Snow Peas, please

When you’re trying to lose a few pounds, vegetables are your best friend. I’m always encouraging my clients: eat as much vegetables as you need to get full. If they’re raw and plain, or cooked with minimal fat or calorie-laden ingredients: GO TO TOWN. You’re not going to gain weight because you ate a half pound of asparagus, I promise. Downsize the meat, fat, or starchy components of a meal in favor of extra veggies and you’ll be just as full on fewer calories, and with more vitamins, minerals, fiber and antioxidants. Even if you are already a healthy weight, vegetables go a long way to providing disease-fighting nutrients that you simply can’t get from supplements or fortified foods. Ever notice that almost 100% of my recipes have a strong plant presence?

My advice to the vegetable-haters out there… keep trying. Have an open mind and experiment like crazy to find some varieties or preparations you like. If you can’t get past the mushy frozen or canned vegetables you remember from school lunches or summer camp, you’ll never find out that fresh summer corn is infinitely better than canned, creamed goop, or that a quick saute of carrots or zucchini with garlic can be really delicious, not just a hurdle to getting dessert. Maybe your parents scarred you by forcing you to eat broccoli. Let it go. They did their best. I’m not saying you have to be crunching down stalks of broccoli like it’s a gourmet treat, but don’t write off all vegetables as a result. There are hundreds out there, literally.