Good morning and Happy Monday!
What a weekend! Here in NYC we had a historic 26′ snow fall in less than 24 hours, shutting down the City, driving everyone indoors. It was magnificent to watch from the warmth of my apartment and I used the time cooking foods to freeze for future meals…. veggie stock, turkey minestrone and olive loaf bread. Today I’ll be making Carrot-Tarragon soup. Veggies are the mainstay of my diet and this soup is a delicious way to get solid nutrition.
Veggies are such an important part of your body’s ability to stay healthy, vital and strong. Eating a variety of colorful vegetables provides nutrients you will simply not get from any other foods. To help you get the most of your vegetable consumption, today I am answering a question I am often asked: should I eat raw vegetables or cooked? What option is most nutritious? Today’s Motivational Monday will answer that question for you.
Surely you’ve heard about raw foodism and it’s many possibilities for promoting health. You may be curious to explore these benefits yourself and are wondering if it would be right for you. The answer is not that straight forward, but after you’ve watched today’s video you will have a better understanding if it is right for you.
Once you’ve watched the video, I want to hear from you! Do you follow a raw food diet or have you ever tried it? What percentage of raw vs. cooked food do you consume? And how many servings of veggies are you getting a day? I’d love to hear in the comments below.
Whether you eat cooked or raw, what is indisputable is the health promoting effects of eating quality produce. I ask my clients to shoot for 7 servings a day which is not that difficult if you consider that 1/2 cup of broccoli is a serving. See if you can challenge yourself to have more than you are currently having. To help you with this here’s a chart of serving sizes:
- A bowl of Romaine lettuce
- A handful of baby carrots
- ½ cup broccoli or asparagus
- ½ bell pepper
- 1 cup raw spinach
- ½ cup brussel sprouts, quartered
- 1 cup raw cabbage
- 1 cup mustard greens or arugula
- 1 cup zucchini or squash
And if you want to have a solid bowl of goodness, then I encourage you to make my awesome Carrot-Tarragon soup… I promise you won’t be disappointed… and it’s an easy way to meet your 7-a-day goal!
Have a great week everyone and for those of you in colder climates, stay warm…
xo
B