All in Vegetables
My last blog post was all about what I think makes for a healthy lifestyle and of course number 2 on that list behind sleep, was good nutrition.
Easier said than done, I know!
For this post, I want to highlight the tools in the kitchen that make life easier and help me prep meals faster. Please feel free to share what are your go to tools!
Without further adieu, here are my 5 Must haves and 4 Really, Really Helpful gadgets:
We all know that being healthy is important.
But, what does that mean and how do you know if you are healthy?
How do you measure health and are you measuring up?
Health for one person is different for another. One person may think a measure of good health is following a strict diet, another may asses their health by their physical abilities or be completely satisfied with their physician’s all clear.
I don’t think it really matters, what grade you give yourself and on what metrics, but what is important is that you do, think about it.
Here are my 4 Must Haves (for myself) For Health:
During the week there is not much time to cook elaborate meals but we still need to eat well.
Sunday night or Monday morning I drag out the old Instant Pot and that poor thing runs for hours! I cook all of my grains and beans I need for the week so when dinner comes around I just throw a dish together and I don’t have to worry about soaking, or cooking beans or whole grains.
That’s where this recipe came about. I had a butternut squash hanging around and some black beans in the fridge so into the Instant Pot it went, along with half an onion, a couple cloves of garlic and thats about it.
This recipe is delicious, easy to throw together and is healthy enough you can use it on a cleanse.
You can keep it simple or be creative and add your own flare with spices and other additions like avocado, tomatoes, or peppers.
This soup is full of protein, fibre, vitamin A, vitamin C, Potassium, Calcium,. Magnesium and Iron.
If you don’t have an Instant Pot not to worry this can easily be done on the stovetop.
So we have heard over and over again to eat more leafy greens.
The reason this is common advice is because most people don’t eat enough of them.
The recommendations is 3-4 cups per day of just leafy greens, and according to a UBC study Canadians’ vegetable and fruit consumption is down by 13%.
Leafy greens are the superstars of the vegetable kingdom, they are the most nutrient food of the all the vegetables.
They are packed with nutrients, fibre and are naturally low in fat.
People who consume the daily recommendations of vegetables are generally healthier with less chronic health concerns.
But, not every leafy green is created equal. YES, even poor old iceberg has some serious nutrients and is worth considering.
