MORE VEG WILL HELP REDUCE HUNGER AND CRAVINGS
A few key things to help when hunger and staying full is an issue in a deficit of calories.
Vegetables slow down digestive transit and promote a better balance of blood sugar.
Erratic blood sugar may be caused by too many high glycemic carbohydrates (sugar), caffeine, high amounts of stress, where you are in your monthly cycle, your age, fasting, exercise, eating on the go, eating quickly, no movement, distracted eating….
KEY ACTIONS
– Look at your plate or bowl and fill half of it with vegetables.
– Use plant sources of carbohydrates too, like potatoes, sweet potatoes, squash, lentils, chickpeas, wild and brown rice, berries and stone fruits but around a workout keep to starch (you want to digest effectively at a workout not slowly).
– Try to mix them up so you don’t just have one big bulk of broccoli, for example, it’s awesome but your gut and your health will love more diversity.
IDEAS
You could make a frittata, moussaka or onion soufflé, pre-bake and portion so you have food prepped AND it has veggies in. Then you just add a salad and dress it.
Pre-bake crustless quiche or egg cups and use a mix of peppers, broccoli and tomatoes to fill them.
Try swapping a piece of toast or a packet of crisps for some fruit.
Top a cottage pie topped with different low-carb root vegetables like squash, celeriac, swede and turnip instead of white potatoes, use lentils and chickpeas with your mince or use root veggies in place of mashed potato with Sunday dinner.
Roast a tray of mixed Mediterranean veg and keep it in the fridge. Add it to meals, wraps and sandwiches when you eat them.
Use half of a butternut squash as a dish to fill with your favourite jacket potato toppings.
Add frozen peppers and fresh onion to your steak mince when you fry.
Use pickles, mustards, spices, condiments like kimchi, sauerkraut and piccalilli.
If a carrot goes in, celery can *usually* too. Make a coleslaw.
Even if you eat a meal that’s in a bun or ‘not a whole food,’ always add a vegetable side and again, use plant-based carbs.
A fist-sized amount of green veg is the aim of every meal.
Remember that plants have high nutrient density and low-calorie density.
If you want ‘free’ food, dark green veggies are it.
– Kale
– Broccoli
– Brussels sprouts
– Spring greens
– Swiss chard
– Cabbage (green and purple)
– Bok choy
– Rocket
– Watercress
– Spinach
– Lettuce
– Celery
– Radish
– Raw carrot
– Fresh tomatoes
– Celeriac
– Turnip
– Swede
– Squash
