Learn to Like Vegetables as Adults

Vegetables are an important part of our daily lives and should be consumed daily by everyone. Children aren't the only ones who dislike vegetables, some adults dislike them just the same or have lost their desire for vegetables and need to learn to like vegetables again. According to the USDA, it is important to eat vegetables daily which may help to reduce the risk of some chronic diseases. Some of the health benefits of consuming vegetables may reduce the risk for stroke, cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, as well as certain cancers. This is another great reason to learn to like vegetables as an adult.

The USDA recommends eating vegetables daily depending on your age, sex, and level of physical activity. On average, it is recommended that adult women should consume 2 - 2-1/2 cups of vegetables and adult men should consume 2-1/2 - 3 cups of vegetables daily, if you are receiving less than 30 minutes of activity daily. You can find out your own personal amount of vegetables recommended for your to consume daily by visiting the USDA "MyPyramid Plan," where you can enter your personal information to receive a customized food guide not only on vegetables, but all the food groups. This will tell you how much vegetables you should be consuming daily. As always, you should always talk to your doctor if you have any medical conditions because adjusting your diet for any reason.

Now that you know how much vegetables you need to consume daily, the difficult part is consuming the vegetables and how to learn to like vegetables as an adult. Many adults just don't get enough vegetables daily because they don't like the bland taste, or they are just too lazy to clean and cut the vegetables. The foods that are in the vegetable group under the USDA "My Pyramid Plan", can be any vegetable as well as any 100% vegetable juice. The vegetables may be raw, cooked, fresh, frozen, canned, or dried. The USDA recommends that we vary our vegetable intake and consume more dark green veggies, more orange vegetables, as well as more dry beans and peas.

If you are an adult who is too lazy to clean and cut vegetables, you may want to purchase the pre-washed, pre-cut vegetables at the grocery store, but they can be a little bit more expensive and tend to go bad quickly. If you are an adult that just doesn't like bland vegetables, it's time to sweeten, spice them up, or incorporate them into your recipes. If you love lemon, this is the perfect addition to some of the dark green vegetables and you will be receiving some vitamin C as well. You can also add some cut up vegetables, like zucchini to your spaghetti sauce.

There are many recipes that you can find online to transform that bland vegetable into a delicious vegetable dish. Some of the popular dark green vegetables are broccoli, romaine lettuce, and spinach. Here are some delicious ideas and recipes for these dark green vegetables.

Broccoli

Brocoli can be eaten raw and dipped into any type of salad dressing. You can also enjoy broccoli cooked with a little lemon for a delicious taste. If you prefer raw broccoli and would like sweet instead of sour, you must try the Broccoli Salad I. This recipes is can be found on the allrecipes.com website. The broccoli salad is mixed with chopped broccoli, bacon, onions, sunflower seeds, and golden raisins with a dressing of mayonnaise, sugar, and red wine vinegar.

Romaine Lettuce

Romaine lettuce is another great dark green vegetable that can compliment any lunch or dinner daily. Allrecipes.com has a recipe called Nutty Strawberry Salad. The ingredients include romaine, strawberries, and almonds with a dressing of butter, Worcestershire sauce, paprika, oil, sugar, and cider vinegar. This is a delicious fresh summer dressing for your romaine lettuce. If you love romaine lettuce, allrecipes.com has a variety of recipes that you can try.

Spinach

Spinach is another great dark green vegetable with lots of iron. We know what happens to Popeye when he eats his spinach. If you like spinach fresh, you may want to try the Chicken Strawberry Spinach Salad with Ginger-Lime Dressing at Allrecipes.com. This salad has chicken, spinach, strawberries, and almonds with a delivious ginger-lime dressing. Another easy way to add to taste to fresh spinach is by adding a little butter and some finely chopped garlic in a pan and saute them together to your own taste and texture.
Some of the popular orange vegetables are sweet potatoes, carrots, and butternut squash. Here are some ideas and recipes to consider when consuming these vegetables.

Sweet potatoes

Sweet potatoes can be made in the microwave or baked in the oven just like a baked potato. You can add some butter and enjoy it just like a potato. The Food Network website has a collection of sweet potato recipes that you can choose from. They include Roasted Vegetable Soup, Fried Sweet Potatoes, Twice-baked Sweet Potatoes, Old Fashioned Sweet Potato Pie, Fried Sweet Potato Chips, and more.

Carrots

Many adults like fresh cut carrots with their favorite type of dressing. You can also add some shredded carrots to your salads. The Food Network website is another great place to find many delicious carrot recipes that suit your taste. Some of them include glazed carrots, roasted carrots, carrot cake, carrot muffins, and more more.

Butternut Squash

Butternut squash is another orange vegetable and again the Food Network website has a collection of butternut squash recipes that include Butternut Squash Risotto, Beef and Butternut Squash Stew, Butternut Squash and Apple Soup. There are many recipes you can try.

There are many places to find recipes online to try so you can be sure and get your vegetables daily. You don't have to like vegetables, but you can learn to adapt and try new recipes so that you can learn to like them.

*The information contained in this article is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice nor is it intended to be for medical diagnosis or treatments. Always consult your doctor before taking any medical advice or if you are concerned about your physical well being.