25 - How to Get More Vegetables on Your Plate and Make Them Taste Great

This week Christa meets with Certified Health and Nutrition Coach, Monica Metz, to discuss how to get more vegetables onto your plate while making them taste great. They'll be providing some helpful tips and tricks about how to prep your produce and make healthy eating easy for anyone.   Motivated by Health Concerns  As most people would attest to, a plate full of steamed broccoli doesn't quite get the mouth watering and doesn't seem to satisfy most. No different than the rest of us, Monica was an occasional salad eater and wasn't thrilled by filling up her plate with mostly vegetables. After years of struggling with migraines, high cholesterol and a pre-diabetes scare, she started to look into ways to make a change for her and her son. Monica became curious and starting looking through blogs online. This is when she became mesmerized by raw foods. Not only are raw foods extremely appealing to look at (color is key), but she was also able to follow how others were incorporating these foods in their everyday lifestyles. "Most people are motivated by some weight loss or some sort of diagnosis like high cholesterol..." Like most of the bloggers Monica followed, she then turned her passion into getting her certification online from the institute for Integrated Nutrition based in New York. Now, she primarily helps people online through group teachings and calls to actions through different health plans and detoxes. She has created a platform that helps teach the lifestyle for healthy choices and positive changes. With daily accountability calls and a system built as more of a "healthy food retreat" than a diet plan, Monica guides you to a lifetime of happiness in a much happier body. Now About Those Veggies Most of us know we need to eat more veggies, but with busy schedules and processed foods so accessible, what's an easy way to get more of these greens in? It's important to start with asking yourself how many vegetables are you eating currently? We've all sworn for a period time, we're only going to eat salads and veggies, to only find ourselves pulling up at a drive through or being unhappy and hungry by the end of the day. We don't want to create an emotional resistance against these foods by simply adding in more vegetables than we are currently consuming. Eventually, we can get to that ideal 50-75% of your plate being vegetables but that takes time. If we make an effort to add in a little more plant based foods every day these small wins will start creating healthier lifestyles. Don't worry we're not getting to the part where we tell you to only eat kale salads because they're going to start tasting better than a burger. Although, salads are an amazing way to pack in all kinds of veggies. The body and brain likes variety, so salads are a great way to get it all in! We're talking about real foods here, which are meant to be enjoyed. If you have a topping you enjoy, as long as most of the salad is veggies, add it and ENJOY IT! Practical Tips Another reason many times we frown about salads is because of the store-bought dressing. These dressings are usually packed with unhealthy fats and refined inflammatory oils and sugar. Not to mention, they just don't taste as good as the ones we can make at home. Here's an easy way to make dressing at home: Extra virgin olive oil Balsamic Vinegar Sea Salt/ Pepper to taste Add a touch of lemon or Dijon mustard for a full-flavored dressing that you know is healthy. Preparing your dressing and veggies ahead of time sets you up for success and a healthy meal. Here are some other prep tips that Monica likes to use: Frequent, short trips to the store Rinse and spin greens in advance Use a food processor The basic foundation of a great salad includes: Chopped veggies such as: peppers, zucchini, cucumbers, carrot and celery Savory nuts, seeds, olives Healthy fats like avocado and olive oil Another great way to pack in some nutrients are with green smoothies. Experiment with adding in some of Monica's favorites below: Romaine - different from iceberg that lacks nutrients, romaine has mild flavor and mixes well with berries. Frozen beets – buy it cubed and leave frozen. Beets are great for blood pressure and help with oxygen efficiency so they make for a great pre-workout snack! Mix with berries or cherries! Mix in some carrots, cucumber, zucchini, or even left over sweet potato. Try it out! If raw vegetables are hard for you to digest, try some of these roasting tips: When roasted veggies, try to mix in raw coconut oil or avocado oil for baking/cooking instead of extra virgin olive oil. Roast 45 minutes to an hour with oil, salt & pepper. Sprinkle with rosemary or garlic for more flavor. Roasted broccoli or cauliflower are great to add into sauces later in the week or to make a salad dressing. Simply puree and add in some citrus, garlic, tahini (add warm water), or cumin. Drizzle on some veggies or salads to mix it up. Another way to transform your cooked veggies after the fact, is to toss them in with some coconut milk, tahini or softened nuts with homemade chicken broth which makes for a full-flavored soup! An Instantpot pressure cooker will make this a life changing way to transform these veggies with a quick, easy way to make rice or black beans to complement them. Although having all the nice equipment helps, the right ingredients are all you need. Final Tips: Simplify. When you go grocery shopping, start in the produce aisle, pick what calls you and what you get excited about it. You can too, can be an intuitive cook. Big batch cooking will save you time for your busy schedule but most importantly, when you reframe your vision about cooking it will become more fun. Appreciate the food and it will start to feed your body, as well as your goals. Cooking is a beautiful practice, embrace the idea that this is your time with your food. Ready for some deep support on transitioning into a healthy lifestyle? Sign up today for the No Fool's Detox and save $125 when you register before 3/16/17. We'll get you loving your veggies and your body in this 30-day support program. Subscribe to the podcast for FREE at: