2008/01/08, 07:52 PM
I'm not a really big veggie eater, I really only like a few. Will taking vitamins help me make up for what I'm not taking in? Also does anyone have any suggestions?
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2008/01/09, 08:21 AM
No, they will not make up for not eating vegetables. Do as your mother said and eat your vegetables.
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2008/01/09, 08:32 AM
My suggestion is that you need to try new recipes/ways of fixing vegetables - often people don't like vegetables because they have only experienced them in overcooked or badly prepared states. My husband had never eaten a fresh vegetable when we met - he had only ever had frozen or canned and he was not a veggie fan (I don't blame him, who likes gray broccoli or mushy gray green beans?)
Nowdays my husband likes fresh steamed broccoli, fresh steamed cauliflower,cripsy steamed green beans (one of his favorites), lots of different stir-fry blends, sweet potatoes, and even ..duh duh duh...salad!!!!
So - keep experimenting with different vegetables and different methods of cooking them and seasoning them.
I do include a multi-vitamin as 'back-up insurance' but it cannot replace all of the phytochemicals and anti-oxidants and other nutrients (fiber, too) that you get from real food.
-------------- Permanence, perseverance and persistence in spite of all obstacles, discouragements, and impossibilities: It is this, that in all things distinguishes the strong soul from the weak.
Thomas Carlyle
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2008/01/09, 09:41 AM
When my dad makes my brother and me fruit smoothies he always mixes in a few carrots or a piece of cabbage. It makes it healthier, and you really can't taste it at all. The carrots give it a grittier texture, but the cabbage isn't noticeable. It's not really a lot of veggies, but at least it's something!
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2008/01/09, 12:07 PM
I too have a hard time getting veggies in. I drink a small can (5.5 oz) of low sodium V8 juice with my AM snack and my PM snack. If you've never read the ingredients, they are as follows (as I drink one now):
100% veggie juice, tomato juice from concentrate (tomato concentrate, water), reconstituted vegetable juice blend (water and concentrated juices of carrots, celery, beets, parsley, lettuce, watercress, spinach), salt (bad, I KNOW!), vitamin C (ascorbic acid), flavoring, citric acid. 5.5 oz. provides slightly more than 1/2 cup vegetable intake.
Another great option for veggies, is that I will cut up strips of green, red and yellow bell peppers. I'll snack on those in front of the TV when the rest of the family is eating their popcorn. I think that raw peppers are the BEST and so flavorful.
Good luck!
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2008/01/09, 08:57 PM
I guess I shouldn't say I don't eat any just not as much as I should. I like green beans, broccoli, peas. I'm just thinking the vitamins could make up for what I'm missing.
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2008/01/09, 10:12 PM
Whitee, in my opinion you should be taking a good multivitamin every day regardless of your veggie intake. One trick that I use to monitor where I am is on fitday.com. You can track not only your food intake, but also your vitimin intake and a combo of both. You can then check your daily intake and compare it to what you should be getting when it comes to your vitamins. Simple research can tell you the amounts of each vitamin that you should have for your system. I usually check with the pharmacist when I go in to pick up new vitamins or supplements. I currently take only multi-vitamin, calcium and Omega 3 oils. When I first started I was all prepped up to start taking extra Vitamin E, and Vitamin C, and Vitamin K, etc. A little overboard. There are some serious drawbacks to certain vitamins, one of the ones listed above strips the enamel from your teeth over time (according to pharmacist), can't remember which one.
So, be careful, listen to the professionals and good luck! And like asimmer said, never hurts to have back up, but nothing replaces the benefit of real food.
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2008/01/18, 01:30 AM
Green Beans kick ass. I try to bury mine in pepper
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