Interesting Ways to Eat your Veggies!
We all know that vegetables are very good for our health. They contain various nutrients that carry out vital functions in our bodies and are yummy to taste. But in spite of knowing this, we tend to miss out on our daily dose of power packed veggies. This may be because we are tired of eating them only one way. Breaking this monotony is essential to enjoy eating veggies and also get their goodness on daily basis.
One should eat his vegetables raw or lightly cooked to get maximum benefits out of them. Also, eating them this way, help maintain and preserve the great flavors, taste, attractive vibrant colors, texture and crunch in them, apart from preserving the nutrients in them.
Here are some ways to have your veggies which will make eating them a happy and healthy experience:-
· Munch on diced cucumber and dip it in low fat curd dip instead of eating dodo or French fries. Cucumber is a very low calorie food and tastes good and hydrates body.
· Carrot sticks or baby carrots can be had instead of chips. Carrots are a good source of vitamin A and good for vision.
· Lightly dressed salad of tomatoes, onions, green/purple lettuce, red cabbage tastes really good and is a treat to eyes as well.
· A great way to have tomatoes is making a soup out of it without adding butter or cream. Small quantity of skimmed milk or rice flour can be added while cooking the tomato puree to reduce the sour flavor. Tomatoes consist of an antioxidant called lycopene which increases in amount when tomatoes are cooked! This antioxidant helps in preventing cancer.
· Bright colored bell peppers and green capsicum are rich sources of nutrients especially vitamin C which in turn help absorb iron in the body and performs the function of scavenging the damaging free radicals.
· Children and adults not fond of vegetables can be given vegetables in the form of lightly stir fried juliennes of carrots/bell peppers/French beans/cabbage- mixed or tossed together and stuffed in a roll/Frankie. Also some blanched green leafy veggies can be added to this roll stuffing.
· Filling veggies in a sandwich is a good idea as well. For e.g. grating and slightly cooking cauliflower or broccoli, add some herbs and spices along with some chopped parsley/coriander can make a tasty filling for sandwiches.
· While making dough for regular breads, buns, flat bread or swallows, green leafy vegetable purees can be used for e.g. spinach puree.
· Quinoa and vegetable salad is a good dish for supper time. Also try out salads made with beans and veggies.
· Broccoli soup is a good way of incorporating it in the diet, use boiled/steamed potato to thicken the soup instead of white sauce. Broccoli is rich is powerful antioxidants. Veggies such as bottle gourd, cauliflower, spinach, carrots can also be used to prepare soups.
· Juicing it up! Drinking fresh juices of the vegetables is a nutritious way of consuming them. Maximum benefits could be obtained from vegetables when they are consumed in the raw form. Beetroots, carrots, cucumbers, spinach, tomatoes and many other nutrient rich veggies can be used in combinations to make juices and smoothies. Add a fruit such as orange/pineapple/apple/lime juice etc. to make the veggie juices taste delicious!
· Barbequed and grilled veggies: — you surely would enjoy eating veggies half cooked/half raw slightly charred and spiced with herbs and a hint of lime juice!
· To make kids eat their veggies, add a good amount of the same to whole wheat pasta/whole grain noodles/rice/draw soups/sandwiches/rolls/whole grain thin crust pizzas.
Washing the vegetables properly first and then cutting/chopping them is a right technique to use them. Cutting/dicing/chopping first and then washing them, leads to increased loss of nutrients. Also, avoid over cooking your veggies, as there would be a lot of nutrient loss, along with fading of colors and ruining texture which might reduce their appealing look. Hence opt for raw, tossed, half stir fried and lightly cooked veggies, instead of fully cooked or boiled versions of the same.
Hope these tips make your vegetable eating experience more pleasant, lip smacking and healthy!!
References
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/17-ways-to-eat-more-veggies#section18
http://www.nutritionvista.com/NutritionBuzz/ten-ways-to-enjoy-vegetables-yor-way,12.aspx
