Don't Like Vegetables? Try These Ideas...

If there's one food group that could single-handedly turn around this country's obesity epidemic, it would have to be vegetables. Why? Because veggies contain more nutrients (many of them unique to veggies) for the volume of food than any other food group, and at a small fraction of the calories of other foods. Some of my clients have lost significant amounts of weight simply by replacing high calorie dinners with lighter, veggie heavy selections.

The problem is that many people are not big fans of veggies.

That's too bad because when you're off the salty, sugary foods for a while, you can develop an appreciation for veggies that you never knew you could have. But in the mean time, here are some ideas on how to sneak them in when you just don't like them all that much:

Salads with fruit like apples, tangerines, pears and cranberries

Sliced squash and zucchini in sauces over pasta

V8 juice

Veggie and chicken toppings on low-volume cheese pizza

Teriyaki stir fries with beef or tofu and veggies

Cut veggie varieties dipped in hummus


And here are three of my favorite recipes where veggies make a "cameo appearance", rather than being the main attraction:

http://45yearold6pack.blogspot.com/2008/03/flat-belly-recipe-low-fat-hi-pro-veggie.html
http://45yearold6pack.blogspot.com/2007/12/flat-belly-recipe-veggie-wraps.html
http://45yearold6pack.blogspot.com/2007/12/savory-soup-and-simple-too.html