How to Get Smarter With Vegetables

If you think you need to be smarter with your vegetables, you're right. Studies show that eating folate, a B vitamin found in leafy green vegetables and citrus, may make it possible for you to keep thinking clearly as you grow older. The more vegetables you eat, the better. How you eat those vegetables matters, however. If you cook them too much, or smother them in unhealthy sauces, their nutritional benefits are less than you think. Read on to learn how to better integrate vegetables into your diet.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

How to Get Smarter with Vegetables

1. Spend less time in the inner aisles of the grocery store that are filled with boxes and cans. It may take less time to prepare this "food"; but the less it looks like the vegetables it may include, the more processed it is--and the less healthy it is for you. If the packaging shouts too loudly about its health benefits, chances are its nutrients could be better eaten in ingredients you cook yourself. If the ingredients include hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils, sugar, or high fructose corn syrup, you should put that package back on the shelf.
2. Pick vegetables you like to eat and cook. Then, enjoy eating them. Too much focus on the nutritional value of each item of food you eat distracts from the pleasure of cooking and eating it. By themselves, or lightly cooked, vegetables are always good for you. Better yet, pick locally-grown and organic vegetables. Consider where your vegetables come from. See the Resources below to learn more about the Slow Food movement, led by people who question the effect that fast food has on our bodies and on the planet. They want us all to understand the relationship between what's on our plate and the health of the planet.
3. Learn new ways to cook the vegetables you love. You don't have to steam everything. Try roasting some vegetables with a small amount of oil, baking them, or marinating them in a small amount of oil and vinegar and your favorite spices. Be creative! For a recipe for marinated vegetables, see the Resources below.
4. Save time by always cooking more than you and your family can eat in one meal. Use the leftovers for another meal.

Tips & Warnings

• Don't add creamy or excessively oily sauces to your vegetables. Don't detract from their health value.