Update and ncorporating veggies

Ariliz23

Hello Community, I started my weight loss journey in February and got some bad advice (not here). Over two and a half months, I gained 5 pounds, my cholesterol shot up and my blood pressure rose. Basically, the advice was to have 6 servings of grains each day - bread fine, pasta, rice, quinoa, muffins. And one serving of something sweet each day was okay too - candy, ice cream, pie, cookies. Her thought was that these things are essentially the same as fruit. Not!

My doctor recommended another nutritionist and I saw her last week and jumped right in. I am to have no grains and no sweets ideally but if one sneaks through on rare occasion, it's okay. Lots and lots of veggies. 2 - 3 servings/fruit a day too.

My misunderstanding was that carbs were only in starchy veggies and grains. They are everywhere! So I'm learning. And I've dropped 5 pounds already. I don't expect that to continue at that rate, but as long as I'm losing weight slowly and steadily, I'm happy.

Here's my conundrum. Each person I talk with tells me to get in more veggies. I get that. And I'm trying. But I get sick of eating salad and stir fry or roasted veggies. That's about all I know to do with veggies. Can folks please share their recipes or ideas on this topic? I find myself gravitating back to meat and potatoes (sweet potatoes now!). I can have oil/ghee with my veggies - just need new ideas on how to enjoy them.

Thanks in advance!

MelanieCN77

Ask your doctor to send you to someone with actual qualifications. Unless you have medical problems that require restricting certain foods, there's no need to cut grains or carbs or whatever it is this week that's trendy to go without or how "nutritionists" are justifying their weird advice. Count your calories, and be in a deficit, that's all, for weight control.

Sweet potatoes aren't nutritionally all that much different from regular, so feel free to enjoy both. I tend to not eat either too much as they are way more calorie dense than other veg options that I can eat more of. I like to do cauliflower mash, steamed broccoli with lemon, saute up some kale with tomatoes, zucchini, eggplant and such with some spicy taco sauce, lunch veg I'll usually eat raw (carrots, tomatoes, radish, whatever). Zucchini sliced thin can make a nice alternative to pasta in lasagna (go with turkey meat and fat free ricotta). Pinterest is your friend!

Golbat

I love all potatoes. I don't think they're necessarily bad for you. That's a bit outdated advice.

I love veggies in all ways. They're good sautéed, roasted, in salads, in stir fries, in curries, and raw (with healthy homemade dip.) And any other way you can think of them. You can make veggie casseroles even. If you join a CSA (community supported agriculture - google it) you'll get a box of veggies every so often and you'll learn ways to cook and enjoy all sorts of veggies you haven't considered.

lemurcat12

I don't do anything especially creative with vegetables, but I have them with all meals, usually.

Example:

Breakfast I might have a 2-eggs omelet with vegetables (today the omelet was mushrooms, broccoli, and spinach, plus a little feta). If not, I might have savory oats with veg or veg on the side with some oats and berries.

Dinner I will have some kind of protein, some kind of starch (usually), and some kind of vegetables -- vegetables will be about half the total volume or more. Example, last night I had rack of lamb (fancy for Easter) with roasted sweet potatoes (last minute change, I personally eat potatoes too and see them as equally healthy), and then a medley of sauteed vegetables: fennel, carrots, asparagus, and also mushrooms.

Another such example would be pork chop with roasted sweet potato on the side, with brussels sprouts (roasted -- there are lots of ways to cook them, though), and then a sauce for the pork chop with cabbage, onions, and apples.

I might make pasta and a sauce with lots of sauteed veg in olive oil (whatever I have available) plus some shrimp and then maybe add some olives and pine nuts and then mix in the pasta. I'd do something similar with rice for a stir fry.

For lunch I will have leftover dinner, a salad with protein on it (today, chicken) and lots of other delicious additions, or something that I make ahead for lunches, like a lentil stew or vegetarian chili with lots of vegetables or some slow cooked dark meat turkey with root vegetables and cauliflower or lots of other such things.

The variety makes it all interesting.

I grew up eating meat and potatoes a lot too, but it was ALWAYS meat and potatoes and vegetables.

TeaBea

No grains - no sweets. Elimination diets help me lose weight, that's step one. But step two, maintenance is a lifelong endeavor.

Ask your "nutritionist" how you maintain the weight you lost - do you eliminate these things forever? Easier said than done.

Focus on forever changes.....not just a diet.

JeromeBarry1

I haven't gotten tired of eating vegetables. I have varied the vegetables I use and tried to include more of the nutrient-dense low-calorie vegetables in my food. I recently learned that I should not over-cook my vitamin-C bearing vegetables such as collards and bok choy, so for those I will use a steamer for just 5 minutes to avoid destroying the vitamin C.

I also include some vegetables on my pizza, which I often enjoy making at home. That's an easy way to get wonderful onions, mushrooms, tomatoes and peppers in a delicious meal. For 500 calories. Yep.

elizabethmcopeland

I cannot say enough good things about Indian food. A large portion of their population is vegetarian, so they have so many beautifully flavored vegetable dishes. Maybe be a little adventurous one day and find an Indian restaurant in town -- they often have lunch buffets because their curries keep well. You can try a bunch of different vegetable dishes and see if it's your jam. (Granted, there is a lot of fried and cream-laden stuff on the menu, but just make good moderate choices, there's a whole world of flavors out there...)

Ariliz23

My thanks to all of you! You've given me some really good ideas. Indian is my absolutely favorite cuisine. I think I just tend to gravitate towards eating too much of things that aren't great for me - fried chicken, samosas, naan. I can eat all those things but they can't be the star. I need to incorporate more veggies and you've given me terrific insights. I appreciate it!