• Menu
  • Skip to right header navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary navigation
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Natural Fertility and Wellness

Trying to get pregnant? Learn how to prepare your body and overcome infertility.

  • Start Here
  • Fertility Help
  • Recipes
  • Books
  • Start Here
  • Fertility Help
  • Recipes
  • Books
  • Contact Donielle
  • About Donielle
  • Privacy Policy
Home » Eat your veggies and greens

Eat your veggies and greens

May 1, 2015 //  by Donielle Baker

FacebookTweetPinYummlyEmail

No matter who you ask, when people think of a healthy diet they automatically think of vegetables. Almost every dietary protocol out there suggests that we should eat more!

Vegetables and greens offer a wide variety of nutrients, fiber for moving things along, and anti-oxidants for fighting free radicals. Unfortunately many, if not most, Americans eat very few vegetables and never any greens!

eat your veggies

5 ways I struggle with eating more vegetables:

  1. During the winter months they are available only from the grocery store… trekked in from warmer climates. For me, this means that they don’t taste near as good since they are often picked before they are at their ripest.
  2. The produce in our smaller grocery stores (the ones closest to our home) tend to begin to rot fairly quickly, sometimes I buy only half of what I’d really like simply because they aren’t fresh! They also offer very little in terms of variety. In one store I can’t even buy a bunch of kale and the bagged spinach is super pricey!
  3. It can take longer to prepare vegetables for me. The chopping and slicing definitely take some time when I’m making meals.
  4. They don’t taste as good as chocolate. I mean really… Veggies are great and all, but when I reach for a snack and it’s either the M&Ms I had hidden away or a handful of carrots, what do you think is going to happen? Either you (I) grab the chocolate or I miserably eat the carrots wishing I had chocolate instead.
  5. Greens, other than kale, are hard for me to find ways to eat on a regular basis. I think it’s a texture thing for me.

Excuses are just that though – an excuse. And eating more vegetables and greens can increase your health dramatically if you aren’t already getting in at least 4-6 cups per day. (if you are, shoot for 7-9 cups!)

5 ways to kill my excuses

  1. Deal with it. Plain and simple, I just have to deal with the fact that many veggies won’t taste as fresh as during the summer. I’ve also found that during these months I prefer to use many vegetables frozen during this time, like corn, green beans, and broccoli. Or I’ll use a dip to give them a bit more flavor. Adding them to soups also helps as the single flavors aren’t as important as the whole.
  2. Make time in my schedule to get to the bigger supermarket that carries higher quality produce (with more variety)! And when I go I need to focus on shopping the produce section first and filling up my cart. Having a stock of frozen vegetables is also helpful in the weeks where I have to choose the smaller store.
  3. I always kick myself for not taking an hour to chop and prepare my weeks worth of veggies. When I’m able to wash, chop, and get all my snacking veggies ready to go in the fridge, I’m much more inclined to grab some carrots and homemade ranch or celery and almond butter. I can also get things chopped up for a quick stir fry as a quick lunch or dinner. And speaking of a quick veggie meal… having lettuce and salad veggies chopped up makes grabbing a big salad for a meal really easy! I toss in a bit of protein and a great homemade dressing and I’m all set. <—note to self – do this every week!
  4. I can’t buy sweets. I know there are people out there that say if you simply have access to them, or over eat them, that you’ll lose your desire for sweets. Nope. Not me. And it doesn’t matter how long I’ve been without them. I have found that I am an emotional eater when it comes to sweets, and the emotion that triggers them is overwhelm or stress. So for me, in this stage of life, it’s important that I don’t have those foods in the house. This makes the already cut up veggies a sure thing.
  5. I love sautéed kale and have it multiple times a week! But other greens are not my favorite. Instead, I steam them and freeze, adding them to my smoothies. And more recently I’ve been using a powdered greens mix to drink once a day, either in water or a smoothie. Todd has been getting this drink every morning as well. (I have a hard time getting veggies into him during the day while he’s at work!)

Eat your greens!

The organic greens I’ve been using were sent to me to review from Dr. Mercola. (FDA disclosure a sec – I did not receive any financial compensation from them and the opinions stated are my own.)

eat your greens

At first I was hesitant to accept the product to review because I’ve tried a few powders in the past and never really liked them. One popular brand ended up in the back of my cupboard for a couple of years until I finally tossed it.

Knowing I needed to up the intake of veggies in my diet right now, as well as greatly increase it for Todd, I said yes and I’m glad I did.

The greens mix includes not only powdered greens and veggies, but an organic mushroom blend, specific antioxidants, a blend of spirulina and chlorella, as well as adaptogenic herbs like maca and rhodiola, so it’s a powerhouse of nutrients.

The mix itself is also a fine powder and doesn’t end up chunky when you try to stir it in water which was an issue I’ve had before. If you let it sit for a while it doesn’t tend to settle at the bottom of the glass, but easily stirs back in.

Organic Greens also tastes good (thank goodness, or else Todd would never drink it!). You can mix it with 6 ounces of water or blend with smoothies. Either way it tastes good, though I do love it in my smoothies.

I don’t seem to have an issue getting in enough veggies when life is running smoothly and I’m on top of my game. But in times of busyness or more stress, I love that I have options like this to help me get the nutrients I need without causing me more overwhelm. (overwhelm = stress eating junk food)

And they taste good enough that I don’t mind drinking it everyday!

 

Do you have problems getting in enough vegetables and greens in your diet? Let me know why in the comments and we’ll see if you can kill your excuses too!

Some links (including Amazon.com links) in our posts might be affiliate links. This means that, at no additional cost to you, I may earn an affiliate marketing commission if you make a purchase.

Some links (including Amazon.com links) in our posts might be affiliate links. This means that, at no additional cost to you, I may earn an affiliate marketing commission if you make a purchase.

  • Bio
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • *Disclaimer
Donielle Baker

Donielle Baker

owner and editor of Natural Fertility and Wellness at Natural Fertility and Wellness
I believe women can learn how to heal their bodies & balance their hormones through natural methods. An advocate for natural health, I have a passion for nourishing/real food nutrition and natural living. My personal background includes both infertility and miscarriage and I started Natural Fertility and Wellness in 2008 in order to share all of the information I found helpful in my journey to heal from PCOS and overcome infertility.
Donielle Baker

@donielle

Follow @donielle
Donielle Baker
Donielle Baker
Many of the links on this site are affiliate links, which mean that the owner of the site may earn a small commission from your purchase through the company. We will not recommend a company that we do not purchase from ourselves and we thank you for your support. No contributor or author on this site is a medical doctor and the statements made here have not been approved by the Food and Drug Administration. These statements are not intended to diagnose, treat or cure or prevent any disease. This notice is required by the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. Read our privacy policy and full disclosure here.
FacebookTweetPinYummlyEmail

Category: Real FoodTag: Real Food

You may also be interested in these posts from the same category.
homemade spice mix on spoons

Eat cleaner – homemade spice mixes

Mindful eating - when can we eat chocolate cake?

Mindful and compassionate eating

real food holiday meals

Preparing everyday meals during the holidays

3 super snacks for women

Super snacks for women

Summer Berry Harvest : How to use local U-Picks to your advantage!

white rice vs brown rice

Is brown rice *really* better than white rice?

5 Healing benefits of soup making and action steps to make it happen

Real Food Kitchen Overhaul : A small steps approach to making the switch to a real food way of life

Easy lunches to bring to work

Easy lunches to bring to work

Resources for Fermenting Foods

how to find locally grown food

Where to find locally grown food

Cleaner Fruits and Vegetables

Previous Post: «resources for hashimoto's I’ve got Hashimoto’s, now what?
Next Post: What your basal body temps are telling you what your basal body temps are telling you»

Primary Sidebar

Can I help you find something?

  • Contact Donielle
  • About Donielle
  • Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2023 · Mai Lifestyle Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

Share this ArticleLike this article? Email it to a friend!

Email sent!