I achieved my SMART goal by simply adding bits of vegetables to the "normal" things I eat. I kept my usual diet the same and didn't necessarily cut back on certain foods, but I figured out that I could integrate vegetables into my meals. This way, I'm trying new things and having fun about it.. I'm not just eating plain old vegetables and nothing else!
One disadvantage to this goal is trying to always have a fresh and bountiful amount of different vegetables. I am a very busy person, so I'm not usually home a lot to make meals. This made it difficult to find ways to put vegetables in my diet and to keep my vegetables from going bad. One thing I did to try and solve this problem was I made a large batch of a meal that I could take to school with me and eat. I LOVE pasta salad and making homemade dressings, so I decided to make a large batch of it. I usually always incorporate tomatoes, olives, and cucumbers into my dish. I decided to use less pasta and added more vegetables like green peppers and broccoli to the pasta salad. It's an easy dish to make (if you have patience to cut up the vegetables) and it tastes awesome. Below is a picture of what my pasta salad kind of looked like, and you can find the recipe by clicking on the picture! (I don't usually follow the recipes for the salad because you can make it however you want! If you like "italian" tasting dressing, follow this dressing recipe!)
So, I guess you can say I learned how to be creative with my Lifestyle Change. I plan to keep up with finding more recipes that I can use to integrate my vegetables with meals I enjoy. I think I want to try and vegetable stir fry soon!
Glad the first week went well Niki, I am also a pasta salad enthusiast. Can't say I make homemade dressing, but that'll be something I'll be trying now! Making large meals all at once is very convenient for future meals, I don't always have the luxury of leftovers because I am the designated cook of my house - everything goes pretty quick! Keep up the good work and thanks for the recipe link!
ReplyDeleteGood to know you are making progress. Making your own dressing sounds difficult, but if you make large batches it might be worth it.
ReplyDeleteGood for you for being creative and coming up with ways to increase your veggie intake! I get bored with just eating plain veggies too, so it's great to come up with different ways to eat them. I like your idea of making a big pasta salad. I do that sometimes with just regular salads too...it saves time and is convenient!
ReplyDeleteThis is such a good way to put vegetables into meals! Plain pasta gets boring fast, and this would definitely keep variety as well as getting more vegetables.
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