If you’ve followed my blog article, you’ll notice I’m not a big fan of vegetables. They aren’t necessary for our survival, their nutrient density pales to meats & seafood and some people can’t tolerate them in abundance.
With that being said, the right vegetables can add some benefits to our health. Before I go into the right vegetables to eat, let me start by saying that most fruit and vegetables that are readily available to us have been genetically modified from their natural form to be larger, hold less seeds, more sugar and more starch. This means less fiber, more water and a sacrifice of nutrient density.
Organic or locally grown fruits and vegetables are a lot more nutrient dense than GMO supermarket produce.
A lot of healthy adults will thrive with just meat and water as the bulk of their diet. However, in the modern world, many of us have been introduced to toxins, antibiotics and inflammatory foods. These modern contaminants can alter our gut microbiome and open a wide range of possible problems from skin problems (eczema, dry skin, acne) to immune issues (allergies, crohns diseases, sinus infections).
Adding the right vegetables to our diet can nurture and improve the balance of good bacteria in our gut. The phytonutrients as well as probiotic/prebiotic effects of the right vegetables can help prevent and even reverse the side effects of our modern diet.
Vegetables are of course an accessory food. Meaning we have them as sides to our main dish. Burger are mainly meat and garnished with vegetables. Steak is the main dish with creamed spinach or a baked sweet potato as a side. Some of us might need to limit the type of vegetables we eat, such as night shades, very starchy vegetables and high histamine vegetables.
For most of us that are trying to avoid excess starch and eat more protein and fat, introducing organic leafy vegetables as sides can be beneficial to healing our gut.
Vegetables to eat
Of course, try going organic and local whenever possible. Make sure to wash the vegetables very will and dry them. Eating them raw if preferred, but sautéing them in olive oil and salt will work great as well. Try adding fats to your vegetables to help you absorb the nutrients. For example, add butter to sweet potato or cream to spinach. Olive oil on salads or sautéed greens is excellent as well.
1. Sweet Potato – If you don’t have metobolic issues such as blood sugar and weight problems, sweet potatoes can be a great prebiotic. Real sweet potatoes are usually small so don’t over do it.
2. Leafy Greens – Leafy greens need to be washed very well. Keep that in mind. Swiss shards, kale, mustard greens, spinach and collard greens are easy to cook, taste great with butter or olive oil and go well with almost any meat. They are very versatile, recipe wise. In Bare Burger for example, if you order your burger without a bun, they’ll wrap it with a collard green leaf. Creamed spinach is also one of my favorite sides at Boston Market to accompany my roasted chicken.
3. Herbs – Herbs also need to be washed very well. Herbs are great because their nutrient density is a lot higher than other vegetables. The best part about herbs, such as basil, Rosemary, thyme, cilantro, parsley, etc is that they can easily be grown in your kitchen or on a fire escape. Make sure to get organic seeds. The best way to get seeds is either order them from a well reviewed place on Amazon that is certified organic or find a local organic farm by you and buy a few seeds off of them.
Other vegetables to go for are cabbage, broccoli, mushrooms, cauliflower and peppers, but the above are a great start if you’re looking to introduce vegetables slowly into your diet or you really don’t like vegetables that much.
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