What I Ate Wednesday - Amping Up The Veg Factor

Welcome to the last edition of What I Ate Wednesday - Love Your Veggies!!!

I, for one, have been loving these veggie-themed posts! 

If you've been loving them as well, head on over to Peas & Crayons for lots of other veggie inspiration.

This week I want to show you just how easy it is to add more veggies to your daily eats. Did you know that it only takes 21 days to change a habit? Why don't you challenge yourself to increase the amount of veggies you have with each meal for the entire month of March and see how you feel at the end. I promise that you are going to notice some positive differences in the way that you feel (ie - I am less tired, full of energy and have a much better complexion) and if you love the differences, your new habits are well on their way to becoming part of your regular old routine.

Breakfast

If you follow me on Twitter, you know that my husband had a terrible sinus cold a couple of weeks ago and now is battling the worst cold/flu I have ever seen! I really, really do not want to get his germies, so I have been chowing down on tons of fresh produce to help strengthen my immune system.

Green smoothies are a common breakfast in this house and I've been making an effort to have one every single day. Check out all the produce in just one smoothie: a cup of baby spinach, a large banana, one pear, the juice of one small lemon and  a cup of natural spring water. Now that is ALOT of servings of fruits & veggies in one drink!

Lunch

Most days I pack a salad for lunch. My salad always starts with some baby spinach and grape tomatoes and then I fill 'er up with whatever I have on hand. This one has baby carrots, goat feta cheese, raw sunflower seeds, alfalfa sprouts and peppers. As a dressing, I used a splash of EVOO and apple cider vinegar and dijon mustard. Squirting lots of dijon on a salad sounds a little strange I know, but please be open-minded and give it a try. If you love dijon you will LOVE this!!!! I got this 'dressing' idea from Kris at iheartwellness. If I wasn't surrounded by co-workers at lunch, I would lick my bowl clean ;)

Oh yea baby, I love me some dijon!!!

If you're looking to add a little protein, you could definitely add a hard-boiled egg, a handful of chickpeas or some sliced turkey.

Derek's been loving his salad with 2 hard-boiled eggs, some smoked turkey and Ranch dressing. He's a big guy with a big appetite and he loves to get this salad in his lunch!

Snackage

On Monday, I made an extra special treat that I have been loving as my snack. Black bean brownies topped with some sugar-free raspberry preserves. This is a flourless, gluten-free recipe. They are fudgy, packed full of protein and taste amazing with the fruit. I am in love with this recipe which I found on Pattycake.

Dinner

Instead of bread, pasta or some other type of grain, I've been trying to add a great big serving of veggies as a side  to my dinners. Usually I like a big plate of veggies roasted with a little coconut oil and sea salt or with some oil, dijon and sea salt. I was craving sweet potato fries recently, so I gave in and had a few from a bag I'd bought at the Superstore. They were so good and definitely satisfied my craving!  As my main meal, I finally remembered to buy wonton wrappers and I made Jen's spinach feta wonton cups.

Oh my goodness, her wonton recipes rock the house!!! I made these ones on Monday and I've already made my own 'veggie omlet' version. These wontons are definitely going to make a weekly appearance on our dinner table.

So as you can see, I can make delicious and filling meals that are filled to the brim with healthy vegetables and fruit. If I can do it, so can you.....and you are going to feel amazing!

What are you going to do so that you can eat more veggies?

Do you have a rotation of meals that you eat every week or do you like to experiment with new recipes and mix it up all the time?

I hope you have the best Wednesday ever!

Andrea

xo