Nutrition and Vegetables

For many years, "nutritionists" have been analyzing the food we eat, determining what is healthy and what is not. I read a book called "In Defense of Food" by Michael Pollan (here is a video about him presenting at Google) about two years ago. This book was very enlightening mainly because of its simplicity - Eat Food, Not Too Much, Mostly Plants. These three phrases sum up what I have been telling you in the past few weeks. I will explain them a bit more, so you can understand what they mean (even though they are pretty straight forward):

Eat Food-
This point is the least obvious of the three. According to Pollan, a great trick to knowing what is considered "food" is to think about what your grandmother, or great-grandmother would consider food. Imagine if she had whatever you are considering eating in front of her, what would she do, throw it aside, or eat it? Eat as close to raw food as possible; the less it is processed, the healthier it is for you (I actually read an article regarding this today, though from a marketing perspective). If food has more than 5 ingredients, if you cannot pronounce any words from the ingredients list, or if high fructose corn syrup is an ingredient, chances are, it is not food. These simple points will help you decipher the stuff you put in your body as food or something different;

Not Too Much-
This point is probably the most important (in my opinion). I believe that one reason many people are not healthy is because they eat too much (and in many cases too much of the wrong thing, hence the other two points). A good guide for how much to eat, is using your fist as a measuring tool. If a portion of any separate entity on a plate is bigger than your fist, it is TOO MUCH! Usually two or three fist-sized portions is considered a meal (In the case of my diet, my snacks consist of 1 fist portion, and my meals consist of two or three);

Mostly Plants-
This is pretty clear, less meat, more vegetables (corn and soybean byproducts are not considered vegetables). Eat as many raw, steamed or cooked vegetables as possible. Plants closer to raw are the best alternative. I would like to stress the first word "mostly" because this does not imply becoming a vegetarian (for health reasons anyway). Eating meat is not bad. I eat chicken daily. I stay away from red meat, pork, and other types of meat, because they contain more fat. You don't need meat to stay healthy. Vegetarians are generally healthier than meat-eaters. So, "mostly plants" will derive plenty of nutrients for your diet, minus iron, which can be obtained from other sources.

I have devised a few great ways to intake the proper amount of vegetables on a daily basis. As promised I will tell you about frozen vegetables as a great way to get those much-needed nutrients. I try and eat mixed vegetables daily. I purchase bags of these assorted vegetables whenever I go shopping for a few reasons including:
1) They are cheaper than buying raw vegetables (this is definitely true if you look at the time saved cutting and cleaning in order to cook them);
2) You get a great assortment of different vegetables, some that you would not otherwise buy separately;
3) They last far longer than raw vegetables.

This does not mean that I don't eat raw vegetables as well. Obviously "greens" are a major component of my diet. Sometimes I also eat carrot sticks, or other raw vegetables as snacks.

Back to the frozen vegetables. Here are some types I get from Price Chopper:
Frozen Vegetables: carrots, corn, string beans, and peas.
Szechuan Vegetables: broccoli, shoestring carrots, onion strips, red peppers, mushrooms, pea pods, and water chestnuts.
Italian Blend: zucchini, broccoli, carrots, Italian style string beans, and baby lima beans.
Stir Fry Blend: broccoli, carrots, green beans, onions, pea pods, and red peppers.

There are many more types, California Blend, Peas and Carrots, etc. Choose what you like, mix it up and enjoy! I also like to add more peppers (by cutting up raw peppers), onions, or tomatoes to the dish, or if I specifically buy a separate vegetable I throw that in as well. As long as you get more than 4 vegetables chances are you are getting many of the needed nutrients.

I like to steam these vegetables in a pan, with a small amount of water and covered. I wait until the water has completely evaporated (with the cover on!) and then add things to make these vegetables taste better. Sometimes I will eat them just like this, with some freshly ground peppers on top. I may also eat them without any other additive, on top of a piece of chicken breast.

I like to add a can of sauce after the vegetables are cooked, then a tablespoon of dried onion, and freshly ground pepper. I let this cook on high for another 10 minutes or so, or until a decent amount of water has evaporated from the sauce.

Another alternative to these vegetables is to let them cook until there is no more water, then add some olive oil in order to let the vegetables brown (it adds a great deal of flavor). After they get to a desired "brownness," I either eat them as is, maybe with some chicken, or I add 2 tablespoons of soy sauce. I let these vegetables cook for another few minutes and then eat and enjoy! You can also cook some rice on the side, add a bit more soy sauce (remember this is pretty much straight salt) and mix together for a really great meal (but also less healthy).

I want to also state that these methods of cooking vegetables are great for omelets. Use these ideas to stack your eggs with lots of vegetables!

Anyway, that is it for today. I hope you learned a few things about how to eat more healthy food. Thanks for reading and check back tomorrow for a new recipe!