Eating More Veggies, Part 1: Raw. Or almost raw.

The first step to eating more vegetables is simple: have them available.  This will involve a trip to the grocery store.  In your zeal to bring more veggies into your life you may feel compelled to grab sacks and sacks of jicama, horseradish and jerusalem artichokes because they look cute. 

Take it easy.

Your mission is to choose three vegetables that you already know you like and are palatable at a raw or nearly raw state.  Having three different colors is a good idea.  For the sake of argument, lets say carrots, snow peas, and red peppers.  Or cauliflower, radishes and green beans.  Or jicama, grape tomatoes, and asparagus.  Whatever you like.

Bring the veggie trio home and give them a good wash.  (Even if they are organic.  Just because they are organic doesn't mean they don't have dirt and stuff on them.)  If the veggie you have chosen is great for eating raw, just the way it is, like snow peas or grape tomatoes, then just dry it well.   If it needs to be peeled and/or chopped for it to be easy to eat, do that. If it is a vegetable that benefits from a little cooking, like green beans or asparagus, you can blanch it.  Blanching, just means submerging a vegetable in briskly boiling water for a short time (for our purposes here, not more than 30-60 seconds), then draining and dropping it into ice water.  I often don't bother with the ice and just use really cold tap water, but classically it is done with ice water.  As a bonus, this makes green vegetables a really bright appetizing green which will make you want to eat them even more.

Once you have prepped and dried your veggie selection well, put them in a storage container in the fridge.  For storing fresh or blanched veggies I really like Rubbermaid Produce Savers.

So now you have a selection of perfectly prepped veggies to eat whenever you want.  Grap a handful on your way out of the house so you have something to snack on, toss them with lettuce, a little cheese and chopped nuts to make a salad.  Or dip them in this addictively delicious vinaigrette:

Addictively Delicious Vinaigrette

1/4 cup brown rice vinegar
1/4 cup toasted sesame oil
1/4 cup tamari
1/4 cup maple syrup

Whisk all the ingredients together until they emulsify into a thick delicious sauce.