how to like produce if you're not so sure you love produce

So I was talking to a friend of mine in NJ over Thanksgiving weekend, and we were talking about her human nutrition class at one of the best universities in the world (jk, just my alma mater). She knew she needed more protein and fiber, but wasn't sure how to do it. Protein's pretty easy. You just eat more meat. But, as far as fiber goes, she was told it would be a good idea to eat fiber-fortified oatmeal. I'll bash grains in another post, but right now, I want to talk about easy ways to incorporate more fruits and vegetables into your life. I will state that grain fiber is not the same as fiber from vegetables, and can in fact be harmful to your digestive health. 

Shortly after, another friend of mine who is Chinese told me she needs to figure out how to eat more American vegetables because the only Chinese vegetable available in Chicago is bok choy and she keeps eating it. She actually bought kale because of this blog! My heart. Melted.

Anyway, I felt the need to post about how to introduce more fruits and vegetables into your diet. You can slowly increase the produce content of your diet and slowly decrease grains and dairy, and your body will thank you.

Green Drank

Just about everyone loves fruit. If you don't, well you should find something you like because soluble fiber from fruits really helps digestive health. So, take your favorite fruits (orange, banana, mango, pineapple, berries, you name it), and blend it with a mild flavored green, like baby spinach.

Blending greens really brings out the oxolate flavor (call me crazy, but I swear I can taste oxolates), so I would refrain from using cruciferous greens like kale, even though they are amazing for you.

Kale chips

Take kale, cut it, mix it with a tablespoon of olive oil, bake it at 425 deg F for 25 minutes (or less, depending on your oven). Enjoy.

Yeah, these taste like chips, but they still are packed with easily digestible nutrition. Don't beat yourself up if you aren't ready for salads the size of your torso yet. In time, grasshopper.

Start small with salads and add lots of fruit

The only way you can make a salad bad for you is if you cover it with store-bought dressing. I use homemade dressing on all of my salads because (1) salads taste better with dressing, (2) adding some fat increases the bio-availability of a lot of nutrients, and (3) if you don't add dressing you're going to be hungry afterwards because you didn't eat enough calories. If you sit and eat a head of romaine lettuce with your bare hands, as I have been known to do on occasion, you are really only benefiting from the fiber, not from a lot of the nutrients.

Start with a mild-flavored green that you already know you like the taste of. Iceberg lettuce is actually highly underrated. Of course something like romaine or red-leaf lettuce or purple cabbage is better, but if you only like iceberg, it's better to eat that than oatmeal.

Chop up a piece of fruit and add it to your salad. It makes everything taste better. Some good ones: granny smith apples, strawberries, blackberries, mangoes, pineapple, orange, grapefruit, pears. I don't recommend dried fruit for anyone, but if you need it for flavor, it's not the end of the world.

Make a dressing. Some ideas: olive oil and vinegar, guacamole, paleo mayo mixed with some honey mustard. Just look stuff up. Also, you can blend any of those dressing ideas with a piece of fruit and voila, new salad dressing. Blend raspberries, olive oil, and vinegar, and you've got a raspberry vinaigrette.

Use cauliflower instead of rice

If you're a rice person, try ricing cauliflower in your food processor, and then steaming it. It's not going to taste like rice, but it is going to taste good. Another good substitute is jicima, but that isn't currently available where I live.

Buy a spiralizer and eat zucchini or squash instead of pasta

Does spiralized zucchini taste like pasta? No. But when you eat pasta you are craving one of two things: (1) the addictive quality of gluten grains or (2) whatever amazingly delicious sauce you are putting on top. I can't help you with number 1, but if you're topping your pasta with marinara sauce, just put it on zucchini pasta and you're golden.

Learn different ways to slice produce

This may sound weird, but if you slice the same vegetables differently, they really do taste different in the context of dishes. For example, spiralized carrots impart a different feel to a dish than grated carrots. Play around with different attachments to your food processor, or buy a mandolin with multiple blades, or just get fancy with your knife. And above all...

Don't let yourself get bored

Even I don't want to eat the same salad a few days in a row. You're going to reach for the oatmeal or pasta or other grain produce if you're bored. Check out some other blogs, get some good recipes, and try something new each day. This is probably the most important point I can make.

Peace, love, and seasonal produce,
/bitchesloveproduce