But vegetables are boring!
(It's what you've been thinking, wasn't it?!)
Lately, I've been eating a lot of vegetables . Everyday ones, but also different ones. And veggies aren’t something I’ve really given a lot of thought to—they’re guilt-inducing, because apparently no one eats enough. (I suspect vegetarians probably do…)
I’ve mostly been a balanced-plate type of cook, where dinners include meat/a starch/a vegetable. But lately, I’ve been steering the family towards vegetarian dinners, which has led me to branch out of my comfort zone when choosing veggies.
Buying them is sometimes nerve-wracking, as in ‘what the heck is this’ and ‘how do you eat it’ questions. Luckily Google can provide answers to these questions, so I’ve been bravely buying new-to-me products-from-the-earth.
Vegetables are sometimes incognito. They’re disguised. They can come with different names,
depending on your background or your locale. For example, what my mom called ‘vegetable marrow’ is known in North America as zucchini or courgette. Apparently, the term ‘marrow’ refers to many summer squashes. And some winter squashes. How does one know?
And actually, it doesn’t matter what they’re called. If the store has a label for the mystery-veggie, an online search uncovers ways to prepare and eat it. Raw? Cooked? Either one! Online veggie-exploration can unearthed a plethora of information and recipes, from not only North America, but also India, England, Australia, France, Italy…everywhere! Pages and pages of different ways to consume them: in a stew, a curry or simply add them to a salad – as an addition or as the centre-piece. How exciting!
Actually, the main thing for me and those I feed is the surprising health benefits from eating more vegetables. Vitamins, minerals, fibre…all these things that aid in reducing weight and cholesterol, lower blood pressure and inflammation, and more!
That’s the big reason why my household has become subject to more veggies. Our bodies need the many good things veggies provide because right now, my family’s bodily health is top-of-my-mind. Vegetables provide a wider variety of benefits than meat does. And vegetables (and fruits) are renewable resources that don’t require the death of the host like meat does, well, except if you’re a terrible gardener like me who kills more plants than I harvest. :(
Remember what most mothers say to their kids (daily or at least once):
Eat your veggies!
Anyway, this post is making me hungry…off I go!
Disclaimer: I could have written this about fruit, but my family and I already eat a lot of fruit. And fruit tends to have more ‘sugars’ than veggies do and lately sugar is a bad word in my house. Don’t tell my hubby, but I still dig into the cookie jar, usually when he’s not looking!