What day is it? FRIDAY! You know what that means. It’s time for another episode of Friday’s With The Ferret!
This week, I want to talk about vegetables and how to get them inside of you.
Of course, before we dive head long into the topic, I’d like to spin an anecdote for you.
Today (and most days) I eat 1 big helping of green vegetables (broccoli, brussel sprouts, asparagus, kale etc.) and 1 helping of another vegetable that is anything but green (this changes based on the season and what’s on sale that week.) Raw, or steamed is my preferred method and I rarely put anything on them for seasonings or flavoring. If you can believe this … I actually enjoy the taste!
By adding in these servings of vegetables and keeping my diet colorful, I am able to maximize my nutrition intake and find that many macro and micro nutrients I once was severely lacking in, I have ample supply of. In having ample supply, I find my energy levels through the roof ((Most days for me start at 5am, a few clients in the morning, followed by tree work (yes, I am a lumber jack on the side) my own hour long workout, more clients to train, and finally home by 930pm. This increase in energy is vital to my survival!)) My recovery time from working out and from work is dramatically reduced, my skin looks and feels healthier, and my body fat % has been the lowest it has ever been in my entire life.
Now here’s the shocker … I spent 24 years of my life HATING vegetables (and I don’t throw that word around lightly!) I would go out of my way to avoid them, couldn’t stand the taste, the texture, or anything about them. ANY OF THEM. The only way I could ever choke them down was drenched in ranch dressing.
So needless to say, my diet was composed mostly of carbohydrates, sugars, and protein. I was missing many essential nutrients; my body and mind suffered because of this.
Today friends, I want to share with you my secret on how I started not only eating, but actually enjoying my vegetables.
It was a long and arduous road, but in the grand scheme has paid off ten-fold and will continue to pay off as long as I draw breath.
This is the miracle of Juicing.
When I first decided it was time to add some more color to the palate that was my diet, I needed a way I could choke down those veggies fast so my body could get its nutrition, but I wouldn’t have to taste them or cover them in something unhealthy.
An IV drip was out of the question. Too bulky to carry around.
So the next quickest method? Turn them into a puree and slurp it down.
I invested in a good blender (although a great juicer or food processor works just as well) and began making my vegetable concoctions.
Initially, they tasted horrendous, but since they were liquid, they went down quick and easy.
After a while, I started to experiment a bit. I started adding fruits, yogurts, a little bit of milk, crushed nuts.
The result?
These magical shakes, started to taste AMAZING! By adding in the sweet flavor of the fruits and thinning the mixture down with yogurts and milk, these disgusting looking concoctions (note: they still sometimes look disgusting) took on an aroma and flavor that can only be described as divine.
I started pounding one of these bad boys every day, making sure I had at least 1 fruit and 1 vegetable in each shake. I experimented with different combinations and found the ones that I liked best.
After a while, I started adding in protein powder and drinking these shakes as a post workout, or an appetite suppressor mid-day.
Then … something terrible happened. My blender jumped off the counter and broke.
Having been on a vegetable and fruit kick for so long, my body quickly noticed it was no longer getting its nutrients, and I started to feel like crap. Granted, it was the kind of crap I had felt like for 24 years, but being accustomed to such a poor diet I had never noticed it.
So, with my intestines best interest in mind, I bit the bullet, and chowed down on some vegetables.
Were they as awful and tasteless and gross as I had remembered them being?
No …
In fact, it was just the opposite.
I COULD actually taste them, and you know what? They weren’t half bad!
From there, the rest is history. I started eating my veggies whole and have been constantly experimenting with new ways to cook and prepare them.
So do you need more veggies in your life but don’t know how to start incorporating them into your diet?
JUICE em!
TheFitFerret 