Eat a damn vegetable

If you’re at all like me, then you’re also one of the 9 out of 10 Americans who don’t eat enough fruits and veggies and for whom no amount of PSA messaging is likely to change that.

The reasons hardly matter, be they access, preparation, taste, or disinterest. There’s no need to judge ourselves harshly for this “failure” either.  I’m sure we all have enough other stress in our lives—between work, training, commuting, kids, partners, art, chores, volunteering, activism, etc.—that fretting over finishing your peas just isn’t worth it.

But (again), if you’re at all like me, then you probably also go through cycles of trying to increase or diversify your veggie intake—a week, a month, or more at a time, you might find the motivation and determination to make it happen. Even then, it may take A LOT of energy to plan and execute.

Here I share some ideas for the in-between times when you have interest in getting more produce but have limited time, energy, desire, or funds. These are my favorite ways (or “hacks” if this were a clickbait listicle) to eat a damn vegetable, specifically simple ways to sneak them into my usual diet.

• Fruit smoothies: Preparing your own breakfast smoothies is an easy way to get both fruits AND veggies. My go-to recipe includes 1 or two bananas, a handful of baby spinach, ginger, granola, almond milk, vanilla yogurt, and a scoop of vanilla protein powder (because I also struggle to get enough protein). The great thing about spinach is that it has a mild flavor easily covered by the other ingredients and adds a lot of important nutrients to the mix. Pinterest of course has a lot of recipe suggestions, and you can add any variation of fruits and veggies that you like.
• Frozen Steamfresh veggie and protein mixes (or whatever brand you like): Technology has come a long way such that flash-freezing produce is the norm, and the method preserves nutrients just as well as canning. Supermarkets offer lots of tasty vegetable mixes, some with light sauce or seasoning and/or added protein items. And you can just throw the whole bag in the microwave for five minutes and pour out a fresh, hot bowl full of veggies. Hawaiian style is my favorite: whole grains, shelled edamame, carrots, pineapple, and white beans with a pineapple ginger sauce.
• Baby food: I actually got this idea when I was pet-sitting my sisters’ sugar gliders once. They get a tub of baby food each day, but I splashed a bit when I opened the food and licked it off my fingers without a thought. Turns out that baby food fruit and veggie mixes are freakin’ delicious (especially when chilled). So I buy the pouches with a cap from the grocery store to snack on during the day, and I get a wider variety of produce than I’d ever buy and prepare myself: pumpkin, squash, beets, and even kale masked by yummier things like mango and raspberry.
• Subscription boxes: I don't know yet whether I'm recommending these, but next week I'm starting my free trial of Blue Apron, so I'll be back to write more about it.

Balancing your eating habits doesn't have to be a chore and doesn't require cutting out all sweets and restricting your favorite foods. Just add some variety and nutrients when you can.

What are your favorite ways to prepare and eat fruits and vegetables?

Let's Talk Truthfully About Trainers

The Daily Beast has a great article about important questions to ask when you are searching for a physical trainer. It's definitely worth a read:

... the health and fitness industry is rife with problems. The hype, the body-shaming, the obsession with weight and body-fat—these things stand as barriers to people actually adopting healthy habits that they can maintain throughout their lives. Even so, this is the industry we look to when we decide we want to learn about our bodies—how they work, and how to take care of them, and how we can use them to experience enjoyable, natural movement.

So, if you have a trainer, or you’re thinking about hiring a trainer or some other sort of health professional, you want to be in the best hands. I offer here a simple test: three questions to pose to your potential health guru, to weed out the bad ones. And believe me, there are bad ones out there.

1: Do I Need to Lose Weight?

No.

You don’t need to lose weight. If you’re an average American, you probably need to be more physically active, and you could probably tweak your diet in any number of ways. But your trainer should not be telling you that you need to lose weight.

The above sentiment may surprise, and even upset a lot of people. But the very fact that the idea of “not needing to lose weight” seems so radical is a testament to the brokenness of our health culture.

Despite our obsession with it, weight is a poor proxy for individuals’ health.

  

Here's the link to the rest of it.

Choosing (and Defining) Happiness

I'm enjoying this blog post from Kaleo and want to share.

"A simple Google search of the terms ‘diet’ and ‘fitness’ reveals that fat loss is THE defining goal of virtually every fitness and diet program. Try to find a ‘success story’ that doesn’t hinge on the visible reduction of body fat. Fat loss is, quite simply, THE barometer of success in this world. When fat loss is achieved, the program is deemed successful. Most programs are marketed specifically as fat loss plans. We are, as a culture, myopically obsessed with fat loss.

"Choosing to end the relentless pursuit of fat loss is not an admission of defeat, it is not a failure. It can be a very healthy, very positive statement of self-respect.

"I can’t tell you which body you should like better, but I CAN tell you which one eats ice cream, kills workouts and has more sex. The overweight one."

Prioritize your life as best suits you. Mine will include more happiness, satisfaction, and celebration with food and friends, less obsession over calories and appearance, and more concern with action and experiences.

No one will remember my dress size when I'm dead, but they will remember my attitude and smile.