Keep

Calm and Eat your Veggies

Typical meals...
Typical meals...
What veggies are...
What veggies are not...
 Why it is important to eat veggies

• Vitamins and minerals

• Phytonutrients => Eat a rainbow!
• Fiber
• Water
• Slow Carbohydrates
• Low impact on blood sugar

Ø Vegetables are your preferred source of slow carbohydrates!

Ø Ideally buy fresh, local, seasonal and organic!
How to eat your veggies
How to eat your veggies

😢
 Secrets to making veggies tasty
• Buy seasonal
• Buy organic
• Buy old varieties
• Do not overcook
• Vary way of preparation: raw, steamed, oven-baked, pan-fried,
in soups, salads, baked goods...
• Season with high quality sea salt, spices, herbs, seeds, garlic...
• Ideally serve as (main) part of a meal also containing fats,
proteins and/or starches
• ALWAYS season with FAT or OIL or CREAM: butter, coconut
cream, olive oil...
 Why add fat to veggies

• Taste!
• Satiation
• Absorption of Vitamins
• Macronutrient Balance
• Blood Sugar
 What types of fat to add to veggies

• Raw Butter
• Coconut Cream / Milk / Oil
• Olive Oil
• Nut oil
• Avocado
• Fatty Fish
• Cream
• Pesto
• Sauce of blended veggies with some oil/butter
 How to eat your veggies - Raw
Raw
 How to eat your veggies
Raw
Advantages Disadvantages
Easy & Quick Depending on vegetable type might
involve time-intense cleaning and cutting
Amount of vitamins/minerals highest (on Not everyone can digest them well:
paper) Vitamins/Minerals not necessarily well
absorbed
Cooling effect Cooling effect

• Not all vegetables are apt to be eaten raw

• Apt: Carrots, Beetroot, Lettuce, Tomato, Cucumber, Zucchini,
Celery, Bell Peppers ...
• Not apt: Cabbage, Broccoli, Cauliflower, Kale, Spinach, Green
Beans (goitrogens, oxalates, lectins, phytic acid)
 How to eat your veggies
You can also drink your veggies, BUT
• Juices are more concentrated in sugar and they lack the fiber
• Many juices are very high in fruit and/or starchy vegetables =>
bad for blood sugar
• If you want to drink your veggies, make a smoothie in which you
blend the whole vegetable and mix it with fat and protein
 How to eat your veggies
Raw - Lactofermented
 How to eat your veggies
Lactofermented
Advantages Disadvantages
Higher vitamin content Depending on vegetable type might
involve time-intense cleaning and
cutting
Help digestion Cannot be eaten immediately
Probiotic Sour in taste (not everybody’s thing)
Cooling effect Cooling effect
Also (and especially) apt for cabbages
Way to preserve food without energy
 How to eat your veggies
Steamed
 How to eat your veggies
Steamed
Advantages Disadvantages
Easy & Quick Not possible on the road without
equipment
Preserves many vitamins/minerals Can be boring to some people unless
well-seasoned
Easier to digest
Apt for all types of vegetables
Pure and plain flavors
 How to eat your veggies
Oven-baked
 How to eat your veggies
Pan-fried
 How to eat your veggies
Cooked
 How to eat your veggies
Baked Goods and Sweets
 How to eat your veggies
Cooked, Pan-Fried, Oven-baked
Advantages Disadvantages
Easy & Quick Depending on vegetable type might
involve time-intense cleaning and
cutting
Easier to digest – vitamins that stay Loss of vitamins due to heat
are better absorbed
Apt for all types of vegetables Not possible on the road without
equipment
Warming effect
Great for creative left-over usage and
efficiency cooking
General Real Food Plate
Examples
Examples