Integrating Vegetables into your Diet: Quick and Easy Recipes
Posted by Ellen · April 25th, 2008
I have a close personal friend who is very much into his body image. He lifts weights at least two hours each day, is extremely lean and has very large, defined muscles. To maintain this shape, he consumes 200 grams of protein each day (1 gram per pound of body weight). This is a combination of animal protein and soy protein found in protein shakes. He eats a small amount of fruit (in his protein shake) and typically has a starch like pasta with each meal. He does not eat vegetables, except salad every once in a while.
Recently, Mr. Lean Body took a blood test for a life insurance exam, and his blood results came back all out of whack. His bad cholesterol was too high, his good cholesterol was too low, and a few of his other panels were out of range. He took his results to his physician, and she directly told him that he needs to reduce his protein intake and up his vegetable intake for the rest of his life. It was then that I received an email asking for help with easy, delicious vegetable recipes. This is what I told him:
1. Baked Sweet Potato with salt/pepper, butter, and a little bit of sour cream. You can bake them in the microwave, one at a time until soft, or all together in the oven, wrapped in foil. Poke holes in it with a fork before cooking.
2. Cut sweet potato into thin slices, toss the slices in a bowl with olive oil, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Arrange on a baking pan with foil and broil. Turn them over with a fork when the slices get brown and crispy.
3. Broccoli- Place in a bowl with a bit of water and steam in the microwave. Be careful not to cook too long. Season with salt, pepper, butter, and lemon juice.
4. Buy the washed fresh spinach leaves in the bag, pour the spinach leaves in a saute pan, and add a little olive oil, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Saute until limp and add lemon juice at the end.
5. Peel long carrots, trim off the ends, spray or brush on just a tad of olive oil, salt, and pepper. Broil until soft and slightly brown.
6. You can do the same as the carrots with zucchini, yellow squash, and red and yellow bell pepper. Slice it long ways to make strips and broil with olive oil and salt and pepper. Watch the zucchini and squash, because you don’t want them to get too soft.
7. Asparagus tastes great either cooked in a saute pan with olive oil or salt and pepper. When it is done, squeeze on some lemon juice or do it in the broiler and watch them super close because asparagus needs to come out of the oven, when it is still firm. Take it off the hot pan immediately, or it will continue to cook and become soft.
8. Acorn Squash- Slice open and scoop out the seeds. Place both halves face down in about 1/4 inch water and microwave for about 10-11 minutes until soft. Add butter, salt, and pepper. If you want to get the kids to eat it, drizzle a little maple syrup over theirs, and they might lap it up.
9. Corn on the cob- Cook them one at a time in the microwave inside the husks for 2 minutes each or boil them the old fashioned way. Add butter, salt, and pepper.
10. Green beans- The easiest way to cook these is to find the cut, washed green beans sealed in the bag and poke a few holes in the bag with a fork and microwave. Bring them out and put in a bowl, adding butter, salt, and pepper. If you can’t find the one’s in a bag, you have to wash them an trim off the ends and steam them in a pan with the lid on to get them soft.
11. Greek Green Beans- Cook green beans in tomato sauce with onion, garlic, salt, and pepper until soft.
12. Fresh basil, tomato, and mozzarella with salt, pepper, oil, and vinegar (red wine or balsamic).
12. Cucumber, tomato, and feta cheese with salt, pepper, oil and vinegar.
13. New potatoes roasted (can either broil or bake) with oil olive, salt, pepper, and fresh rosemary.
14. This is not just a vegetable, but it is a delicious healthy meal. Black Bean concoction- Layer black beans, brown rice, jalapenos, chopped fresh tomatoes, corn, cheese, salsa, and a bit of sour cream, and if you want to add protein, add chicken or ground turkey.
Adding these nutrient-rich foods to your diet will not only improve your blood work, but they will improve how you feel and give you a lot more energy. A simple rule of thumb to follow is the richer and darker the color of the vegetable, the more nutrients it has. I can personally attest to the great taste of these simple recipes, as I cook them each and every week in my own home. Good luck with your quest to add more vegetables to your diet!
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Tags: Diet, Health | Posted in Life and Learning |
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