Learning to Love Vegetables

As a child, the main vegetables I encountered were the canned version- aside from fresh corn when it was in season, and "salads" from a chain restaurant known as "SouperSalad". I put the word salad in quotes because my "salad" consisted of more toppings and dressing than actual greens.

Once I made the decision to live a healthier lifestyle, I knew I had to learn a different approach to vegetables. In my adult years I mainly ate canned green beans and unhealthy salads, if I ate vegetables at all. I never really experimented with fresh veggies- until now.

I have learned that vegetables don't have to be boring; that they can in fact be delicious!

I have discovered that carrot sticks dipped in hummus brings them in to a whole new realm of deliciousness. My all-time favorite hummus is Trader Joe's Cilantro & Jalapeno Hummus. It has such bold flavors that you don't feel the need to scoop more than necessary, and the spice from the jalapeno adds a tasty kick of flavor!

I know now that green beans don't have to be squishy and dumped from a can to your plate- they can be snappy, bright, and tasty- topped with a bit of lemon! Or salty with a bit of sweet from an Asian-inspired sauce! Or simply roasted, or sauteed with a bit of olive oil and a spicy honey mustard dipping sauce!

Salads don't have to be boring! I always make sure to measure my dressing still (it's WAY too easy to over-do it) and my favorites are Hidden Valley Light Ranch (80 calories for 2 TB) and Trader Joe's Asian Style Spicy Peanut Vinaigrette (70 calories for 2 TB). I have loved ranch for years, but the original version is sooooooo high calorie- Hidden Valley's Light version tastes the most like regular ranch in my opinion! The Asian Style Spicy Peanut Vinaigrette is DELICIOUS. It is sweet with a spicy undercurrent and tastes amazing over a bed of romaine! Speaking of Romaine...that is my "green" of choice. I have a very hard time with any darker greens than this...I'm working on learning to even like them, but so far, it's a no-go...it's a textural thing for me! My favorite toppings for my Romaine Lettuce are chopped almonds, sunflower seeds, and hard boiled eggs (sans the yellow inside- I don't like egg yolks).

Peppers. Bell Peppers are just yummy! I don't eat them raw often, but they are great in a bit of Light Ranch or hummus. I mainly use peppers in my eggs, or in a stir fry. For my breakfast, every day I eat 3 egg whites (egg whites are only 17 calories each! And a great source of protein!) and every once in a while I add some chopped peppers to increase my daily veggie intake. For dinners, I like to slice peppers in to strips and add them to some snap peas, mushrooms, onion, ginger and garlic for an Asian style dish. I also use LOTS of pepper strips in my fajitas or other Mexican-style dishes! And tossed in some olive oil, seasoned with salt and pepper, and roasted on the grill, peppers have a delicious sweet/smoky flavor!

I am still learning, every day. I try to look up recipes online and modify them to be healthier- less oil, more herbs/flavors. I try things that I didn't like as a kid- our taste buds change the older we get (mine have at least!). I also look at other "health food" blogs to get ideas from other healthy eaters that might spike some inspiration in me! Vegetables can be delightful- the secret is experimenting with different techniques and methods of seasoning to bring out flavors you love!