Vegetables... from yuck to yum!

Recently, I made a life decision that forced me to start thinking about my vegetable intake. The decision, I became a vegetarian! I have loved the choice I made, but it required me to take a serious look at what I was consuming on a daily basis. In the past, I packed all my vegetables for the day into dinner. Whether it was one serving or four, I rarely ate vegetables other than at night (I am not counting the lettuce on my sandwich at lunch… iceberg lettuce is basically water anyway). When I chose to cut out meat, I was all of a sudden presented with a predicament… what do I eat now?!

For most of us, we were raised around meat based meals. My families typical meal consisted of a meat (usually chicken or pork), a starch (potatoes or rice) and a vegetable. When I cooked, I based all meals on the meat I was serving. When I decided to become a vegetarian, I was forced to look at meals differently. Meat was no longer the centerpiece, vegetables were.

Of all food categories, we need vegetables the most. They consist of the most vitamins and nutrients the body needs. It is no surprise that vegetarians tend to be healthier people. They eat considerably more vegetables than meat eaters. Vegetarians are forced to constantly think about what they are putting in their bodies. Am I getting enough protein? Does this meal have the nutrients my body needs? What goes with a potato that doesn’t come from an animal? As meat eaters, we take all these questions for granted. We robotically make ourselves a deli sandwich for lunch and meat and potatoes for dinner. But what about the vegetables?

Whether you are a staunch red meat eater or a chicken lover, start thinking about your meals from a vegetarian’s perspective. Think about what vegetables you are going to cook before you consider your meat. Make a meal around squash, peppers, and mushrooms instead of steak. According to the food pyramid, people need to have 3-5 servings of vegetables a day. Most people eat around one or two… and many don’t eat any at all. If you begin to build your meals around vegetables, you are guaranteed to get your 3-5 servings, not to mention more of the vitamins and nutrients your body needs.

Take this week and make a commitment to eat your veggies first… then add a meat. You might find you feel healthier, have more energy, and actually like vegetables (brussel sprouts are actually good), because roasted or raw, vegetables really are the best thing on the menu.

Need some motivation?? Every week, I try to cook two new dishes for my family (I am trying to build up my library of vegetarian recipes) and they are all veggie packed. Check out the recipes I picked out for this week!