Seasonal Nutrition and Vegetable Tips for Wellness

Overcoming Common Hurdles for a Healthier You

The change of seasons when summer has ended has always been about enjoying the colorful foliage and the beautiful fall weather. We also think a lot more about root vegetables, squash and pumpkins, stews and broths, and more warming nourishing foods. Often clients know they should add more vegetables into their diet, because of their benefits; their high vitamin, mineral, phytonutrient, and soluble fiber content. Making them a food that can both lower inflammation and oxidative stress and feed the beneficial bacteria in your gut. Yet they struggle to get them into their diet. These are the top reasons I hear:

“I don’t like any vegetables (or maybe just one or two)”.

“My family is picky, and they won’t eat them.”

This is very common, and the simple solution is to change your mindset from deciding if you like it to deciding to try it. This is especially useful with children. Studies have shown that it takes a minimum of 8-9 tries to develop a palate for something. So maybe cook a much smaller portion and commit to trying 1 new vegetable a week. Take a bite or two and consider it a win. Over the course of a year, you could easily incorporate 5 new vegetables to your menu that you are now willing to eat.

“I don’t have time to make them.”  This is where batch cooking really shines and is especially successful with hardier root vegetables. Cut a variety of vegetables approximately the same size and season them with salt & pepper and olive oil and slowly roast them on a cookie sheet at 350 degrees for 40 mins or until tender (use avocado or coconut oil if roasting at a higher temperature). This should give you enough for 2-3 meals during the week. Other quick time savers are precut vegetables in the produced aisle or frozen vegetables as an easy standby.

“I buy them and by the time I remember to make them they need to be thrown out.”

This goes back to menu planning. Food is expensive so think about identifying dishes that you and your family enjoy most and add the vegetables you plan to serve with it and how you will prepare them ahead of time. You can also add chopped kale, collards (these two tend to last longer in the fridge), or spinach to hot soups, broths, or stews until wilted a few minutes before serving.

“They don’t agree with me.” Often cooked vegetables are easier to digest and better tolerated than raw ones, especially softer roasted ones. There are some people who struggle with nightshade vegetables (tomatoes, peppers, potatoes, eggplant), the allium family (chives, onions, garlic), brassica vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, cabbage), or have an overt food allergy. Many times, some of these will resolve when maldigestion is addressed by working with a healthcare professional on gut healing and optimizing digestion.

Bottom line, add them in any way you can.

1. Make a vegetable soup

2. Add vegetables to a sandwich or wrap

3. Dunk vegetables in a tasty dip

4. Try seasoning and roasting vegetables

5. Make a vegetable stir-fry

6. Add vegetables to your favorite recipes

7. Grill vegetables on your BBQ

When we feel better, we do better! Sleeping soundly will increase your motivation to make further lifestyle changes.