Fruits and Veggies

We have heard it once we have heard it a thousand time. 'Eat your veggies'. Most
of us heard this more than anything during our childhood. All you could think of
as a child was when you get older you will never eat another one again. Who
needs those things anyway? I hate to break the news to you, but fruits and
veggies are a very important part of our diets. You can't live without them. Oh
you can, but you will either gain weight or feel like shit in the long run. Go a
week without eating any, you will see what I mean. I guess the problem is, we
tend to over cook veggies. We cook them to the point that they are either mush
or they don't have the taste they once had. This is the worst thing that you can
do to them. When you over cook a veggie, you rob of it of everything that makes
it good for you. This is very foolish and a waste of money. A person should eat
5-10 servings of veggies per day. I know you have had that pounded into your
head while you were at school. It sucks to learn they were actually telling the
truth doesn't it?
Before you get all bent out of shape, lets talk about how big a serving really
is. A medium sized fruit or veggie is one serving. A medium sized apple, carrot
or banana is one serving. 5-10 of those doesn't sound too hard does it?
There are easy ways of getting the amount of veggies that you need. One is by
preparing them the night before. Before you go to bed, peel and slice anything
that you would want to eat the next day. This won't take much time. You might
want to invest in a peeler. They don't cost very much. You can buy them at any
shop that sells cookware. Also your grocery store might have one. If you can't
find it, ask one of the stock boys. They will know if they carry them. One easy
way to consume more fruits and veggies is to cut them up and put them in small
sandwich baggies. Cut up a variety of things and store them in the small bags.
You might cut up an apple, some carrots ana some celery.
Keep these on hand at work. When you have a coffee break, eat these instead of
rushing over to the vending machine to get a bag of snack chips. Keep a salt
shaker in your desk or in your locker at work. A little salt will bring out the
natural flavor of the veggie and make them more appealing. Think of these as
snacks to go. You can keep them on hand if you are going to take a long trip.
You can keep them at work, in the ice box for when you get the munchies, or if
you want a late night snack. Soups are a great way to get a serving of veggies.
You need to watch though, some of the canned soups will have a lot of salt in
them. That is the downfall of buying soups that are already prepared. If you can
make your own soup, that is great. Also you will cut out any unneeded fat.
A small salad is also one serving of veggies. When you go out to eat, order a
salad. Make sure that you don't load it up with bad salad dressing. Go for a oil
and vinegar. If you are at a place that you can put on how much oil and vinegar
you want, that is even better. Just put enough oil on your salad to counter act
the acidity of the vinegar.
You need to make sure that you are getting as many fresh fruits and veggies as
possible. When they are raw, they are the best for your body. Some times during
the canning or freezing process, they might cook them slightly. Eat a can of raw
green beans straight from the can. Compare that to a raw green bean, you will
see what I mean.
I would suggest to you that you eat as many raw veggies as possible. If you must
cook them, blanch them slightly. Just cook them long enough so that they starchy
feeling of a raw veggie is gone. Certainly don't cook them until they are limp
and colorless. That robs them from anything that is worth eating. You are eating
these to be healthy, that is a choice you make. Cooking them to the point that
they are worthless might be an easier way to force yourself to eat them, but
your efforts are being wasted.
Here are some ways to increase your fruit and veggie consumption. For breakfast
put some fruit in with your cereal. This is great, I love doing this. This gives
your cereal a sweet zing without adding a bunch of sugar. Also you can drink a
glass of juice along with your breakfast. Juice is a great way of 'eating' your fruit. Make sure to get juice with the pulp in it, it is also good fiber.
Lunch. Eat salads. Make sure not to load them with bad dressing. Have veggie
sticks along with your meal, this will also fill you up. For desert you can have
a piece of fruit. This is a better desert than having a ice cream or something
you will regret.
For dinner I would suggest that you try vegetarian pizza or meals based around
veggies. Why not eat some fish and a plate full of greens and corn? You can mix
and match things how ever you like it.
The key thing to understand is, you need to make fruits and veggies fun. If you
keep it bland, you won't want to eat them. So, get a cook book or a favorite
cooking site and learn how to eat your fruits and veggies. You will notice a big
difference in how you feel.
vitamins_or_not_to_take_vitamins_(its_best_to_eat_right,_but_if_you_find_it_difficu1t,_a_mu1tivitamin_
Title: To take vitamins or not to take vitamins? (It's best to eat right, but if
you find it difficult, a multivitamin can help)
It's absolutely important that our body gets the nutrients it needs to function
effectively and efficiently. However in this modern time it has become more
distinct that we tend to supercede health with convenience and instant
gratification. In this fast paced world where career and education demands all
our time, we learn to favor what's quick and easy to obtain especially when it
comes to food. We turn to fast foods and junk foods instead of the good old
balance daily diet. The lack of balanced diet in addition to the daily stress of
pollution depletes our body of nutrients. Is it any wonder why cancer and other
chronic diseases became rampant during the turn of the century? It's up to us to
replace these nutrients. We can do this through healthy nutrition, or better
yet, through healthy nutrition and proper supplementation.
For the average person, it's difficult to get the proper amount of nutrients
needed from food alone. Have you ever wondered how many people actually eat five
to ten vegetables and fruits a day? Or who drinks seven to nine glasses of water
each day? Even the healthiest of eaters cannot be assured that they are getting
the recommended amount of vitamins and minerals. Mainly because it's hard to
judge exactly how much nutrients you are getting from the food you are eating.
In a report printed in 1940 regarding the nutrient content of spinach, it
laments the high depletion percentage of iron and other minerals found in the
plant mostly due to soil depletion, mono-cropping, artificial fertilization, and
lack of varieties. Since that period, nutrients in both fruits and vegetables
persistently depleted, not to mention that certain forms of cooking in fact
destroy the vitamins and minerals in the food. This is why taking a multivitamin
supplement would be so advantageous.
Eating a balanced diet and then supplementing it with a quality multivitamin
will be the most logical and sound decision to make. We'll be able to get the
nutrients that our body needs from the food and then back it up with the
multivitamin for a powerful effect.
There are four forms of mulivitamins available in the market today, that's
capsule, tablet, soft gel, and liquid. Liquid multivitamins will be the easiest
for our body to absorb because there's literally nothing for our digestive
system to breakdown. Capsules and soft gels are also a good choice when it comes
to the forms of multivitamins with regards to absorption rate. While tablets on
the other hand, will be the hardest for our body to breakdown and absorb.
Remember, that no two individuals will respond similarly from taking any type of
vitamin or mineral supplement, because each individual have different
metabolisms, eating habits, exercise regiment, or sleeping habits, and are under
different amount of stress or even take their supplements differently.
I often heard it say that supplements are expensive, and many feel they cannot
afford them. I find it ironic though that those same people who cannot afford
to take supplements can afford to buy soda, latte, cigarettes, alcohol, or
coffee, why not save your money for your health? There are cheap supermarket
multivitamins that are inexpensive however they cannot compare to a quality,
more expensive ones. The best way is to decide how much you can afford to spend
and then do a research on the net on the multivitamins that fall within your
price range.
Multivitamins are probably the single most important supplement you can take. If
you aren't taking one, you really should start doing so.