How To Prepare Fresh Vegetables
Veggies aren't always easy to swallow when you're a kid, especially for those of you who grew up with veggies from a can which were further overcooked and heaped on your plate in a wimpy mass. Blechhh! It's time to learn how to prepare vegetables you can fall in love with. There are many different veggies to choose from, various cooking techniques, and so many flavoring ideas that you're bound to find some new favorites. And don't forget about the magical nutrition that juicing vegetables provides. Click here to skip jump directly to the List of Vegetables.
Why Are Vegetables Healthy? Vegetables are some of the most nutrient dense foods you can eat. They contain a fair amount of protein -- in fact, it's the protein which gives them their structure. They're filled with vitamins, which our bodies cannot make and must be supplied in the diet. And the dark green veggies provide calcium. In fact, even though cow's milk provides 150 mg of calcium per serving (1/2 cup), the amount absorbed is only 48 mg. Whereas bok choy, which contains 79 mg of calcium per serving (1/2 cup), the amount absorbed is 42 mg! Veggies are so beautiful and span the colors of the rainbow. These vibrant colors indicate they're chock full of phytochemicals, those disease-preventing chemicals found in all plant foods. The varying colors signify varying nutrients which is why it's important to include all the colors of the vegetable rainbow to cover the innumerable health benefits veggies bring to the table. Is It Vital To Choose Organics? It's OPTIMUM to eat organic vegetables all the time since they're grown in soil which is abundant in nutrients. But let's be real, it's not always easy to find organic veggies, plus it can get expensive. So to make things easier on you, memorize these Top 5 Veggies you should ALWAYS buy organic. Why? Because they are members of The Dirty Dozen, the top 12 fruits and veggies that must be purchased organic due to the amount of pesticides they contain: If you can't find these organic, then don't eat them. Plain and simple. The missing seven of the Dirty Dozen are the "dirty fruits". How Much Do You Need? Eat 3-5 servings of vegetables per day. Having a hard time imagining how you're going to eat that much food? Keep in mind a serving might be smaller than you think! One serving of cooked veggies is equal to 1/2 cup or the size of 1/2 a baseball. Refer to the Vegan Food Pyramid to learn more about serving sizes.
Another way to ensure you're getting the veggies you need is to make them the focus of at least one meal per day. Meaning, your veggie will take up the majority of room on your plate. Many times, this will mean you're eating 1 1/2 cups of veggies which is equal to 3 servings! See how easy that was? ;o) Juice Those Veggies! Purchase a vegetable juicer and juice those veggies! This is an excellent way to get the nutrients from a large amount of veggies. For instance, it takes about 5-6 carrots to make one glass of carrot juice. That's a lot of beta carotene! One 3/4 cup glass of vegetable juice equals 1 serving of vegetables. Be sure to have a good mix of whole veggies and juiced vegetables in your diet. While making vegetable juices is a delicious way to meet your daily veggie quota, juicing DOES remove the all-important fiber that we need. So be sure to include both whole vegetables AND juiced veggies in your daily diet. Here are some ideas for fresh vegetable juices to get you started. Feel free to experiment until you find your favorites:
 Feel free to add foods and flavors that will help your juice to be more palatable -- especially important when juicing deep greens. Ideas: Fruits, Cranberries, Garlic, Lemon, Dill, Cayenne, Tamari For more juicing tips, including information about juice fasting, please visit my friend Kate over at Detox-For-Life.com and Sara at Juicing For Health.com. Raw Or Cooked? Raw veggies are chock full of nutrients and are invaluable to your good health. At the same time, cooking your veggies helps to break down the cellulose walls which makes some nutrients more accessible than they'd be in their raw state. So what's the answer? Should you eat your veggies raw or cooked? Quite simply: Be sure your diet is filled with both raw AND cooked vegetables. Eat one fresh green salad per day (2 cups equals 1 serving), and add chopped raw veggies such as bell peppers, onions, bok choy and grated beets. The more colorful, the better -- and the more beautiful your salad will be to get that mouth watering before your first delectable bite. As a general rule, I've always found that those veggies that seem to be lacking in lip-smacking flavor in their raw state seem to be the veggies that are best cooked first to make their nutrients more readily available. Every body is different, and the nutrients my body needs might differ slightly from those that your body needs. So listen to your body -- you'll discover which veggies you prefer cooked and which you like raw. Don't be afraid to experiment to find what works for you. The most important thing is to just get those veggies into your tumtum! ;O) You may now return to your regularly scheduled program. ;O) Some General Rules About Vegetables
Simply click on any vegetable to learn more about how to select, clean and prep, cook, and flavor your veggies to perfection*.
Boiled Asparagus Blanched Asparagus Grilled Asparagus Roasted Asparagus Steamed Asparagus Baked Beets Boiled Beets Sauteed Beets Steamed Beets Grilled Bok Choy Sauteed Bok Choy Steamed Bok Choy Sauteed Broccoli Steamed Broccoli Baked Brussels Sprouts Boiled Brussels Sprouts Braised Brussels Sprouts Sauteed Brussels Sprouts Steamed Brussels Sprouts Stir-Fried Brussels Sprouts Baked Cabbage Boiled Cabbage Braised Cabbage Sauteed Cabbage Steamed Cabbage Stir-Fried Cabbage Baked Carrots Boiled Carrots Sauteed Carrots Steamed Carrots Baked Cauliflower Boiled Cauliflower Pureed Cauliflower Sauteed Cauliflower Steamed Cauliflower Baked Celery Braised Celery Sauteed Celery Stir-Fried Celery Braised Collard Greens Parboiled Collard Greens Sauteed Collard Greens Steamed Collard Greens
Braised Mustard Greens Parboiled Mustard Greens Sauteed Mustard Greens Steamed Mustard Greens Baked Potatoes Boiled Potatoes Pureed Potatoes Roasted Potatoes Sauteed Potatoes Boiled Spinach Pureed Spinach Sauteed Spinach Eat it RAW Baked Sweet Potatoes Boiled Sweet Potatoes Pureed Sweet Potatoes Roasted Sweet Potatoes Sauteed Sweet Potatoes Braised Swiss Chard Parboiled Swiss Chard Sauteed Swiss Chard Steamed Swiss Chard
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Raise your hand if you grew up with a dislike of most vegetables. 
Mix things up a bit -- snack on 1 cup of raw veggies with dip, enjoy 1 cup of cooked veggies with dinner, get in the habit of adding chopped veggies to most dishes you prepare. Once you're in the groove, you'll discover that it's actually quite simple to meet the required amount of vegetable servings per day. 
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