Eating plenty of vegetables is not only a central part of low-GI eating, it’s a big part (or should be a big part) of healthy eating in general. This is the case for several reasons:
- Virtually all vegetables—with the exception of white potatoes—have a low GI (55 or less)
- Vegetables are “nutrient dense”, meaning they provide a respectable amount of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and fiber relative to the amount of carbohydrates they contain
- Vegetables, because of their natural fiber content and bulk, are a Dieter’s Dream; they fill you up quickly, and keep you feeling fuller for longer
Despite all these major advantages for the diet, many of us still seem to avoid vegetables in the kitchen. Aside from any childhood drama associated with mounds of Brussels sprouts and memberships in the Clean Plate Club, the reason seems to be the belief that vegetables are too expensive, and that their preparation and cooking requires far more time, skill and precision than other foods.
This is not true. Like anything else, it’s a lot to do with organization, equipment and mindset. Here is a step-by-step guide for making vegetables easy.
Choose Wisely
When choosing vegetables, the best piece of nutritional advice is the same one that’s often used for selecting fruit: Eat a Rainbow. That is, fill your basket with as many colors as possible to ensure variety and prevent boredom. This is a very simple and fun way to achieve balanced nutrition.
When it comes to the classic “fresh versus frozen” debate, it’s true that fresh, locally grown vegetables might hold a slight advantage, but frozen vegetables are usually much cheaper, are pre-sliced or diced, and are nowhere near as poor an alternative as some purists maintain—depending on how far a fresh vegetable has had to travel, it’s frozen counterpart may actually have retained more nutrients.
Apart from that, use common sense: cabbage, zucchini, squash, peppers and asparagus all rinse quickly and chop easily, and the list doesn’t stop there. Find others for yourself.
Set Up for Success
Invest in a good-sized cutting board and one good chef’s knife; you can get both for well under $50, and they will last practically forever.
We’ve all seen a cooking show at one time or another; ever notice how everything is laid out and ready to go? Part of the reason they make it look easy is because they have, in fact, set it up to be easy—we should all do the same. Do your rinsing right as your stove heats up. If you can, set your cutting board right next to your stove, and your trashcan between you and the countertop: this makes cooking a matter of “chop and drop” (or again, skip this step by buying frozen, pre-cut vegetables). This article presumes most of us are cooking on the stovetop, which is more universal, but another non-chopping option is to roast or grill vegetables whole. Try it once in a while, just to change things up.
In the pan, the general order of placement should be: carrots, celery and onions first, then broccoli and/or cauliflower, then peppers, then zucchini, squash, and mushrooms, and finally greens like spinach or kale. The first ones take the longest to cook, the last ones just a couple of minutes.
Chop for Days
As opposed to chopping and cooking on a per-meal basis; this minimizes hassle, and when done in balance doesn’t compromise food quality. The thought is: if you’ve started chopping and are on a roll, why stop there? Chopped vegetables keep just as well as whole ones, and it doesn’t take double the time to chop double the vegetables once you get going. For most people, chopping vegetables every other day is also more appealing than every single day. As a final bonus, always having chopped vegetables on hand will make you that much more inclined to eat them by throwing them into omelets, heating them up quickly as a side dish, or even leaving them uncooked on top of a salad—yet another option, which makes vegetables about as easy as they can get!
From all of the above, it should be clear that vegetables, apart from being a nutritional powerhouse, can also be made very user-friendly. No more excuses: drop all your fears, and go after the vegetable rainbow—there’s nutritional gold at the end!
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