Six Ways to Eat More Veggies and Why That’s So Important in The Time of COVID
/My kitchen is overflowing with veggies right now. That’s not normal for most Americans. In fact, according to the CDC, 90.7% of Americans are NOT eating the recommended amount of veggies — for women, 2.5 cups a day and for men, 3 cups a day (source).
Which is even more astounding because the CDC includes potatoes and beans, peas and lentils as veggies too.
My Optimal Eating clients are an exception to this devastating statistic and so and I (and I hope you are or will be too).
A recent pre published article (not peer reviewed yet) "Reducing COVID-19 hospitalization risk through behavior change" reviewed “data (N=444,649) from the 2017 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System to identify potentially modifiable risk factors associated with underlying conditions (cardiovascular disease, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, diabetes, hypertension or obesity) that increase risk of US hospitalizations for COVID-19. Risk factors included lifetime smoking, sedentary lifestyle, and inadequate fruit and vegetable consumption” (source).
**The authors found that in increasing fruit and veggie consumption, increasing physical activity and not smoking can reduce someone’s risk of being hospitalized by 36%!** (source).
Those tragically dying from COVID-19 predominantly have diet-related comorbidities (high blood pressure, diabetes, hyperlipidemia, coronary artery disease etc.) and or are over age 65 (something diet has zero control over) (source).
My most recent client who graduated as an optimal eater, Tracy, is 53 years old and look what she accomplished…
went from having high to normal blood pressure,
got off TWO blood pressure medications,
lost 16 pounds (in part, from eating more veggies although there’s more to it than that),
lost 2.5 inches off her waist,
decreased chronic pain 3-4 points throughout her body and - has drastically improved her digestion.
and, she’s full, satisfied, loves what she’s eating and has the vitality to move more.
Tracy, has significantly reduced her risk of being hospitalized by COVID-19 if she gets it and dying from the virus. BUT at the same time, she’s doing the best thing to SIMULTANEOUSLY add years to her life.
So, how can you increase your vegetable consumption to help strengthen your immune system (which is your body’s frontline defense mechanism for fighting viruses)?
Six Ways to Eat The Recommended Amount of Veggies a Day (and Like It)
1. Focus on the veggies you love or like
I never have my clients eat foods they don’t like. For your enjoyment and sustainability sake, focus on eating the veggies you like or love even if that means you’re eating the same ones repeatedly.
2. Make sure you have veggies at home.
You don’t have to buy organic. Canned, frozen or fresh are fine. Focus on the veggies you know you already like or love and stick to those. You can cook them in the microwave too! I love canned French cut green beans! Same thing with vegetarian baked beans. Buy the can!
3. Eat your veggies first!
This is a great tip for kids too. This ensures you don’t fill up on other foods first (and forget the veggies). Veggies also taste better when you eat them first because they are the lowest in calorie density of any food. The more calorie dense a food is the better it tastes so they won’t taste as good if you wait to eat them last.
4. Start at lunch. Don’t wait until dinner to eat your veggies.
My clients don’t measure their veggies or portion sizes ever (because who will do that for the rest of their life? And, it’s just unnecessary to get their results). Lunch should always include at least a cup of veggies. If you wait until dinner (or only eat once a day) you won’t get enough. Bonus points for having them with breakfast. Remember, potatoes, sweet potatoes and beans count too.
5. Eat no more than 3 ounces of meat a week.
To eat more veggies, you’ll probably have to eat less of something else. Meat, especially processed meats, have been shown numerous times to contribute to chronic disease in the normal American amount. Substitute a veggie burger for a beef burger (there are some really yummy, whole plant food burgers out there), a baked sweet potato instead of chicken, rice and beans in tacos instead of beef etc. You’ll stick get enough protein!
6. Make cheese sauces using veggies instead of traditional dairy cheeses.
You’ll get more vitamins, minerals, fiber, antioxidants and skip the cholesterol and saturated fat — two nutrients that are non-essential for you to eat to survive. To the contrary, they’re harmful for your health.
Here’s two of my favorite plant-based cheese recipes:
Powdered Mac and Cheese Sauce (it’s like having a healthy version of Kraft’s powdered mac and cheese in your kitchen at all times)
In this video I also share what veggies are in my fridge and what you can do with them to make them taste good :)
I lay out my step-by-step eating and lifestyle plan that I give my clients (before we tailer it to their unique situation and needs) in my book “The Optimal Eating Solution.”
If you’re a go-getter and great and making changes on your own, I highly recommend reading and IMPLEMENTING the action steps in the book. It’s packed with research AND a concrete plan for losing 1-3 pounds a week like 95% of my clients do. Order ‘The Optimal Eating Solution: Maintainable Weight Loss and Longevity, Even If You Can’t Exercise,’ here.
Need my personal coaching as your private Nutritionist?
If you know you need help reaching your health and weight goals because you can’t do it on your own (there’s no shame in that), please reach out for a free consult. We’ll see if working with me is truly what you need or not (remember, asking for help is courageous and something to be proud of). Schedule your free video consult here and see my client’s amazing health transformations here.
Now comment below…
What’s your biggest challenge when it comes to eating 2.5-3 cups of veggies a day? What are your favorite veggies?
Can’t wait to hear.
Love and Leafy Greens,
Trish
P.S. While researching for this article I found that 10,000 children a MONTH are dying from COVID-19 hunger around the globe, brought on by our human response to the virus. For example, because food “markets closed because of coronavirus restrictions” people don’t have money from selling produce to feed their families and access to food is more challenging (source).
In Easton, PA yesterday, where I live, a non-profit ‘Animal Defender’ was giving away produce and plant-based products for the third month in a row yesterday (every Wednesday at 12 pm in front of Terra Cafe if anyone needs produce/food). I was there and there was a line 45 minutes before they opened.
In the U.S. Sadly, with 20 million Americans additionally unemployed because of shutting down society, it will be harder for many Americans to eat more veggies in a time when it is more important than ever (poverty is the main disparity to decreased fruit and veggie consumption according to the CDC). Plus, there are no no negative effects from increasing vegetable consumption. It can only help you (source).
Getting lean, and reducing chronic disease is more important than ever because it can reduce COVID-19 hospitalizations up to 36% (source).