Is it time for a home kitchen intervention??
Good nutrition starts with your INTENTION. Seriously!
By setting your intention, you can mindfully plan ahead with ideas or recipes and your weekly food needs, from meals to snacks. Preparing healthful meals and snacks does not have to be a challenge when you have the right ingredients in your kitchen.
You don’t “need” a recipe. Most of us tend to eat the same foods over and over. But variety truly is the spice of life and provides both an abundance of immune enhancing fibers, vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals, and pleasure.
Just get to it. No one is judging….
I am going to go and leverage my refrigerator right now actually.
Here are 5 vegetable up-leveling ideas I have come up with for you.
1. Carotenoids like lycopene are best absorbed with fat in a meal. Chopping, puréeing, and cooking carotenoid-containing vegetables in butter, coconut oil, or avocado oil generally increases the bioavailability of the carotenoids they contain.
2. Several epidemiological studies found that men with high intakes of lycopene from tomatoes and tomato products were less likely to develop prostate cancer than men with low intakes, but it is not known whether lycopene supplements will decrease the incidence or severity of prostate cancer.
3. Steamed or roasted broccoli, cauliflower, and kale make a delicious addition to marinara (tomato) sauce. Or for a tomato-free pasta meal, toss chickpea, lentil or zucchini pasta with olive oil, pine nuts and healthy sautéed broccoli florets.
3. Purée cooked broccoli and cauliflower, then combine with seasonings of your choice to make a simple, yet delicious soup. As an even tastier option roast a head of garlic and add that to the mix! Everyone has a favorite pesto recipe – change up the herb, or the nut or seed for a fabulous effect. Add lemon zest, or chopped olives. You cannot go wrong.
4. Vegetables can also be enjoyed raw and dipped in a Bagna Cauda.When you prepare a vegetable tray, be sure to include lightly steamed broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, raw tomatoes, and even cabbage or radicchio sections. Color is KING! Have you never heard of bagna cauda? Well, check out my video above. It’s the ultimate thing for summer!
5. Cabbage leaves are a great way to recycle leftovers. Spoon some leftovers such as rice salad or a vegetable mixture onto the center of a cabbage leaf and roll into a neat little package. Bake in medium heat oven until hot. Enjoy your easy and healthier version of stuffed cabbage, a traditional eastern European dish. Add some goat or sheep feta and a sprinkle of parsley and LOVE!
