I don’t really understand how I like vegetables.
I had a conversation with one of my clients once who was a chef and his theory on getting kids to eat vegetables was to actually make them taste good and not be bland mush. His kids both ate loads of veggies and a really wide variety of foods.
As wonderful as she is, my Mum couldn’t cook
for toffee. Most likely due to attention issues. The vegetables went on at the same time as the meat and the meat was often cooked to the point of being a biscuit.
She did make an awesome Irish Stew and Quiche though.
As you can imagine, I didn’t really ever stop moving or talking as a kid, with the result being me always feeling hungry. So whatever was placed in front of me was eaten.
Now, me and
Fran eat more vegetables in quantity and variety than most vegetarians we meet, helped by the random things we get in our vegetable box.
Our kids are improving, there are always vegetables put on their plates and we eat ours, when they’re hungrier they eat more of them. Carrots, sweetcorn and peas for the win, occasionally broccoli, most of the time the “leaves”.
We don’t make a big thing of it, just keep setting an example by eating
ours own. We also top them up with a greens drink each morning.
Why do we need vegetables and fruit in our diets?
Yesterday, I mentioned the macronutrients of fat, protein and carbohydrates; vegetables are a combination of all three as well as containing lots of micronutrients. Things like essential vitamins and minerals, as well as a big portion of roughage/ fibre, which quieter literally keeps everything moving through your gut
as well as mopping up any unwanted nasties.
5-a-day is the bare minimum, having a portion of veggies with each meal is pretty easy to do. We’ll have an omelette and salad for breakfast, it’s really tasty and lasts me for the whole morning.
We have got caught up in what constitutes a breakfast food because of the powerful marketing budgets around cereals, which are the nutritional equivalent of cardboard.
If
you’re happy to have an “all-day breakfast” for lunch or dinner, have an “all-day curry” for breakfast. I spent a little time in Thailand and was served stir-fried vegetables every morning for breakfast, I’m sure it was called “morning glory” but that might have been one of the locals winding me up.
I haven’t mentioned fruit because most people don’t struggle to eat a couple of pieces of fruit if it’s put in front of them, so put some in front of you in a bowl
and crack on. My boy can do a punnet of raspberries in seconds, we might have to remortgage the house to maintain his berry habit 😂
If you are an adult who doesn’t eat vegetables, remember you are an adult. Sometimes we have to change our story, you might have had a manky portion of cabbage at school, that doesn’t mean you can’t try it again now, cooked well with some seasoning and a dollop of butter.
Vegetables tend to be high
nutrient and low calorie, so filling up your plate with veggies and protein, leaves you feeling more satiated for longer.
Give it a go and let me know how it goes.
Darren “little gem” Checkley