Well here we are finally at Step #4 to getting on the Real Foods Wagon train! It’s been a journey! If you missed the other three easy steps to help you make the transition don’t forget to check them out at the bottom after the recipes! But today the subject on the agenda is Veggies! How many times did you hear your Mom say, “Eat all of your vegetables” when you were growing up? There’s a really good reason she told you to do that, it’s because plants are the true “living foods” that we consume! They are loaded with enzymes, vitamins and minerals. The more colorful the better.
If you look at many of the natural cancer protocols you’ll find that the majority if not ALL of what they are told to consume is fresh vegetables. Vegetables help the body to have a more alkaline PH which cancer cells absolutely hate! They are full of fluid which our bodies need since a large percentage of our make up is water and they generally take a shorter time to digest and reach the blood stream ahead of meats which means less work for the body to digest the food. My reasoning is that if these foods are largely instrumental in benefitting a body battling cancer, that’s something I should be consuming to PREVENT cancer as well!
Should it all be organic?
I know sometimes it’s hard to buy all organic, believe me I see the price difference in the store. It is best if you are able to swing it BUT if you can’t do that there are some that you should really make a point of buying organic and then some that maybe you can squeak by not getting organic. Here is a list of the veggies that are heavily sprayed to buy organic:
Celery
Spinach
Sweet Bell Peppers
Cucumbers
Cherry tomatoes
Sugar snap peas
potatoes
Hot peppers
Kale
Collard Greens
Here is the good news! These veggies are NOT typically heavily sprayed so your pocketbook can breathe a sigh of relief and you can grab the conventional ones if you must, but remember it’s always best to opt for organic if you can. Here’s the list of clean veggies:
Avocados
Sweet Corn
Cabbage
Onions
Asparagus
Eggplant
Cauliflower
Sweet Potatoes
More tips for your budget
To help offset the cost of buying organic a few of the things that I have done to help is purchase the “green bags” in the store which helps to prolong the freshness of produce. I found that they really do work! Produce is a living food that doesn’t have a bunch of artificial preservatives so they will go bad quicker then other foods. I found those bags to be worth the investment! When I get them home I immediately place them in the bags and store in the refrigerator for safe keeping. I typically don’t use a ton of plastic in our home usually opting for glass over plastic, but after giving way more of our produce to the chickens then we were eating due to it going bad and not having the time to go to the grocery store every couple of days I decided to relent on this one item.
Also, check out your local farmers market, and again I stress as I have in previous posts, know your farmer! Many times the farmer is not certified organic but is completely chemical free and can be a great economical choice for grabbing some clean veggies! The certification process can be quite arduous so many farmers don’t want to deal with the paperwork, but their produce still follows the guidelines just without the organic stamp.
And of course if you have that green thumb or want to develop one you can always grow them yourself. It’s really fun and rewarding!
I find that I feel better if I try to consume a largely plant based diet and use meat as a compliment to my meal. I believe we are all created different and we are far from being cookie cutter people so finding how you feel the best should be your goal and roll with it! The trick to enjoying vegetables more for you and your family is to experiment with cooking them and consuming them different ways. The ways to eat them are so varied from juicing them to adding them to your omelets in the morning! My husband and I didn’t like greens very much until we found an ingredient that turned it ALL around for us! I’ve linked up that recipe and another one to give a try below. I guess Mama really did know best!!
Check out these simple recipes:
Give your greens that Ume kick
In case you missed the other steps:
Step #1 to transition to a Whole Foods diet
Very useful article. I also feel better if “I try to consume a largely plant based diet and use meat as a compliment to my meal.” Sharing it.
Thank you M.C.!