Quick! Name five different vegetables you’ve cooked in the last week. Tough, huh? So you may not be surprised to learn that most people eat the same few vegetables, cooked in the same way, over and over again. What can I say? We like our routine! The typical American eats only three servings of vegetables per day. Iceberg lettuce, French fries and ketchup account for the largest portion of these servings (I wish I were saying this sarcastically, but unfortunately I am not). Worse, a quarter of the vegetables eaten in America are French fries. This task can be even more daunting for those on a gluten and dairy free diet. Don’t fret: the information below will help clarify which vegetables are good for you (hint: they ALL are!) and provide some suggestions on vegetables you might not have considered in the past.
From time to time I hear new ideas on which vegetables we should eat and which we should avoid. Potatoes were good (high in potassium), then bad (too much starch) …carrots good (good source of vitamin A), then bad (too much sugar)…corn good (taste amazing on the cob), then bad (too much starch) and then there are the tomatoes. Since many people already have a hard time meeting the current recommendations of 5 to 9 servings of fruits and vegetables per day, this added confusion only makes matters worse.
I hope that you can already see my point before I make it. The only time you are doing something bad for your health is when you don’t include freshly cooked and prepared vegetables at mealtime.
Here is your new rule: If it comes from the earth, you can consider it healthy; all vegetables are healthy and have a place in your eating plan.
There isn’t anything wrong with a potato; that is, until you fry it into French fries or make it into a potato chip or smother it in sour cream and butter (the sour cream and the butter are more at issue here — not the potato.) So don’t avoid potatoes completely. Potatoes have potassium, are rich in vitamin C and, well, taste really good when grilled. (Baby reds are a beautiful side to a nicely-grilled steak. Simply toss them in extra virgin olive oil and add a couple of tablespoons of chopped dill and sea salt to taste and roast).
The easiest way to ensure that you are getting a good variety of nutrients is to vary the types of vegetables that you eat each day. And that means that you are not going to eat potatoes every night. Eat these on occasion; weekly is fine. On other nights and whenever possible, combine green, yellow, orange and red vegetables. The following list is a good starting point for vegetables that you might not have considered before:
- Spinach
- Turnip Greens
- Water Cress
- Dried apricots
- Zucchini
- Asparagus
- Artichokes
- Okra
- Cabbage
- Yams
- Celery
- Carrots
- Cucumbers
- Radishes
- Broccoli
- Brussels Sprouts
- Cauliflower
- Eggplant
- Onions
- Beets
- Bell Peppers
- Burdock Root
- Collard Greens
- Kale
- Leeks
- Okra
- Parsnips
- Peas
- Rutabagas
- Turnips
- Winter Squash
Submitted by:
Angela Pifer, MSN, CN
Certified Nutritionist
NutritionNorthwest.com
NourishingNewsBlog.com
