We try to share tasty vegetable recipes frequently. We have also written blogs about ways to learn to like vegetables more.
There’s a stigma to being a “picky eater” as an adult. We’re all just supposed to grow out of disliking things. Taste buds change as we age, and some bitter flavors, including many of the ones associated with vegetables, become more appealing. But that doesn’t change the fact that lots of folks just don’t like them.
We understand. No food appeals to everyone! We know that our customers aim to improve their health through healthier diets. But cooked veggies might not be something you can stomach. The solution can be easy and delicious: make yourself a smoothie.
Smoothies have been vilified for almost a decade as being potentially unhealthy. Nutritionists often warn that you are consuming far more calories than you realize when you have a smoothie. That can be true, but on the flip side, you can eat a whole bunch of vegetables and fruits without tasting like health food.
When it comes to smoothies, there’s some important advice to follow to ensure they are healthy. The first is to make it at home. Commercial smoothies are jampacked with sugar, honey and other sweeteners. As dietitian nutritionist Sarah Krieger once said, “There’s a fine line between a smoothie and a milkshake.”
The second is to use whole fruit and blend it. Of course, you should peel oranges and core apples before putting them into the blender but don’t use a juicer, as that removes the beneficial fiber that helps keep your blood sugar steady.
The third is to pay attention to the nutritional information of your base. Whatever yogurt you use will add calories, carbs and protein. Know your ingredients to ensure you are making a healthy drink.
Our fourth piece of advice is to treat smoothies as a whole meal, not a snack. Once you have added several vegetables and fruit to yogurt, you’ll have a lot of fiber, protein and calories. That’s not a drink; that’s a healthy lunch. If you treat smoothies as a meal and incorporate them into your diet that way, they can be very healthy.
A recent health program called Recipe4Health taught participants to make tasty smoothies from leafy greens to help them manage blood sugar. The people in the program weren’t habitual salad eaters but became more interested in them as they enjoyed the natural smoothies.
“It’s not just the food alone; it’s the group support,” said Wei-ting Chen, a Stanford researcher, about the program. “It’s the behavior.”
No single approach to healthy living works for everyone. Not all of us are rushing out to become vegetarians, pick up kickboxing or start daily meditation. Everyone has a different style of healthy living! But, we all can benefit hugely from the vitamins and nutrients of vegetables. So, try a healthy smoothie today instead of trying to choke down a dish you don’t enjoy!
