Purely Nourished

Your par­ents inten­tion wasn’t to be mean by forc­ing you to eat your veg­eta­bles; They had your best inter­est in mind. They knew that those plates full of nutri­ent rich plants would help you grow big and strong.

Veg­eta­bles weren’t only impor­tant for the growth phase; They’re even more impor­tant for health main­te­nance as an adult. We all know veg­eta­bles are filled with vital nutri­ents and vitamins.

What exactly do those nutri­ents do and how do they ben­e­fit us? 

They PROTECT us.

They lower our blood pres­sure, 

reduce the risk of heart dis­ease, stroke, chronic dis­ease and can­cers by improv­ing enzyme and antiox­i­dant activ­ity in the body,

they lower the risk of eye and diges­tive prob­lems and keep our appetites in check by mel­low­ing our blood sugar.

Some veg­eta­bles even have antibi­otic, antivi­ral, and anti-fungal prop­er­ties to ward of colds and flus.

How can I sneak them into my diet? 

Sim­ple ways to GET your vegetables:

ALWAYS have veg­eta­bles on hand. Spinach, tomatos, pep­pers, avo­cado, & cucum­bers are a great start.

Start every meal with a veg­etable. Take a bell pep­per and stuff it with more veg­gies. Or make a stir fry of veg­eta­bles. Add a lit­tle pro­tein for fla­vor. This tip will get you con­sum­ing more veg­eta­bles immediately.

Turn any meal into a salad. Over­flow a plate with salad greens and veg­gies. Add a pro­tein and cheese to sat­isfy. You’ll feel com­fort­ably full.

Add veg­eta­bles to your baked goods. Sub­sti­tute pureed squash or pump­kin for the oil or but­ter in your baked goods. For cook­ies use 1/2 the amount of oil or but­ter and sub­sti­tute squash for the other 1/2. You won’t even notice a difference.

Open faced toast. Spread hum­mus or avo­cado on the bot­tom and top with your favorite veg­gies. Scrump­tious.

Veg­etable wrap. Fill a bowl with your favorite veg­gies — tomato, shred­ded car­rots, spinach, hum­mus, sprouts, cucum­bers and arti­chokes.  Mix and wrap in a whole wheat tor­tilla. You’ll be sur­prised how sat­is­fy­ing it is.

Smooth­ies. Add spinach or cucum­bers to your favorite smoothie. Vit­a­mins and min­er­als with­out the work.

Always keep crunchy veg­gies on hand as a last minute snack. Dip car­rots or cel­ery in peanut but­ter to pack in the protein.

Indulge in a rain­bow — of fruits and veg­eta­bles that is. Keep­ing track of the col­ors you choose for your meals is one of the eas­i­est ways to get the most out of your diet.  Fruits and veg­eta­bles pro­vide dif­fer­ent com­bi­na­tions of vit­a­mins and phy­to­chem­i­cals depend­ing on their color.  Phy­to­chem­i­cals are pro­tec­tive com­pounds that act as antiox­i­dants pro­tect­ing the body against free rad­i­cals.  Both phy­to­chem­i­cals and vit­a­mins play a key role in fight­ing disease.

• Red fruits and veg­gies pro­mote heart health, help mem­ory func­tion, and pro­mote uri­nary tract health.
• Orange and Yel­low fruits and veg­gies pro­mote eye and heart health.
• Green fruits and veg­gies lower the risk of breast, prostate and lung can­cer, pro­mote eye health, and help build strong bones and teeth.
• Blue and Pur­ple fruits and veg­gies pro­mote heart health, improve mem­ory func­tion, and pro­mote uri­nary tract health.

All fruits and veg­gies boost immu­nity and reduce the risk of can­cer. They also con­tain fiber which main­tains the health of your gut.

Not sure what veg­etable to have with din­ner? What col­ors did you for­get today? Incor­po­rat­ing those col­ors will sup­ply you with the  vit­a­mins neglected.

*Use this prin­ci­pal while trav­el­ing and you’ll have greater suc­cess stick­ing to your healthy way of eating.