Half of the Food on Your Plate? Vegetables!

HALF YOUR PLATE OR MORE ARE VEGETABLES

Remember the graphic from the last blog?  Half the food or more on your plate needs to be vegetables. It is important enough to repeat in the opening sentence of this blog, even though the title of this blog states this basic guideline.  Some authorities recommend eating a pound of vegetables a day.  But I have found it easier to use the rule of the plate. Yes, I even have vegetables for breakfast.  Usually every other morning I sauté green vegetables, such as spinach, beet greens, squash or cabbage with onions, garlic, spices and then scramble two eggs and cheese into the vegetable mix. Try this yummy recipe on the below link for either breakfast or dinner.  http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/spinach_frittata/  
It is fun to experiment with adding spices to recipes and discover which ones you especially like.

I have discovered cooked cauliflower, cabbage, zucchini, parsnips, turnips, spaghetti and yellow squash, spinach, kale and beet greens are a terrific substitutes for the white carbohydrates of bread, rice, potatoes and pasta.  What I have come to realize is that the sauces that cover these bland carbohydrates are what I really like. Eliminating the carbs isn’t difficult, if I am still able to have the yummy sauces that typically cover them.  Also, instead of bread sandwiches put your proteins of meats, cheeses, fish, tofu and/or spreads on a pepper, cucumber, kale, cabbage or lettuce leaves.

Wondering how to get started?  This link has great visual ideas for using vegetables as bread and cracker substitutes: http://wisemindhealthybody.com/jd1/9-amazing-bread-sandwich-ideas/?t=hhh

Trust me, it is an easier path to follow if you focus on all the extra vegetable foods you will be eating rather feeling like you are eliminating foods.

Explore which vegetables work for you as tasty alternatives for your bland and high carbohydrate foods. Keep experimenting with all types of vegetables and soon you will develop a food preference for these nutritious and tasty vegetables. Really you will!  At this point, I prefer vegetables to white carbohydrates. I believe adapting this as a lifestyle preference is the key to sustaining your weight loss.  It is a shift to having a positive attitude and food selection preference towards vegetables.

It is helpful, at the beginning to look at a carbohydrate counter when selecting how you will utilize the number carbohydrate grams goals for each meal. This link provides excellent information on carb counting https://www.bd.com/resource.aspx?IDX=9850   Reviewing it will increase your understanding of portion control.  You can have pasta and rice but the portion size is small from 1/3 to 1/2 cup.  I found it more satisfying and filling to replace them with vegetables.  I never count or worry about the amount of green or leafy vegetables I eat.  The main vegetables that require carb counting and portion control are sweet to the taste, such as winter squash, beets, potatoes, yams and sweet potatoes. 

Trust me, it is an easier path to follow if you focus on all the extra vegetable foods you will be eating rather than feeling like you are eliminating foods.  It is merely a substitution--and I might add a rather tasty and healthy one, with the added bonus that vegetables are filling and you won’t be hungry.  

So - what’s next?  The next post will discuss the importance of reading food labels.  Labels are our guide on whether to purchase a food and how to determine the portion size to eat.