I'm not a big fan of "sneaking" vegetables into anyone's diet, whether we're talking about kids or spouses! I'd prefer that my people understand the value and benefits of incorporating an abundance of vegetables in their diets,as well as understanding the health consequences of not doing so.
We talk a lot about "teaching yourself to enjoy certain foods, not necessarily because you love the taste, but because your educated mind understands how good the food is for you.
" It's a work in progress.
One simple strategy I enjoy for adding even more veggies than your family may already be getting, and a greater variety of veggies at that, is "The Loaded Salad.
" (Shockingly, I do not mean that it's loaded with croutons and ranch dressing! Sorry to get your hopes up.
) When you walk into the produce section of your supermarket or local farmers' market (beyond the fruit), there's a whole area of leafy things that very few people know what to do with.
We naturally gravitate to the carrots, potatoes, tomatoes, beans, maybe some peppers, asparagus, broccoli, corn (a grain, not a vegetable), zucchini and squash-things that look familiar.
Unfortunately, this means we're bypassing truckloads of nutrients by breezing past those unfamiliar vegetables.
The Loaded Salad is a simple, quick way to include these mystery vegetables that most people walk right on by.
Choose a variety of fresh produce (organic, if possible) - kale, Swiss chard, collard greens, cabbage, beets (plus greens), turnips (plus greens), mustard greens, endive, broccoli, onions, peppers, leeks, cauliflower, asparagus,carrots, green and purple cabbage, whatever you'd like to try, knowing how nutritious these newbies are and how much they're going to add to your health.
You're choosing these new, perhaps foreign, veggies in order to make a topping for you "usual" salad.
This is something you can make weekly, or even twice a week, if you're feeling frisky for veggies.
You can change up the assortment every time you make it..
Dice all these veggies into small pieces about the size of the tip of your pinky.
You can use a food processor or food chopper.
We sometimes use a Vita-Mix.
Mix all the veggies together and store the mixture in a glass bowl (with a tightly fitting lid) in the fridge.
This is your "salad topping".
It's an incredibly nutrient-dense mixture.
It probably looks real pretty, too, doesn't it? Now, make a "regular" salad with spinach or romaine or spring mix, or whatever greens you like.
Top it with a heaping scoop or two of the salad topping and then add any number of other healthy options for variety: raw nuts, seeds, sprouts, etc.
Get creative! I also like to use simple ingredients to make variations of healthy salad dressings.
The ingredients I usually keep on hand to choose from are: organic extra virgin olive oil, organic balsamic vinegar, organic apple cider vinegar (Bragg's is our favorite), fresh garlic, an organic grainy mustard, organic free-range egg, lemon, herbs, Himalayan pink sea salt, fresh ground pepper, and occasionally, ginger.
Of course, you can always buy your organic dressing at the grocery store.
Just be sure to avoid anything containing trans fats, high fructose corn syrup, or artificial sweeteners, flavors and colors.
My favorite method of making our dressing is to rub a few cloves of freshly pressed garlic into our wooden salad bowl first.
Then I add an egg (sometimes), some olive oil, a tiny squeeze of fresh lemon and/or a 'dollop' of balsamic vinegar, some nice, seedy, organic mustard, and then a dash of sea salt and freshly ground pepper.
I mix that all up in the bowl before adding the salad ingredients.
The mixed veggie topping is a power-packed way to get a variety of nutrients into your diet in a simple way.
It's especially effective for tempering the stronger flavors of some of those leafy greens.
The more intense flavors that may not be appealing to some aren't as intense once they're chopped up and mixed in with everything else.
Put whatever vegetables you want in the mixture - it's hard to go wrong here.
When we talk about adding purity and sufficiency to your diet, this is a massively sufficient method of adding nutrients.
And, by the way, this is the fiber - fresh fiber - that we should be looking to add to our diets, not the stuff that comes from a cereal box! You can take it a step further by adding even more vegetables once you're preparing your salad.
I like to roast, saute, or grill goodies like broccoli, asparagus, onions, peppers, artichoke, and Brussels sprouts and add them to the salad as well.
(No, not necessarily all in the same salad!) How about adding some health-enhancing fats (in addition to the olive oil)? Toss in some avocados! Finally, of course, you can add some protein to the mix, if you're in the mood: chicken, turkey, steak, Wild Alaskan salmon, hard-boiled eggs, whatever floats your protein boat.
Don't be surprised if you start having "cravings" for salads!