How to eat more vegetables and actually like it.

In my Intuitive Eating Journey, the one thing I noticed that happened to me at first and even until this day is that I don’t reach for vegetables as much.

Fruit was easy. Diet culture even demonizes fruit as having too much sugar so letting go of that food rule for fruit didn’t take that much effort.

But Diet Culture puts vegetables on a very high pedestal and all the health gurus tell you that you must eat as many plants as possible if you want to achieve optimal health and lose weight. And of course don’t “add sauces” for it may bump up the calories too much and cancel out the nutrients even.

I believed that for a long time so my vegetable intake was mostly boiled broccoli and raw carrots.

So it was no wonder when I gave myself unconditional permission to eat ALL the foods and let go of dieting that vegetables was the one area that I couldn’t get into because not only was I tired of dieting, I was tired of eating boiled broccoli too.

For a long time I felt guilty about it, my thoughts around this was like “why eliminate a food that gives SO many nutrients?” You HAVE to still eat vegetables! But you are anti-diet now! Veggies are so boring! Don’t do it! Very polarizing indeed.

The aversion to veggies stems from diet culture, because when dieting, most likely you were eating veggies only steamed or raw, with no flavor whatsoever.

There are a few things have helped me eat more vegetables. At the end of the day, veggies do have the vitamins and minerals that can help us feel GOOD. But it’s not the end all of be all either when it comes to fueling our bodies. And they still have to be satisfying.

1. Prepare your veggies in more than one ways. I took up the idea to roast my broccoli in the oven and added some spices, which made them taste good and satisfying which made me ENJOY them again.
2. Add them to soups,sandwiches and as toppings to pizza- For example I am not so much of a raw spinach person anymore (gah so bland, so boring) but when I add them to soups and as a topping to pizza I definitely would eat them more often.
3. Dip them in sauces, or add a fat based dressing to salads- Adding flavor is the name game here, so pairing veggies to dips like ranch dressing, guacamole or caesar dressing to salads gives them that satisfaction factor.

And if you skip a day or two of not eating vegetables that’s ok! What is important is being consistent over weeks, months even, not really today or two days from now.

And if you genuinely don’t like a particular vegetable or how it makes you feel, you have the permission to skip it all together. There is a plethora of vegetables to choose from and just because you see everyone eating kale and broccoli it doesn’t mean you have to be also.

And lastly, check in with your beliefs and thoughts surrounding vegetables-where are they coming from? And how can you reframe those thoughts? What are the feelings coming up for you when thinking these thoughts?

If you want to see how foods are making you feel after consuming them, my free “Food and Mood Journal,” is now available. It’s a simple template that you can print as many times as you’d like and also includes journal prompts for reflecting. It’s a great way to tune in with your body. You can sign up for the free journal here: Click for Free Food and Mood Journal.