Packing in the Veggies

Sometimes it is hard for me to get my veggies in throughout the day. With four very active little kids, I am constantly on the move and don't pay much attention to my veggie count. Fruits are easy, because I will grab an apple, banana or orange as I am running out the door. Here are 5 meals that are in our regular rotation, that allow us to pack in the veggies.

1. Omelettes

Most of my kids like scrambled eggs, so this is a great meal for us. Jonathan and I just pile on the veggies.

2. Salad Bar

I have mentioned this before, but this is one of our kids' favorite meals. They love choosing what they want to eat and dishing it out.

3. Pizza

This flat bread pizza recipe is super easy, but any pizza recipe will do. Jonathan and I prefer our pizza packed with as many veggies as we can get a hold of. We rarely put any meat on ours. The kids, on the other hand, love the pepperoni so we have to put their veggies on the side.

4. Veggie Sandwich

This is super simple and super delicious. Today, I had cucumbers, mushrooms, tomatoes, spinach and avocado. I like a slice of cheese (the real stuff) to add a little flavor. I also skip the mustard and mayo, and drizzle on whatever light vinaigrette I have in my fridge.

5. Black Bean or Chicken Burritos

Rather than packing your burrito with a bunch of rice, try shredded romaine, tomatoes, corn, onions, bell peppers, avocado, etc.

Each Saturday I buy:

cherry tomatoes

mushrooms

carrots

romaine

fresh spinach

cucumbers

bell peppers

I also buy random veggies a few times a month, like avocados, celery, broccoli (we use mainly frozen, because little man G doesn't do to well when I eat fresh), zucchini, etc.

Because I already have all those veggies in my fridge, it is easy to add them to our dinners. On nights that the veggies aren't the main attraction, I cut a bunch of them up and put them on a plate in the middle of the table. We just snack on them with our main course.

Guest Post from Switzerland

My sister in law is one of the healthiest eaters I know. She is from Switzerland, and the diet over there is much more in line with clean eating than we typically have here in the states. I asked her to share her thoughts on healthy eating.

"I am flattered that you think of me this way, because I am having a hard time living this way being pregnant. As to why I try to kind of live this way in normal states, is because I was raised like this. My whole life my mom was on a diet, so I naturally ate lots of veggies and things. For me it is a way of life, not meaning dieting, but eating healthy. In high school in Switzerland, they teach how to live healthy and make things from scratch.

One thing that I find important along with this topic, is buying things from the area. I look where the food comes from and if it has been on a plane for more than 2 hours, I will not buy it (except mango and bananas ;)). I help the environment and my own surroundings this way.

I continue to live this way because I do want to keep my body as healthy as possible as long as possible. I also want the best food for my kids and therefore I automatically eat healthy. I want to treat my body like a temple and set the example for my kids to treat their body this way too.
I am convinced that eating this way makes me personally happier, because I feel very different after eating a McDonald’s meal and after eating homemade food. With McDonald’s I get stomach aches or just don’t feel so good which is different from homemade meals. Food should be there to give us energy and I don’t think fast food does that.

Other benefits of eating healthy are that I can sometimes eat more because it’s healthy and I don’t feel guilty. Also, because I have always been doing this my kids love veggies and fruits!! I know this isn't true for all kids, but i think overall kids will copy their parents’ behavior, even in eating.
I go shopping twice a week for fresh veggies and fruits. I make sure there is always enough but not too much in my kitchen.
Here are some typical daily meals in our house:
I make oatmeal myself, not from a box. I just mix a little bit of butter and then oatmeal and milk (with little bit of water) and salt and cook it. I put some sugar and cinnamon on it. Sometimes when i need to use my apples, I make applesauce with them for breakfast. For snacks we usually have fruit, and if they are really hungry they can have crackers. Switzerland has a lot of cracker varieties with low salt and fat, so I don’t feel bad if they have them.
For lunch and dinner there is always a salad, usually mixed greens with different veggies I have, or tomato mozzarella. I try to always make my dressing myself, but i make it in a bigger container so it lasts for a week. I love looking up salad dressing, because homemade ones just have so much less add-ins.

I don’t like buying finished foods or food from packages, just because when I make them myself, I know exactly what is in them. I think in Switzerland we are more forced to cook this way because finished meals aren't cheap and there aren't that many. My tip is to not make cooking too complicated, but then i don’t like to cook. Maybe that’s why I keep it simple."

Thanks Christina!