Summing up F&V
At the outset of The Eating Well Project, I established "My Plan for the Year" - a curriculum of monthly topics to help us eat well. As I introduce a topic each month, I want to make sure the new habits developed from the previous month keep their momentum.
It is easy to slip back into old habits if one is not being mindful. As a nutrition coach, I have my clients track the progress of any new behavior we are working on to improve nutrition/health. Clearly, measuring one's progress helps yield results. The F&V tracker helped our family increase our intake simply because tracking puts it on the mental radar.
However, the F&V trackers are presently laying idle in a kitchen drawer. I am OK with that for now because using the tracker for a few weeks delivered results. Specifically, I now buy a greater variety of veggies to pack in lunches. Having more F&V available means we will likely eat more. We more often reach first for fruit as a snack when hungry. I make a weekly plan for serving a different vegetable each day. Lastly, I experimented with different ways to prepare vegetables.
To catch any back-sliding that might subtly creep in, I will add a reminder on my calendar to use our F&V trackers once a week. You get what you measure.
My biggest "ah-ha" from our F&V month is realizing how junk food is the equivalent of tossing a grenade onto a F&V effort. It literally kills the appetite for F&V. Not only does it fill the tummy, but researchers say it may affect our food preferences. For us, a plate of celery did not hold a candle to a basket of Easter candy. Note to self: make the healthy choice the easy choice.
Brief update on my mission last week to plan a different vegetable each night for dinner, and to learn a new preparation technique (glazing):
What a difference it makes to have a plan for a nightly veggie! The veggies were in the house, ready to prepare. We were able to enjoy a different one each night instead of the ol' pull-the-cellophane-bag-of-spinach-out-of-the-frig-and-onto-the-serving-island and call it good. I was relieved to have a plan B (canned green beans) on the day that beef/vegetable stew didn't make it into the croc pot for dinner that night. My experiment with trying to make the Ramen Salad more healthy by not using the MSG-filled flavor packet flopped. It just was not tasty.
The glazed beets were killer good! Even the kids liked them (note: I omitted the chives and served the walnuts as a side option). Dinner was late because of interruptions while trying to get started on preparing the beets, but still worth it. Peeling & slicing raw beets must be done with great caution (I cut my finger on the veggie peeler). A must - wear dark clothes and an apron when working with beets. Roasting beets is an alternative preparation method which is simple yet tasty. After baking the whole beets in foil, skins slip off the cooked beets.
The glazed carrots were fabulous! With a touch of chopped fresh tarragon, I felt as though I were eating a gourmet meal. The children, on the other hand, prefer no green flecks in their carrots. Jennifer commented that the bunch of fresh tarragon smelled like Honey Bucket (i.e., porta potty), which did not help her acceptance of the carrots. Next time I may leave out the tarragon (or whatever fresh herb I may try) from a portion of the carrots.
After visiting the specialty oil & vinegar store today (http://navidioils.com/), I am reminded of the myriad ways that I can begin to use various oils and vinegars for enhancing vegetables -- in roasting, vinaigrettes, or as a finishing touch to drizzle over a vegetable dish.
Any attempt to increase fruit & vegetables might be best summed up as this: plan, experiment, adjust, track, do our best, and remember the reason why we are even bothering to make the effort: for health of mind & body. Happy F&V eating!
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