It’s that time of the year when I switch to eating more winter vegetables, i.e. leafy greens, squash, rutabaga, etc. With the holiday season upon us, I anticipate my diet will include out of the ordinary foods. I mean, I will likely have more party foods, sugar, snacks, etc. 😏
I do have a strategy that I use to combat the deluge of food associated with this season. You do know that the more sweets you eat the more you crave because it is addictive in addition to being delicious, right? Have you noticed how on the day after you eat a lot of food you tend to be more hungry than usual?
Well, the way I combat this is to KEEP a selection of ready to eat vegetables in my refrigerator so when the muchnies hit. If you are like me, when the hunger strikes I start rambling through the pantry in search of anything….and before I know it I have wolfed hundreds of calories in a matter of minutes.😩. I don’t even think I realized how many calories I could shove into my mouth in such a short time until I actually started tracking with MyFitnessPal. I was shocked! I easily added 500 to 700 calories (or more) in no time. Those little snacks over time add up to extra pounds.
Soooo … my secret (not so secret, really) weapon is having readily available vegetables. I have several Christmas parties scheduled in upcoming weeks so I decided not to purchase too many groceries this week. Instead I cooked some frozen veggies I had already.
This afternoon after church I made three favorites: okra, green beans, brussel sprouts.
I used to majorly dislike okra until about five years ago. Now I love them. You know what? If you get a hunger attack, grab a couple cups of vegetables like this, drink some water and wait about 10 minutes, and the hunger subsides.
Vegetables are full of fiber and vitamins….and low calories! Even if you have other snacks afterwards you won’t want to consume nearly as much, therefore, you will eat less calories.
I am pretty basic in my veggie cooking. I use a teeny bit of coconut oil or olive oil in either my cast iron pan or my copper pan. I use a little bit of water because I’m not making soup here. Water seems to wash out all the flavor. I use high heat, cook them fast. So, my veggies stay green, and are done but not mushy. I add a variety of spices: Himalayan salt, fresh ground pepper, ginger, smoked paprika, curry spice mix, and whatever else looks yummy. By the way, adding spices reduces the need to add a lot of salt. That’s it. 😊
Anyway, just thought I’d pass this along in case you needed a strategy to help you get through the season.
Peace and love.
Vessels and Vittles 