May is Veggie Month!
Vegetables. Not the most popular food group. As a kid I remember my Mom and Dad making me sit at the table until I ate all of my vegetables. I would pout, push them around on my plate, and then pout some more. I used to try and convince my parents that my taste buds were different than theirs, so I shouldn’t be forced to eat yucky vegetables. Now before I go any further, THANK YOU MOM AND DAD! If they wouldn’t have pushed me to eat my vegetables as a kid, I don’t think I would love them as much as I do today. My taste buds must have changed, because there isn’t a veggie out there I won’t eat now!
If you’re stuck with those “other” taste buds like I used to have and you have trouble getting your veggies down, you should definitely stay tuned this month! I’m going to share some tricks on how to make veggies taste better so you can incorporate more into your diet 🙂
Super Smoothies
Smoothies are the perfect summer snack. They are nutritious, cold, and refreshing. If you really have a hard time eating any and all types of veggies, incorporating them into fruity smoothies is a good way to start tricking your taste buds. Here are a few tips to start blending up some super smoothies.
- The more powerful the blender the better. If you have to chew your smoothie, you are probably going to taste those veggies. You can also blend in stages. Add ingredients one at a time to ensure everything gets blended completely.
- Choose bland vegetables such as spinach, romaine, or zucchini. They mix well with many kinds of fruits. When you are ready to be more adventurous, try some kale, beet greens, or chard.
- Stick to 6 ingredients or less. I have found the more ingredients added the less tasty the smoothie. So keep it simple to start.
- When making a green smoothie, try to stick to a ratio of 2 fruits to 1 veggie. This will keep the smoothie tasting more like fruit and less like veggies.
- Prep your fruit ahead of time by cutting it up and freezing it. To avoid a big frozen fruit block, freeze cut fruit on baking sheets first. Once all the fruit is frozen, package it in resealable bags.
- Add your protein at the very end after the all other ingredients have been well blended. This keeps protein from clumping or sticking to the sides of the blender.
My favorite smoothie combo is banana, spinach, PBfit, whey protein, and milk. It looks like my coworkers are fans of it also. They really enjoyed the post exercise smoothie I whipped up for them!
Happy blending guys! Post your favorite smoothie combos in the comments so we can share ideas.
Sarah Reiman is our resident foodie! Come see how she burns it off in our Weight Loss Solution classes!
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