How I Overcame Laziness Today

I vegged-out!

No, this is not another “I laid around all week” post.  It’s a “how I’ve made vegetables an easy and plentiful part of our family’s daily menu” type post. (And just so you know, I’ve actually had a pretty good few days of workouts, so “ppfffffttttthhhhhtt!”).

Am I wrong when I say we’re all victims of lazy eating?  Junk food, eating out, easy-prep, low-nutrient processed foods, etc.  I like to THINK my family has a healthy diet.  In reality, we probably fall into the camp of eaters who eat better than many others but worse than plenty others.  For every good nutritional habit I can pat myself on the back for, I have a bad one that is probably negating any benefit derived from that good habit! 

Truthfully, the benefits from eating healthily and sensibly are undeniable and noticeable which is why I continue to make the effort.

This week brought a focus on green veggies to my family.  I issued a St. Patrick’s Day challenge of eating one green vegetable that day to celebrate.  It was fun to see what everyone ate.  (Note to family:  the green spinach smoothie really wasn’t bad; in fact, I want to make one again, but with a better recipe).



Steamed and ready to chop!



I’ve found that fruits are pretty easy to get into the diet.  They’re sweet and yummy and require very little prep.  Vegetables have been a bit more of challenge but my world changed when I became acquainted with two things:  The book, Deceptively Delicious by Jessica Seinfeld and my wonderful Kitchen Aid Chef Series Food Chopper (look how affordable it is!). 



Please note, I do not give the mentioned book a glowing review.  In fact, after initially trying out a few of the recipes, I haven’t pulled it out since.  BUT, it made me aware that finely chopped vegetables can be added to virtually any dish and taste great!  In the book, she suggests making vegetable purees so it’s not noticeable.  But I like the texture of finely chopped ones plus I figure it gets my girls used to the taste of vegetables and so far it’s worked:  they never complain.

My go-to vegetables are carrots, zucchini and yellow squash.  I usually buy those every week.  Cauliflower and broccoli are common as well.  But I add them to everything:  mashed potatoes become a “veggie mash”, ground beef/turkey for any kind of dish will always have some onion and the chopped veggies in it.  Spaghetti sauce, soups, stews, beans and rice dishes are all made better with the extra veggies.  You can add them to almost anything.  It’s so easy and takes such minimal time and effort!

Beautiful confetti, huh?
You can pulse a few more times to chop even more finely.

I usually lightly steam some chopped squash, zucchini and the pre-sliced carrots (I like these better than baby ones) all together in a zip-lock steam bag and then throw them in the mini-chopper, pulse a few times and then toss them into the prepared dish. 



That’s it.  And it guarantees at least one serving of vegetables with that meal.  Sometimes we’ll have more if I make a salad of other veggie side. 

Vegetables really are delicious.  We just need to give them a chance!

I figure this is the best way I can be “green,” since I’m not what could be considered an environmentalist’s BFF… not to mention all the methane I emit thanks to my vegetable-laden diet!  Ironic, isn’t it?