Healthy Vegetables – A Nutritious Way to Go Green and Save MoneyEating healthy vegetables is a very inexpensive way to go green! Farmers markets offer a wide selection of different types of produce throughout the year. Small local stores also offer the same value as they get much of their produce from surrounding farms. When you eat lots of crunchy fresh produce, you realize how lucky you are to have an abundant source at your fingertips. Being able to munch on a fresh salad adds happiness to your mouth, as vegetables are always brightly colored and cheerful. They are also packed in antioxidants and key minerals that keep you healthier.
You can save money on healthy vegetables if you choose carefully and are selective. Don’t expect to just grab and go! You can also lose weight by eating lots of fresh vegetables and who couldn’t do with a few pounds off? There are many price wars going on as the economy tumbles into a tighter market. Entire corporations are going under and you need to know how to save your money so you’re not the latest victim. Take your time and be finicky about the items you buy. Never shop for produce when you’re on a tight schedule. You’ll need extra time to sift through the abundance of items in your grocery store. You want to find healthy vegetables that are worthy of purchasing, don’t you? When you can, buy produce that's in season and on sale or at a good price per pound. Don’t get stuck on buying the same thing every week. Be flexible and alternate which vegetables you select. Bags of produce are good buys most of the time, but there may be a few times when they're not. If you're not going to use them or eat all of them, they will go to waste. Also, many times there will be one or two bad pieces of produce in the bags. If you leave them there, they will rot the other good ones. Always unpack your produce when you get home and hang them in a Hanging Produce Basket Higher end produce are typically displayed by themselves but can be cleverly disguised among other items so read prices and brand names carefully. Produce manager’s mix them in sometimes hoping you won’t notice that you’ve picked them up. When you go through the check out, watch every item as it’s rung up. If the cashier moves to quickly, ask them to slow down or simply check your register slip before you leave the store. If something got by you at a higher price, it’s much easier to return it to customer service for a refund when you are already in the store. Do it! The time for wasting is over! Watch over every cent you pay for stuff, so you have more to spend on other things. (Like makeup! The one instance when it’s OK to shop for food when you're hungry, is when you choose your healthy vegetables. You can buy lots of fresh produce at a good price, so going hungry is optional. Healthy Vegetables Buyers GuideBuy onions that are hard and firm. Look for bruising and check the ends of the onions for rotting. Serving Suggestion: - Serve these healthy vegetables in stews, soups, side dishes, or fried. For a different twist, fry onion slices in pancake batter. The kids will flip for these! Buy garlic that’s hard and firm. Look for purple coloring too. It simply means they’re fresher. Serving Suggestion: - You can add minced garlic to just about any dish for a spicy flavor. Add fresh garlic to salads to give them punch. Buy hard and firm carrots to save money. Never peel carrots as their skin contains most of the nutrients. Wash or brush lightly to remove dirt. Cut out bad places you see. Baby carrots have become wildly popular but guess what’s missing? The skin is missing so you don’t get as many nutrients and they’re packed with preservatives you can’t wash off. Best to forgo baby carrots and make carrot sticks with regular carrots. They don’t take more time to fix really, and you’ll be providing you and your family more nutrients. *Always cut carrots on an angle too, or you’ll cut the nutrients out of them. Carrots are high in fiber and Beta Carotene! Serving Suggestion: - Steam carrots until just tender for the most antioxidants. Cut them into angled strips. Serve with salt, pepper, a Tablespoon of butter, and fresh dill weed. *That’s why most Asian cuisine has matchstick angled cut carrots in all their dishes!
Size is not always important when you buy lettuce. To save money on produce, buy any sized heads that are lighter in weight. Check the core and leaf ends for browning and the outside leaves for freshness. The outside leaves are greener and have more nutrients. Don’t always discard them. Rinse them and use them. Green leaf lettuce is always the healthiest for you, but not always the most practical if you have a large family. When you can find it on sale though, grab it! It has almost twice the antioxidant value of Iceberg lettuce. Serving Suggestion: - Serve these healthy vegetables raw in salads, taco's, or on sandwiches. Thinly sliced lettuce with a dash of Italian Dressing is a great condiment for sandwiches that will wake up your taste buds and add a healthy crunch! Buy smaller, thinner, more uniform sized cucumbers. Cut waxy film off of them. If you buy the larger ones, cut the seeds away. If you can find locally grown cucumbers, they have no waxy film to discard. These are much healthier for you, the seeds are typically much smaller, and they hardly ever get pithy. Serving Suggestion: - Serve these healthy vegetables by themselves. Cut cucumbers into small cubes and add a splash of Italian and Ranch Dressing, salt, and pepper. Add Kielbasa sausage or honey ham cut into small squares and serve on a bed of lettuce for a lite lunch. You can also slice up cucumber's with onion slices and add apple cider vinegar to give them twang. Mix vinegar 1:1 with water, and add salt and pepper to taste. Look for medium sized stalks and check the ends for browning. Dirt is not an indicator as all celery has some dirt. Simply wash them well and cut off the ends as you use them. Do not remove the stem though. Only take what you need and leave them on the stem as it preserves the freshness of each stalk. When you clean celery, don’t pull out all the strings. The strings contain the fiber. Cut slices on an angle to preserve the nutrients. Serving Suggestion: - Serve these healthy vegetables by themselves or stuff with pimento cheese or peanut butter topped with raisins for a healthy snack. Cut sections into stews, soups, and chicken or tuna salads for a crunch you love to munch. Check for firmness and check the core for soft spots or browning. Serving Suggestion: - Serve these healthy vegetables by cutting them into strips for a snack or to go with dip. Serve them in salads, noodle dishes, or on Shish Kabobs out on the BBQ. Marinating with orange juice, honey, and Teriyaki Sauce is always a mouth watering idea! Look for squash that has good color, minimal bruising, and is smaller in size. Check for firmness when you buy. Serving Suggestion: - Serve these healthy vegetables by steaming them with onions or frying them in flour and cornmeal. Serve them in salads, soups, and stews. Try butternut squash in season if you like a woodsy flavor. Never buy potatoes that are browning or bruised. Check all your potatoes when you get home, especially if you buy them in bags. Cut out bad places and use the good parts immediately. If you leave bad potatoes in the bag, they can rot all of them. One bad apple does spoil the whole bunch! Serving Suggestion: - Serve these healthy vegetables by baking them, especially in the winter months. There is little that warms you up as much as a baked potato! Clean potato skins by lightly brushing under warm water. Sweet potatoes have much more nutritional value than white potatoes. Bake sweet potatoes at 400° for one hour. Do not eat the skins. Bake white potatoes at 350° until tender and do eat the skin for more nutrients. Before you bake white potatoes though, pierce them a few times to keep them from exploding in the oven. Always look at the core and skin for black spots. Pink tomatoes have fewer seeds than red tomatoes and are less acidic. Red tomatoes however, are better for cooking and have higher amounts of Vitamin C. Serving Suggestion: - Serve these healthy vegetables by cutting them into slices. Serve with pesto, sliced soft Mozzarella Cheese, and a splash of Italian dressing. Otherwise, serve fresh or cooked in salads, side dishes, Italian dishes, or stewed. Don’t buy either of these items with black spots present. They should both be hard and firm. Serving Suggestion: - Serve these healthy vegetables as a compliment to other vegetables. To sweeten rutabaga’s which can be bitter by themselves, add some carrot slices when you steam them and then mash the both together. The carrots will sweeten up the rutabaga’s nicely. Stir until creamy. Buy lighter colored collards if you can find them. Washing collard is the most important step in cooking them. Serving Suggestion: - Serve these healthy vegetables by cooking them in a large pot that’s about 1/4 deep in water. Cook a few hours off and on until tender. After cooking, cut them up by slicing carefully into the pot, then drizzle cold pressed Olive Oil on top. (Instead of using fat back.) Add approximately 1 Tablespoon sugar, and salt and pepper to taste. Serving Suggestion: - Serve these healthy vegetables in any stir fry dish. Cook last though, cause they don't take long. Cook Shiitake mushrooms out on the BBQ with a drizzle of Oriental or Jamaican spicy marinade. Serving Suggestion: - Serve these healthy vegetables by steaming leaves until tender. Serve with drizzled olive oil, and fresh salt and pepper. Stir fry cabbage cut up into small sections and garlic mixed together for a different change. Stir Fry Cabbage Recipe. (You will also see a recipe for cabbage egg rolls on the same page!) Serving Suggestion: - Serve these healthy vegetables using your seasons as a guide. Serve corn on the cob cooked on the BBQ in summer months. You can also perfect corn on the cob, by placing them in a plastic bag and cooking them in husk, in the microwave oven. Serve frozen or canned corn in other seasons for the best value. Put corn in stews, soups, dips, and other side dishes for extra crunch. Serving Suggestion: - Serve these healthy vegetables stewed, as in ratatouille. It may also be roasted in its skin until charred, so that the pulp can be removed and blended with other ingredients such as lemon, tahini, and garlic. It can be sliced, battered, and deep-fried for Eggplant lasagna, or fried and served with various sauces such as tahini or tamarind. If there's one thing southern women know, it's their vegetables! My mom taught me a lot about how to shop for healthy vegetables at an early age! Do your health and your waistline a favor by including more vegetables in your diet! You will lose weight and you will stay healthier! Related Pages Have a Heart – A Healthy Heart! Eat Healthy Foods – Live Long and Prosper! Healthy Meals for a Healthy Lifestyle Healthy Snacks to Whip Up in a Zip! Diet and Health – You Are What You Eat! Stay Healthy and Enjoy More of Your Life! Related Products Fresh Produce, Strawberry's and Tomatoes!
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if you have one. (If you don't, you should! These are great space savers and are cheap to buy!) These are a blessing to have around, so you don't have bags of items laying in the cupboards or on the floor. 
