by Dr. Gary Farr on 24 January 2002
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Americans are falling short of eating the number of vegetables recommended by the USDA. It may take a little creativity and planning on your part to help the nation continue to climb out of this vegetable slump, but you can do it. Make a note of the ideas you'd like to try.
- Grate carrots or zucchini into batter for muffins, pancakes, quick breads for more fiber and vitamins in your breakfasts and snacks.
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You might not think of eating vegetables for breakfast, but there's no reason you couldn't heat up some soup from the night before if it appeals to you. Or try a potato vegetable patty (see recipe on page 10) for breakfast or a side dish. -
Wash and cut up enough raw vegetables - carrots, celery, broccoli, cauliflower, and radishes -- to keep in the refrigerator for two or three days' worth of snacks and salads. Carrot and celery sticks will stay crunchy if you keep them in cold water. If healthy snacks are convenient, both kids and adults are more likely to choose them!
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We don't advocate sneaky cooking habits, but sometimes a little clever disguise work can help finicky family members enjoy vegetables they thought they disliked. For example, puree the vegetables they don't like and add them to soups and stews. A puree of cooked potatoes, onions, and celery makes a nice, low-fat stock to use instead of a cream base.
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Add fresh vegetables to sandwiches: in addition to the usual lettuce,tomatoes, and onions, try green or red bell pepper rings, cucumber slices, sprouts, and sliced radishes.
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Add vegetables to a family favorite such as chili or spaghetti. You can cut down on fat and add fiber and other nutrients to main dishes by using smaller amounts of meat with plenty of vegetables. Carrots in your chili or zucchini in the spaghetti sauce may sound strange, but once you've tried them, you'll wonder why you didn't think of it before. Try the recipe for pasta with vegetables.
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Let children pick out their favorite vegetables in the store and at home, and involve them in fixing vegetables for meals and snacks. Even small kids can tear lettuce, and the older ones can wash and peel.
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Make miniature veggie pizzas by topping toasted English muffins with pizza sauce, a little grated mozzarella cheese, and fresh vegetables, choosing from mushroom halves, green pepper strips, zucchini slices, and grated carrots. (Let kids arrange the vegetables in funny faces!) Arrange pizzas on a cookie sheet, sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and bake about 10 minutes. -
Some vegetables that usually are served cooked are just as good served raw with a dip or in salads: asparagus, broccoli, cauliflower, green beans, zucchini, and even sweet potato sticks.
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Pile on the vegetables when you make a salad. Start with one or two leaves of lettuce on a large plate and add as many fresh vegetables as you have on hand.
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Consider having an all-vegetable meal once in a while. Try a hearty vegetable stew in winter; or for a backyard picnic in summer, fix up some sweet corn, fresh tomatoes, and lightly sautéed zucchini or yellow squash.
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Offer kids a big platter of cut-up raw vegetables and dip as a snack or appetizer or with the meal. (See recipe for dip.)
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Gazpacho -- a spicy, cold soup made with chunks of fresh tomato, cucumber, onion, and green pepper -- makes a refreshing summer meal. Find a recipe that sounds good to you and try it.
A Word about Cruciferous Vegetables
Most cruciferous -- or "cabbage patch" -- vegetables are good sources of fiber, vitamins A and C, and other anti-cancer agents. You may have noticed, however, that they are sometimes singled out as being especially good. So far, there is little evidence to suggest that cruciferous vegetables have special benefits beyond those of the other vegetables on the WIN Against Cancer list. If you like broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, and cauliflower, by all means eat lots of them, but variety is still the key to getting the most that vegetables have to offer!
| The sweet potato played an important part in American history. One colonial physician wrote, "It is the vegetable indispensable," and because it is one of the most nutritionally complete foods known, it was, along with corn, nearly the only means of sustenance for early settlers. The sweet potato brought many Americans through tough periods such as the Revolutionary and Civil Wars.
OOOOOOOOOOOO A 15th-century English woman who went to the market to buy vegetables might have picked up purple, yellow, or white carrots! And if she worked for a particularly stylish mistress, she might have saved the feathery leaves for the lady to wear in her hair. Our familiar orange carrot probably didn't exist until the 17th century, when they first appeared in Dutch paintings. -United Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Association |
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