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Friday, March 12, 2010

Foody Friday: Getting your veggies

Have you ever noticed that it's easy to get fruit in throughout the day, but vegetables can be a challenge? At least that's how it seems in my fast-paced, no-lunch-break work environment. Fruit is just so portable and easy! I can grab an apple as I walk out the door, stuff it in my pocket, and pull it out when my stomach starts growling. A quick rinse at the sink and I'm all set to snack. I regularly counsel patients with apple peel in my teeth or banana strings stuck to the front of my white coat.
It's tougher for me to eat my veggies, mostly because you have to do all the prep before you leave the house. I can't exactly bring a whole cucumber and a peeler in to work with me, although I will admit that once in college I was running late to class and threw a hunk of cheese and a kitchen knife into my book bag for lunch (I'm pretty sure that counts as a concealed weapon). Here's my trick for getting vegetables every day: Sunday night I pull out all my veggies, usually while dinner's cooking since I probably already have the cutting board and knives out. I prep this huge container of veggies, spritz it with water, and put it in the bottom of the fridge. Then every morning I just reach in, grab a handful, and shove it into a small container. Ta-da, snacks!

Now I can confidently tell the doctor at my pharmacy counter that his pregnant wife can indeed take loratidine, all while sporting broccoli florets in my canines. Nothing says "trust me" like evidence of a healthy lifestyle.
Notice how old and gross those baby carrots are? I actually heartily dislike carrots. I think vegetables should not be sweet. That's just inappropriate. But whenever bags of baby carrots go on sale for $1, I can't resist buying some. Then I have to force myself to eat them over the course of weeks.
The only drawback to the arrangement above is that veggies do lose some of their nutrients when cut and exposed to the air. Refrigerating reduces nutrient loss, but it's still there. I still think I'm doing better this way, though; mildly nutrient depleted veggies are better than none!
Any other tips for bringing vegetables to work? Do you rely on salads (If I had time to actually pick up a fork, take a bite,and replace the fork I'd be golden. I barely have time to cram a carrot in my cheek)? Or are you industrious enough to get up early and get your veggies prepped each day before work?

5 comments:

  1. Ooh! Good post! I've found that I really like dipping carrots in salsa- then you get a sweet and spicy effect! I tend to be lazy and just buy a veggie tray at the grocery and munch out of that all week. I tried just buying a bag of cauliflower this week (advertised as "steam in the bag" but I planned to eat it raw), but the cauliflower went bad in like 3 days! I was really irritated. :(

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  2. Aren't you so organized with your cut veggies. Someday I aspire to be like you. :-)

    Till then, I throw together a salad in the morning if I'm inspired or try to cram what veggies I can into a wrap. Fortunately my office cafeteria has a decent salad bar that includes some of my favorites like brussels sprouts. So if I'm low on veggies with what I packed I'll get a side of veggies or small salad.

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  3. Shelly, I tried the salsa today and it did help the medicine go down ;-)

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  4. I have a great stir fry spot on my campus... It is a great way to get my veggies in easily. And they taste great =)

    Best,

    Hannah Katy

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  5. I usually stick with easy stuff like celery or baby carrots -- except I tried to buy the pre-cut celery and it was super gross. It's worth washing and cutting it up yourself. And yes, I usually do it all at once as well.

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