Veggies for Non-Veggie Eaters

It’s happening more often than not, I sit down with a client after reviewing their food journal and see a huge gap. It’s a serious lack of vitamins, minerals and fibre.

Let’s talk about the benefits of eating our vegetables!!

Vitamins + Minerals

·      Irreplaceable players in digestion – let’s help our bodies breakdown and utilize the fuel we are eating

·      Important for hair, nails and skin health – who doesn’t want to have strong nails, clear skin and shiny hair!

·      Immunity builders – not only for the common cold but for long term health

Fibre

·      Mellows out the sugar spike – slows down the absorption of sugar into your bloodstream, this is important for all of us but crucial for anyone at risk of diabetes

·      Makes you feel full – this one is good for weight loss and will help us make better food choices

·      Movements on the regular – who doesn’t like going #2 on the regular, the old natural way!

I hope that’s enough reasons why you should be eating your veggies but how are you going to do it? I doubt this is the first place you’ve heard you should be eating more veggies.

Give these three things a try:

1.    Exploit your favorites – do you like any veggies? Maybe carrots? Maybe broccoli? Eat em’ up! Your body will be happy if you increase the amount of veggies you’re eating

2.    Get dressed up – now don’t go totally overboard here but try adding some flavour to veggies you find plain. Balsamic reduction? Lemon and pepper? Did you see our insta-post on zucchini fritters? or grab the Spicy Brussel Sprouts in my free meal plan.

3.    Try something new – I bet you haven’t tried every veggie out there! Be adventurous with your food, buy something you’ve never had before. Google will know how to cook it or if you can eat it raw. We’ve got lots of interesting veggies being grown right here in BC!

Number three is near and dear to my heart because that is how I really started trying new foods. It wasn’t until I was in university and signed up for a produce box with my roommate that I tried kale! Not to brag , but that was before kale was ”cool”. I also tried sunchokes, stinging nettle, fennel bulb, and all sorts of mushrooms. Did I fall in love with every new thing that I tried? No! but it was totally worth it!

Here are some produce boxes I would like to recommend:

• Sprouts Box - This is where it all started for me. If anyone is a UBC student or lives in the area it's an awesome affordable option!

• Crisp Organics - Registration is coming up for their Winter box. Good availability around Vancouver and at their farm in Abbotsford

• Coastal Organics - Serving the entire Sunshine Coast and no pick-up necessary! My friend, Kendra, raves about their customer service. Having fresh produce delivered regularly has done wonders for maintaining a healthy diet for her family.

• SPUD - Available in Vancouver, Victoria, Edmonton and Calgary. User friendly website with a lot of customization options. No pick-up required!

Feel free to share your favorite way to eat more veggies below!

- Megan, Your Coach

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