg helps you have healthy poops
We aren’t even worrying about all of the additional scientifically documented health benefits (reduce chance of stroke/heart disease, may protect against certain types of cancer, fights diabetes and obesity, lower blood pressure, etc, etc, etc…).
There are a few tricks you can do to help you increase your daily veggie intake. You can easily implement these TODAY and start seeing benefits in how you feel almost overnight.
First – start your day with David’s Green Smoothie. I talk about this constantly, but it’s worked for me and so many of our clients, that I gotta keep pounding it home. A green smoothie in the morning (or whenever you can fit it in) is the perfect “level 1” way to get your body used to eating more veggies.
Second – one of your meals each day ALWAYS has a side of green veggies with it. This could be a salad. It could be some cut up raw cucumbers/peppers/etc, or you could even do a microwave steamer bag of veggies, which, while not as good as raw veg, is still great for you!
Third – put chopped veggies into everything you make. This might sound silly, but pretty much any recipe you make you can add veggies to. Sloppy joes? Tossed green/red/yellow peppers in and onion. Spaghetti? Add the same veg into your sauce. Soup? Cut up literally whatever veg you want and put it in there. You gotta get creative, but the health benefits are worth it I promise!
And lastly, when it comes to veggies I often use this example when talking to people who have recently changed their diets or eating habits and might be struggling with cravings or feeling hungry:
“If you’re hungry, like actual ‘my stomach hurts and I’m starving’ hungry, you’ll eat a plate of raw uncooked veggies. If you won’t eat that, you’re not hungry… you’re CRAVING something.”
Eat your veg and have a great day!