V is for Veggies

One of our most common New Year's resolutions is to shed a few pounds. As a former member of Weight Watchers, I learned that you can eat many vegetables without having them count towards your daily maximum allotment of food. Some of these "zero point" vegetables are green beans, broccoli, cauliflower, lettuce, mushrooms, and tomatoes. You can easily find a complete list of these zero point foods by searching the internet. Here is a weight loss strategy I tried recently with good results. I switched one of my three daily meals to just vegetables. The first week, I ate a plate of steamed Brussels sprouts for lunch. I tossed the cooked Brussels sprouts with a tablespoon or two of apple cider vinegar and a tablespoon of chopped walnuts for texture and crunch. I used frozen sprouts, but fresh will do as well. You can substitute fat free Italian dressing, balsamic vinegar, or even sugar free maple syrup for the apple cider vinegar. You can substitute almond slivers, pecans, pine nuts, or even dried cranberries for the walnuts. The key is to combine 2 or three of your favorite tastes and textures to jazz things up a bit. After just a week of substituting the vegetables for lunch and eating as I usually do for the other two meals, I lost 3 pounds without ever feeling hungry. I plan to try other combinations of zero point veggies every week to keep things from getting boring, and to experiment with other low calorie ingredients to toss in or sprinkle on. The high water content and high fiber content of the vegetables kept me feeling full until the next regular meal. If you cook your veggies, the key is not to overcook them, but cook them just until they start to become tender. They will have a much better taste and texture. I am not a dietician or a nutritionist, just a regular person who put on some weight over the holidays and found a relatively painless way to take it off. So far this is working for me. Maybe it can work for you, too.