Every so often, I go through a ‘semi-vegetarian’ phase. I’m in one at the moment and really loving the way I feel when I eat all those extra veggies. So why don’t I do it all the time? Well, I have a husband, and while I love him dearly, we don’t agree on vegetables. As in, he doesn’t eat them.

He eats a pretty balanced diet, and is happily healthy, but when I suggest a little Eggplant au gratin he plants his foot down firmly and reaches for the spuds. I can live and let live, but the danger for me is in falling into the habit of eating just what he eats. I have to consciously think of constructive ways to add vegetables to my diet without ending up cooking 2 separate dinners every night.

I figure I can’t be the only one with a fussy family member, so here’s a few of my tips for keeping a good balance:

1. Cook separate, add later. We cook a lot of curries and stir fries and it’s very easy to just end up eating meat, sauce and rice (brown rice!). I chop up some veggies on the side and stir-fry or steam them, then add them in right at the end, as we dish up. Yes it’s an extra pan to wash, but better than no veggies.

2. The freezer is your friend. Teaching Pilates, I work quite a few evenings and I don’t always have time to cook, so on weekends I make up batches of chilli and so on to freeze. If we’re both reheating freezer meals, they don’t have to be the same thing right? No-brainer, and yet it took me a while to figure this out!

3. Eat veggie when you eat out. When we go out for dinner or get take-out, I almost always get a vegetarian option. This is a freebie.

4. Build your own burritos. Or tacos, or pizza, or … My pizza always looks waaaay more interesting with all the veggies on it. Plain ham, tomato and cheese for him.

5. Lunches and home alone: eat what you want. Another no-brainer, but it took me a while to learn it – I was so set in the habits of cooking and eating certain things, I had to retrain myself in order to change.

I have a whole other set of tips for hiding vegetables in innocent-looking dishes (shhh, don’t tell him!), I’ll share those another time.

This week our challenge is to Buy Organic Fruits and Veggies. Swing by the farmer’s market and get inspired by big  bunches of fresh colourful veggies, and add them to all your meals regardless of other people who may be wrinkling their nose at the kale!

Have a great week!

Popularity: 1% [?]