Written By: Registered Dietitian Mairead
We know vegetables are important for our health – one of the most frequent recommendations I make as a dietitian is to bump up how many servings we’re getting each day! One of the routine questions I get from talking to clients is about whether there are certain vegetables they should be focusing on eating. Today we’ll answer that to help you live your happiest and healthiest life!
The best vegetables to eat are the ones you will actually eat!
If you hate kale, you don’t need to eat kale. If you don’t enjoy baby carrots, you don’t need to eat them either. It’s ok! The best vegetables for you are the ones that will actually make it into your mouth.
All vegetables bring slightly different nutrition to the table.
All vegetables have fibre, which is great for bowel and gut health, as well as heart health and keeping us full. Different groups of vegetables often have different vitamins and minerals – orange vegetables are usually higher in vitamin A, while dark green leafy vegetables are often higher in calcium. Cauliflower and bell peppers are great sources of vitamin C! By getting in a variety of vegetables, we can help cover all our nutrition bases.
What about starchy vegetables? Some people are worried that they shouldn’t eat too many starchy vegetables, or that these might be less healthy than other vegetables.
Starchy vegetables include potatoes, sweet potatoes, corn and squash. All are great sources of fibre!
Potatoes also are high in potassium, while sweet potatoes and squash are high in vitamin A, which is great for your eyes. These are foods we want to include regularly in our diet! Because these vegetables are higher in carbs, they might give us more energy than lower carb vegetables, and can be great for refueling in an evening or noon-time post-workout meal.
If we’re using our plate model for planning meals, we would make half of our plate non-starchy vegetables, while the starchier vegetables would fall in our carbs and starches quarter (the remaining quarter plate is protein). Your vegetables can be cooked or prepared any way you like – steamed, roasted, and salads are all great choices! Vegetables can be fresh, frozen, or canned with little salt.
Whatever vegetables you’re actually going to eat are fantastic, and however you want to eat them is great!
If you’re looking for more simplified nutrition advice, let’s chat! Limited virtual Nutrition Consultations currently available to help you work towards your goals with actionable and evidence-based nutrition advice.
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