Fighting Fruit And Veggie Boredom
September 12, 2013Everyone knows that to get and stay healthy (and maintain a healthy body weight) they need to eat lots of fruits and vegetables. So, why do so many people have trouble getting enough of them? When I ask my clients, they often say they don’t eat vegetables because they are boring. Somehow, they can think up dozens of ways to make rice and pasta palatable, but when it comes to veggies, their creativity is non-existent. I think that’s where the trouble is: it isn’t the fruits and vegetables that are boring. What’s boring is the way that people eat them.
It’s the same day in and day out. I totally agree. Food monotony is one sure fire way to make you want to run for the hills (or your local unhealthy food stop), and I’ll be the first to admit that green salads and steamed vegetables can get very blah pretty quickly when you eat them the same way every day.
1. Mix up your herbs and spices. The easiest way to change the flavor of your vegetables is to add new herbs and spices to your mix. Depending on what you choose, you can totally alter the flavor of your veggies. Some of my favorite flavors to add include dill, chili powder, cinnamon, mint, and cumin. They can be used on salads or topped on your favorite roasted vegetables.
2) Try something new! How many times have you walked into the produce aisle, only to see a bunch of vegetables or fruits that you didn’t recognize and rather than pick one up, you opt for your good old standards instead? Next time, mix it up! Grab that unknown veggie and when you get home, take a few minutes to Google recipes for it. By trying something new every couple of weeks, you can add to your ‘roster’ of regular vegetables to increase the interest and decrease the boredom of your meals!
One of the vegetables I recently added into my repertoire is the parsnip. Parsnips are a fabulous vegetable to use because they have such a rich and robust taste, are inexpensive and depending on the spices you use, they can take on so many different flavors! As a root vegetable, they are quite filling and make a great substitute to white potatoes or other starchy processed carbs in your meal.
3) Grill them! Grilling your fruits and vegetables bring out their natural sweetness without having to add any sugar laden sauces. When you are selecting fruits and veggies to grill, you want to find relatively ‘stable’ or ‘firm’ varieties. Some of my favorite veggies to cook on the grill are sweet bell peppers, zucchini, asparagus, parsnips and sweet potatoes. As for fruits, peaches, pineapples and apples work really well.
4.) Think outside the (side-dish) box! Vegetables can function as more than a solo side dish. They can often be added into your main dish to add volume, color, or additional flavor. Breakfast is a great time to add in veggies, but that doesn’t mean you need to have a salad alongside your oatmeal.
5.) Make them into dessert! People seem to think of fruit-based desserts as either being totally sugar-laden (like apple crumble or pie) or, on the other end of the spectrum, plain and drab. But there are so many options to have healthy, tasty, flavorful desserts without just having a traditional fruit salad. Frozen or cooked, there is no end to the possibilities.
 | ABOUT THE AUTHOR Rachel Girardi, MsC graduated with a Masters in Psychology from the University of Western Ontario in 2007. Her philosophy is that fitness, nutrition and lifestyle cannot be looked at in isolation. She combines her love of fitness and good food to help her clients improve their health and the quality of their lives. Her main goal is to figure out how to fit “healthy” into your life while still letting you live it.Read more articles by Rachel! |
