Fruits & Vegetables - Eat More Greens For Optimal Health

I am amazed at how many teens and young adults lack proper eating habits with the biggest sin being that they miss their vegetable and fruit intake by huge numbers.

I help moderate a few online message boards and have noticed in the diets being posted that the individuals just list carbs and proteins with very little to no veggies or they will have a few items but none will be the most needed which are fibrous green veggies - instead stuffing themselves with yams or carrots which are fine but by far do not replace greens.

The problem is lack of proper diet education not only to the kids but the parents. The kids learn what the parents teach then and with many families living near poverty or lower middle class, the food item choices are not always made due to ignorance but also do to lack of money to get the right foods.

Veggies are not expensive but some can run higher in cost depending on the season and agriculture issues that year. Lack of creativity is another problem. Kids need palatable foods as do young adults! A little bit of effort and these would not be issues.
It seems harder than it is to get the right foods into the diet but going green does not have to be brain surgery.

Adding some green to 2-3 of your daily meals is very simple. A cup of chopped broccoli or mixed greens and you have a serving! I love adding a cup of chopped raw broccoli flower to a cup of dry cottage cheese with some almonds and Udos oil, what a great meal, nutritious and very tasty! It is easy to eat a big bowl of salad and sneaking in some nuts or berries will make the salad tasty enough for people to want at least 2 servings for those requirements. Celery just does not cut it anymore since the darker the green the more phytochemicals it will have. These are cancer fighters and with the rate of cancers in our day I would say are crucial to the diet.

Eating these greens raw is best but steaming can also be done and helps to make the portions seem smaller since they tend to shrivel down when cooked. This is another good way to sneak it in there. A bunch of spinach which has been steamed will disappear into a tasty soup and is more than a serving of your required greens!

Topping your raw or cooked veggies with light omega oil such as Udos will add more nutrients to your food along with a light flavor to help it become tastier. Add some raspberry flavored balsamic vinegar and you have created a gourmet delight!

Many foods allow the ability to 'hide' fibrous green within them yet not be too noticed. Wraps are very popular and will work with cooked or raw greens. As mentioned above soups are an excellent place to put greens as is stews.

Stir fried veggies done quickly with olive oil leave a nice flavor without saturating fat as long as it is not cooked longer than a few mins. The veggies are left slightly crunchy and many of the popular ones used are bokchoy, Chinese or regular broccoli, snap/sweet or snow peas, peppers, collard, endive, escarole and more. These are all excellent accompanied by other veggies such as carrots, mushrooms, onions, tomatoes and sprouts.
So be creative and add some Greed to your health!

By Linda Cusmano