Vegetable consumption

[HomeAgain]

Well, I know why it is in my house.  It is hard cooking for us and not feel like I'm wasting food.  I make a salad.  I'll eat it all.  The big kid will eat it mostly, minus the tomatoes (and mushrooms, and olives).  The little kid will eat one leaf of spinach, one cucumber slice, pout that his carrots aren't cooked instead, and grudgingly bite into a bell pepper strip. I throw half the bowl away at the end of the meal.  And it's like this with every vegetable I pick.  Some nights I just don't want to deal with the frustration.  Last night I made rice and pork.  No veggie.  Fruit for dessert. It's part of why we're going to the farmers' market at least once a week.  Having them help pick things out that are grown locally is increasing the amount of veggies we eat.

[Lang Syne Boardie]

I grew up with vegetables.

 

My German American grandparents grew an enormous garden, big enough for themselves and for their grown children's families. It was the typical garden for our demographic -- sweet corn, green beans, tomatoes, carrots, cauliflower, cabbage, spinach, peas, beets. (Grandma bought potatoes because they were very, very cheap.) Her daughters helped her preserve all this produce every year.

 

She also grew fruits -- apple trees, raspberry bushes, grapes for homemade jelly, rhubarb for pies.

 

Cabbage was on the table nearly every day, in homemade family recipes. Coleslaw in the summertime and sauerkraut in winter. Also we had pickled cucumbers, pickled beets, all the time.

 

My paternal Grandpa was also in favor of vegetables. He hunted and fished for meat, and gathered wild greens and wild onions from the woods, and fixed dandelion greens from the yard. His garden had melons, turnips, beans, squashes, corn, radishes, and celery.

 

Those are my childhood food memories. When I was a teen and my Mom went to work full-time, we definitely relied on convenience foods more, especially the lowest cost items. I know Mom regretted that but the family lacked both time and money, so of course we didn't eat well.

 

I don't garden now because our yard is too shady, and I don't have time for feeding the family to be my full-time job. If I weren't homeschooling, I'd be gardening, foraging, canning, and also shopping at farmer's markets and family farms. I'll do those things when the kids are grown.

 

But I do feed my family a great variety of vegetables, and my kids are used to eating them every day at lunch and supper. Along with all the aforementioned veg, my kids eat a lot of beans/legumes, as well. They like almost everything.

 

If people come over here for dinner they'd better just expect some vegetables. I try to have mainstream things as an option; it seems that everyone likes a basic garden salad, for example, or steamed green veg lightly seasoned, or roasted veggies are popular now.

 

 

 

 

Edited July 9, 2016 by Tibbie Dunbar

[regentrude]

. I don't think I like anything in the broccoli family....I'm going to look into this super taster thing (first time I've heard the term). Maybe that's us.

 

Cruciferous vegetables,i.e. vegetables of the cabbage family, are notorious for containing bitter compounds that are a problem for some people. 

[SparklyUnicorn]

I'm sorry but what does this mean, lol...

"Backlash against healthy messages, analogous to anti-intellectualism"

 

AKA people who aren't vegans aren't vegans because they are just too stupid.

[regentrude]

 It is hard cooking for us and not feel like I'm wasting food.  I make a salad.  I'll eat it all.  The big kid will eat it mostly, minus the tomatoes (and mushrooms, and olives).  The little kid will eat one leaf of spinach, one cucumber slice, pout that his carrots aren't cooked instead, and grudgingly bite into a bell pepper strip. I throw half the bowl away at the end of the meal.  

 

That is wasteful and would bother me, too. Why don't you offer the individual ingredients as a salad bar instead of mixing them into a salad? This way, every person can customize his or her salad, and put the dressing on afterwards. Any ingredients that are left over can be kept and used at another meal - if they have not been mixed with the dressing, they won't get soggy. Then you'll have some containers with chopped up leftover veggies that can be used in stir fry, soup, or another salad. No waste.

[SparklyUnicorn]

I love vegetables and always have, but several people in my family hate them.  They tend more towards fruits, but then several of those people are also diabetics so they have to avoid eating too many fruits.  On the other hand, I don't care for most fruits.  I eat probably far more than the recommended amount of vegetables, but I love them.  Growing up my mother would shove a bite into her mouth to put on a good show, but she hated vegetables.  Nobody had to convince me to eat them.  My sister was like her, but all the abuse didn't change that about her. 

 

I don't know what the answer is or the reason is, but I wonder how they arrived at those percentages. 

 

 

[SparklyUnicorn]

Well, I know why it is in my house.  It is hard cooking for us and not feel like I'm wasting food.  I make a salad.  I'll eat it all.  The big kid will eat it mostly, minus the tomatoes (and mushrooms, and olives).  The little kid will eat one leaf of spinach, one cucumber slice, pout that his carrots aren't cooked instead, and grudgingly bite into a bell pepper strip. I throw half the bowl away at the end of the meal.  And it's like this with every vegetable I pick.  Some nights I just don't want to deal with the frustration.  Last night I made rice and pork.  No veggie.  Fruit for dessert. It's part of why we're going to the farmers' market at least once a week.  Having them help pick things out that are grown locally is increasing the amount of veggies we eat.

 

Waste is problematic here too.

[SparklyUnicorn]

I love those microwavable bags of vegetables.  They are more expensive, but I have zero waste with those. 

 

And geesh at this point they really could not make it easier for people to eat vegetables.  There are easy cook frozen, pre chopped fresh veggies, salad kits, ready made veg in the to go section of the supermarket, etc.  If the stat is true, I'm curios as to what the reason is.  Taste might be one of the reasons.  I certainly do not eat stuff I can't stand the taste of if I don't have to.  I'm not crazy about stuff like rice or millet or other types of bird food so I generally don't eat any of that.  Beans are "ok".  Tofu..I won't touch that with a 10,000 foot pole.  I've tried it every which way and I think it's pretty terrible.  Fruits..nope I hate those except berries or watermelon. 

 

 

 

 

[creekland]

They would have seen my food loving, vegetable eating DD opting for French fries most of the time - because they come frozen and are fried in hot oil, and thus will not have any insects or other gross additives in them as the salads do. According to her, the food at her college is abysmal. She has friends who are vegetarian and vegan, and there is almost nothing for them to eat. 

They end up opting for junk because the junk is at least edible.

 

Ugh!  We've eaten at all three of my boys colleges (more than once and more than on special days) and have been very impressed with what has been offered.  They offer the comfort foods, of course (pizza, burgers, fries, etc), but they also offer interesting dishes that rotate and are fresh cooked (esp the younger two's colleges).  The salad bars have also been impressive.

 

But then again, URoc ranks pretty high up there on several "best dining" lists and Eckerd makes a habit of being "green" attracting several students who support it.  They even grow some of their own food on campus - having plants kids can pick their own off of if they wish.

 

I don't know what the answer is or the reason is, but I wonder how they arrived at those percentages. 

 

I wondered this too - wondered if the wording was too picky, "every day" rather than "almost always" or if they were too streamlined in what they counted as veggies (do corn or peas count?), etc.

 

But reading from the examples on here - it sounds like all that doesn't matter.

 

Interesting though.  And it makes the world's health numbers make far more sense (looking at overall numbers, not individuals since eating healthy certainly didn't help my health all that much).

[SparklyUnicorn]

 

Interesting though.  And it makes the world's health numbers make far more sense (looking at overall numbers, not individuals since eating healthy certainly didn't help my health all that much).

 

I'm convinced genetics is a huge part of our overall health.  My family is a mixed bag.  Half of them are healthy and live long.  The other half get chronic conditions young and die young.  Neither group does anything radically different in the diet and exercise department.

[creekland]

ps  Having just googled "How much is a serving of vegetables," google tells me it's 1 cup of raw leafy types, but only 1/2 cup of other vegetables.

 

I know we get plenty of our servings by eating far more than a half cup of any one type at any given meal.  I can't even imagine how little broccoli would make 1/2 cup.  I also use more than that when sauteing my veggies for breakfast.

[SparklyUnicorn]

ps  Having just googled "How much is a serving of vegetables," google tells me it's 1 cup of raw leafy types, but only 1/2 cup of other vegetables.

 

I know we get plenty of our servings by eating far more than a half cup of any one type at any given meal.  I can't even imagine how little broccoli would make 1/2 cup.  I also use more than that when sauteing my veggies for breakfast.

 

This is why I have a hard time believing people really eat so few vegetables.  The serving size is so small.  What would be the point of 1/2 a cup of broccoli?! 

 

I probably have more than that while I'm prepping food and taking random bites and tastes of things.

[creekland]

I'm convinced genetics is a huge part of our overall health.  My family is a mixed bag.  Half of them are healthy and live long.  The other half get chronic conditions young and die young.  Neither group does anything radically different in the diet and exercise department.

 

Perhaps, but mine can't be blamed on genetics either - not unless I was switched at birth anyway.  I was just "lucky."   :cursing:

 

Most in my family live long - all except one grandfather and he was hardly the model of eating well or exercising and died in his 60's of a massive heart attack.  The others have lived into their 80s and 90s.  Up until this thread I'd have said my mom doesn't eat very well (now - in her retirement years), but she still does veggies so that probably puts her well above average on the scale.

[SparklyUnicorn]

Perhaps, but mine can't be blamed on genetics either - not unless I was switched at birth anyway.  I was just "lucky."   :cursing:

 

Most in my family live long - all except one grandfather and he was hardly the model of eating well or exercising and died in his 60's of a massive heart attack.  The others have lived into their 80s and 90s.  Up until this thread I'd have said my mom doesn't eat very well (now - in her retirement years), but she still does veggies so that probably puts her well above average on the scale.

 

My husband's grandfather lived to 98.  About the only thing unhealthy thing he never did was smoke.  He even lived through serving in WW2.  Nothing special about the way he ate.  He didn't exercise except maybe walk places.  He drank regularly.  He also worked 3rd shift for many years in a steel factory.  I suppose that was exercise, but third shift...that's said to be crap for one's health.  He ate tons of sweets..he had a major sweet tooth. 

[Mergath]

And, personally, I don't believe that fresh veggies are generally super expensive. I can fix 80% of our meals from scratch with large quantities of veggies, expensive free range meats ($5-6/lb local beef, etc.) and all sorts of healthy foods for under $4/adult FOR SURE, and that's cheaper than most fast food, convenience meals, etc. Most of our meals end up much cheaper. 

 

You do realize this varies wildly by location, right? For example, vegetables are cheap here, fruit is moderately-priced, and I'm lucky if I can get the crappy, factory farmed ground beef for $5/lb. 

[happypamama]

I'm always impressed that our tiny little county manages to grow so much, Creekland!  I once read that we grow a huge portion of the state's apples too, and half the county isn't even apple orchards.

[hornblower]

I aim for 5+ veg  and 3+ fruit. 

Like this http://www.theveganrd.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Plant-Plate-Infographic.jpg

[creekland]

I'm always impressed that our tiny little county manages to grow so much, Creekland!  I once read that we grow a huge portion of the state's apples too, and half the county isn't even apple orchards.

 

I was hoping they would do a comparison for fruit production/consumption too.

 

A few years back I recall reading that our area is a major supplier to McD's for their apples in Happy Meals.

[VaKim]

Except for whatever I flavor them with (butter, dressing, etc.), vegetables pretty much taste like crunchy water to me. Just not worth the trouble at all. I love fruit though.

[maize]

My husband's grandfather lived to 98. About the only thing unhealthy thing he never did was smoke. He even lived through serving in WW2. Nothing special about the way he ate. He didn't exercise except maybe walk places. He drank regularly. He also worked 3rd shift for many years in a steel factory. I suppose that was exercise, but third shift...that's said to be crap for one's health. He ate tons of sweets..he had a major sweet tooth.

Yeah, some people do seem to hit the genetic jackpot. Dh's grandpa ate at McDonalds very day for decades. He died two months short of his 100th birthday, and was preposterously healthy up until those last few months.

 

Anecdotes of course are less informative than aggregate statistical information, but they're also more fun :)

[Tita Gidge]

We eat a lot of vegetables - raw, cooked, any which way but canned. Well, we use canned tomatoes for meal bases (soups, chili, etc.)

 

We eat a pretty traditional diet, which for "my people" consists of: lots of veggies, rice, some broth, and meat as an accent (rather than the main focus, if at all). The community I grew up was mostly vegetarian Buddhists. Meat was usually fish, with the occasional beef and sometimes chicken.

 

What we don't eat so much of is fruit. I find much of it too sweet. If we eat fruit, it's usually hidden in something and it's usually not a dish I grew up with. I can eat berries if they're tossed into oatmeal or yogurt. I can eat pineapple if it's grilled. I can eat apples if they're buried in peanut butter, and pears if they're covered with whip cream and sliced almonds. Bananas I dip in chocolate and coat with coconut. I'll eat most tropical fruit plain, but I prefer them dried. I'll eat any fruit that's in a pastry! LOL About the only fruit I eat as-is would be watermelon. Yum!

[Ali in OR]

Okay, did some research on supertasters and I think that's me! And my immediate family and much of my extended family (all my kids' cousins). I didn't do the test that involves putting a prescription med on your tongue that some people taste as bitter, and I didn't dye my tongue blue and count how many taste buds there are in a hole-punch sized circle. But I looked at the list of foods they find bitter, and we don't eat anything on the list except cilantro and mushrooms! We do not drink coffee (feels like we're the only people in Oregon who don't), eat grapefruit, drink green tea, or eat soy, and as mentioned above, anything in the broccoli family makes me cringe. Some of us have a strong sweet tooth. While raising our young kids, my brothers and sister and I all had picky eaters, some amazingly so like my youngest. I had never heard that there's actually a scientific reason for this, but it makes sense. 

[ScoutTN]

One thing that has been fun as my kids begin to cook is checking out a vegetarian cookbook or two from the library to find some new ways to serve familiar veggies. We slowly build our repertoire and stretch our tastes to new things. 

Edited July 9, 2016 by ScoutTN

[FaithManor]

ps Having just googled "How much is a serving of vegetables," google tells me it's 1 cup of raw leafy types, but only 1/2 cup of other vegetables.

 

I know we get plenty of our servings by eating far more than a half cup of any one type at any given meal. I can't even imagine how little broccoli would make 1/2 cup. I also use more than that when sauteing my veggies for breakfast.

Yes I easily eat two servings when I have green beans, cooked carrots, etc. I think sometimes people do underestimate. I know people who will eat a huge spinach salad with olives and peppers and say they had a serving of veggies. Nope more like three or four. I eat smaller salads and still get more than a serving.

 

We are strange here though. If I make a big pot of chilli - home canned tomatoes with pintos and kidney beans - the boys eat big servings of leftovers for breakfast the next morning.

[Mabelen]

We definitely get our daily serving of vegetables. I ate a variety in many different forms growing up and so did my husband.

[kiana]

Okay, did some research on supertasters and I think that's me! And my immediate family and much of my extended family (all my kids' cousins). I didn't do the test that involves putting a prescription med on your tongue that some people taste as bitter, and I didn't dye my tongue blue and count how many taste buds there are in a hole-punch sized circle. But I looked at the list of foods they find bitter, and we don't eat anything on the list except cilantro and mushrooms! We do not drink coffee (feels like we're the only people in Oregon who don't), eat grapefruit, drink green tea, or eat soy, and as mentioned above, anything in the broccoli family makes me cringe. Some of us have a strong sweet tooth. While raising our young kids, my brothers and sister and I all had picky eaters, some amazingly so like my youngest. I had never heard that there's actually a scientific reason for this, but it makes sense. 

 

Heh ok I just searched this as well. The only things I eat off that list are the vegetables (learned to like them as an adult, still loathe them if cooked more than a little bit) and the mushrooms. Also have never liked chocolate because I couldn't get over the bitter. As a child, had a strong sweet tooth and a strong preference for very bland foods. 

[Guest]

I think one area where "convenience" comes into play is simply in the storage of fresh fruits and vegetables. Depending on the item, you have a few days to a week to use those fresh fruits and veggies. So it is often more convenient to have canned or frozen veggies or to just skip right over to the Tater Tots instead. As long as they remain frozen, you can eat them for dinner five years from now. ;)

 

I feel as though I go through this dilemma with fresh salads often. I'm perfectly delighted to have a well-made salad with my meal or even as my meal, but the ingredients don't all last the same amount of time and get used up at different rates. So maybe I bought a bunch of fresh greens, a package of cherry tomatoes, some pieces of salami, a few cukes, and some pepperoncini one day. The first couple days, we all eat salad like crazy. Then some of the greens start rotting and we ran out of cukes. Now there's less enthusiasm for the salad because it takes longer (sorting leaves) and there are fewer components. Sure, I could go to the store and get new stuff over again, but I don't want to. It's too inconvenient to go to the store for three things and if I do go, it will turn into twenty things.

[Guest]

We eat a lot of vegetables - raw, cooked, any which way but canned. Well, we use canned tomatoes for meal bases (soups, chili, etc.)

 

We eat a pretty traditional diet, which for "my people" consists of: lots of veggies, rice, some broth, and meat as an accent (rather than the main focus, if at all). The community I grew up was mostly vegetarian Buddhists. Meat was usually fish, with the occasional beef and sometimes chicken.

 

What we don't eat so much of is fruit. I find much of it too sweet. If we eat fruit, it's usually hidden in something and it's usually not a dish I grew up with. I can eat berries if they're tossed into oatmeal or yogurt. I can eat pineapple if it's grilled. I can eat apples if they're buried in peanut butter, and pears if they're covered with whip cream and sliced almonds. Bananas I dip in chocolate and coat with coconut. I'll eat most tropical fruit plain, but I prefer them dried. I'll eat any fruit that's in a pastry! LOL About the only fruit I eat as-is would be watermelon. Yum!

Well hang on a second. Fruit is too sweet, but the way you like pears is with whipped cream and bananas with chocolate and coconut? Aren't those things very sweet?

[Guest]

I was hoping they would do a comparison for fruit production/consumption too.

 

A few years back I recall reading that our area is a major supplier to McD's for their apples in Happy Meals.

Dubious distinction. ;)

[hornblower]

 Sure, I could go to the store and get new stuff over again, but I don't want to. It's too inconvenient to go to the store for three things and if I do go, it will turn into twenty things.

 

This is an interesting point. We go to the store pretty much every day. I can walk to several grocery stores and several more fruit & veg markets. We would easily eat a head of lettuce and the package of grape tomatoes and one long cuke in one day. Next day we get more.  Dh often walks through the store on the way home from work & buys a shopping bag full of produce. 

 

We eat a bit of frozen veg but more fresh. Some of the stay fresh packaging means you can get 3-5 days out of it. If lettuce is on sale for ex, one way to make it last it wash it & store the leaves between paper towels. I also know some people use those special veg storage bags. 

[hornblower]

Have you all heard the old joke about how the drawer in the fridge that's the vegetable crisper should be called the vegetable rotter? It's where you put all the veg you buy when you're being pious in the store and then they rot in the fridge.... :P 

[Mabelen]

Have you all heard the old joke about how the drawer in the fridge that's the vegetable crisper should be called the vegetable rotter? It's where you put all the veg you buy when you're being pious in the store and then they rot in the fridge.... :P

I can't say this has never happened to me but what works for me is to thoroughly wash and store the vegetables in the crisper as soon as possible so then they are ready to eat or cook.

[Guest]

I visited my dh's office for lunch the other day. There are 4k people in the company. There was a sign saying 88% of employees did not eat enough fruit and veggies last year. They improved on that number this year, but I didn't see by how much. One thing they do to try to encourage eating more fruits and veggies is to have a farmers market once a week in the complex. I asked dh why he never mentioned that to me before, because I would have him stop by - he didn't really answer.

 

My fridge is packed with fruits and veggies. My oldest and youngest dd eat most of it. I like fruit and veggies, but I don't always pick them as a first choice. For the past couple of months, I have been craving carbs so much. I wish I would crave fruit and veggie the same way. When I had morning sickness, fruit and veggies were the last thing that I could stomach, and I still recall those feelings vividly.

This was one of the features I thought was amazing at University of Maryland - on Wednesdays, they have a farmer's market on campus. DD did not end up attending there, but I remember thinking that was a wonderful feature!

[hornblower]

Do you live overseas?  Most places in America are not like this at all even if you live in a big city. 

 

Vancouver, Canada.

 

Hippie land :D   House, huge garden, but walkable, bike & transit friendly with lots of small convenient shopping hubs. 

[Tita Gidge]

Well hang on a second. Fruit is too sweet, but the way you like pears is with whipped cream and bananas with chocolate and coconut? Aren't those things very sweet?

 

They don't taste like it to me! :lol:

 

For instance, my friend's kids could eat an entire container of grapes in a single sitting. I can eat maybe 3-4 grapes total. But a frozen banana with dark chocolate tips and a little shredded coconut? That's good, I can eat that without issue. I think it's way less sweet than grapes. I like bananas that are green, once they're yellowing they're too mushy and sweet. Definitely more so than with a little chocolate.

 

I don't eat many pears, but I like them for dessert sometimes. I buy Asian pears because they're the least sweet I can find. But they're a bit bland, so a dollop of whipped cream adds a bit of sweetness - but way less than a different type of pear would be (for me, at least!)  

[Guest]

 

This is an interesting point. We go to the store pretty much every day. I can walk to several grocery stores and several more fruit & veg markets. We would easily eat a head of lettuce and the package of grape tomatoes and one long cuke in one day. Next day we get more. Dh often walks through the store on the way home from work & buys a shopping bag full of produce.

 

We eat a bit of frozen veg but more fresh. Some of the stay fresh packaging means you can get 3-5 days out of it. If lettuce is on sale for ex, one way to make it last it wash it & store the leaves between paper towels. I also know some people use those special veg storage bags.

Yes, that was one thing I always thought would be awesome about living in a walkable city with open-air markets. If I did, I'm sure it would be less annoying. But where I live, I have to go to a grocery store on purpose. Now that it is summer, there are a lot of fruit/veggie stands that are convenient, but they (of course) have what is in season only. I do pick up fresh fruits and veggies from these, but I can't make a specific salad, for example. Even when we have fresh greens in our garden, the "funny" part is that I don't have any of the other components I want in a salad because they aren't in yet. :)

[regentrude]

This is an interesting point. We go to the store pretty much every day. I can walk to several grocery stores and several more fruit & veg markets. We would easily eat a head of lettuce and the package of grape tomatoes and one long cuke in one day. Next day we get more.  Dh often walks through the store on the way home from work & buys a shopping bag full of produce. 

 

We eat a bit of frozen veg but more fresh. Some of the stay fresh packaging means you can get 3-5 days out of it. If lettuce is on sale for ex, one way to make it last it wash it & store the leaves between paper towels. I also know some people use those special veg storage bags. 

 

I live in town and stop by the store several times a week, and on Tuesdays and Saturdays I go to the Farmers Market.

We eat huge quantities of fruits and vegetables and rarely ever have anything spoil.

 

I never had lettuce go bad either. I leave the head intact and only remove and wash the leaves we are going to eat; the head stays in a  plastic bag in the crisper for the next day.

Now don't get me started on the prewashed salad mixes, those turn gross and slimy very quickly. But a firm head of romaine lasts easily a week or more.

Edited July 9, 2016 by regentrude

[kiana]

Have you all heard the old joke about how the drawer in the fridge that's the vegetable crisper should be called the vegetable rotter? It's where you put all the veg you buy when you're being pious in the store and then they rot in the fridge.... :p

 

Haha yeah. Every time I visit my mother I find something horrible she's forgotten in the crisper. It totally put me off fresh vegetables for ages. Even now I'm still incredibly reluctant to buy anything fresh unless I have immediate plans for it, or it's something that can last a long time like root vegetables or celery. 

 

ETA: Man, I wish I could casually drop by a fresh fruit and veg place, the only places really in walking distance are dollar stores which have a few overpriced canned vegetables. It's 15 minutes each way driving with many traffic lights to get to the nearest places that sell fresh. Unfortunately my job is not very mobile. 

Edited July 9, 2016 by kiana

[Laura Corin]

I eat the veg I buy in spoilage order. Leaves go first, so I buy a small bag of salad leaves and eat them in one or two days. Then broccoli, asparagus, peppers, green beans, snap peas, mangetout and cauliflower. Then cabbage and kale. Finally root veg. It's easily a week.

 

If I find myself with a boring cabbage salad late in the week, I'll add sun dried tomatoes or artichokes in oil or olives from the fridge. I rarely throw away veg.

Edited July 9, 2016 by Laura Corin

[Greta]

This is an interesting point. We go to the store pretty much every day. I can walk to several grocery stores and several more fruit & veg markets. We would easily eat a head of lettuce and the package of grape tomatoes and one long cuke in one day. Next day we get more.  Dh often walks through the store on the way home from work & buys a shopping bag full of produce. 

 

We eat a bit of frozen veg but more fresh. Some of the stay fresh packaging means you can get 3-5 days out of it. If lettuce is on sale for ex, one way to make it last it wash it & store the leaves between paper towels. I also know some people use those special veg storage bags. 

 

 

Vancouver, Canada.

 

Hippie land :D   House, huge garden, but walkable, bike & transit friendly with lots of small convenient shopping hubs. 

 

 

 

I'm so jealous!!!!!  I despise car-based living with a passion, and it's my life dream to live in a place where I can walk and use public transit!  :D  Recently my dental hygienist was telling me that she had lived in Vancouver and she really loved it.  The way she described it, it sounded so nice that I wanted to ask "why on earth did you move here (Albuquerque :thumbdown: )when you could have stayed there?"  :lol:   But I didn't feel it was actually appropriate to ask, so I restrained myself.  

 

So, you wouldn't happen to know if there's much demand for physicists in Vancouver, would you?   :001_smile:

[Guest]

I live in town and stop by the store several times a week, and on Tuesdays and Saturdays I go to the Farmers Market.

We eat huge quantities of fruits and vegetables and rarely ever have anything spoil.

 

I never had lettuce go bad either. I leave the head intact and only remove and wash the leaves we are going to eat; the head stays in a plastic bag in the crisper for the next day.

Now don't get me started on the prewashed salad mixes, those turn gross and slimy very quickly. But a firm head of romaine lasts easily a week or more.

Yeah, but I would much rather have a salad with baby greens or spinach leaves than a romaine salad. We do have those sometimes, but they are not my first choice. I will tend to not eat salad at all if I only have heads of romaine.

[regentrude]

I'm so jealous!!!!!  I despise car-based living with a passion, and it's my life dream to live in a place where I can walk and use public transit!   :D  Recently my dental hygienist was telling me that she had lived in Vancouver and she really loved it.  The way she described it, it sounded so nice that I wanted to ask "why on earth did you move here (Albuquerque :thumbdown: )when you could have stayed there?"   :lol:   But I didn't feel it was actually appropriate to ask, so I restrained myself.  

 

Hey, Albuquerque is beautiful, too! I'm jealous you get to live there.

[Wheres Toto]

We aren't too bad with veggies here.  Veggies are a decent part of dinner every night, we eat a lot of cantaloupe and watermelon this time of year.  I love the steamer bags of veggies for lunch - toss it in the microwave, pour it into a bowl.  I'll eat an entire bag (which I think is 4 servings) for lunch.  I only get the ones with no sauce, butter or additives.

 

I'm another one who always thought I hated things like spinach or asparagus because they were always served mushy and gross.  But dh makes both sautéed with garlic and they taste amazing.

 

Our main problem is ds.  He has problems with certain tastes and textures.  We make him eat at least one fruit a day (usually a banana), dh makes pasta sauce with zucchini, squash, mushrooms, onions, garlic, spinach and who knows what else and then puree's it so ds will eat it.  We'll have that once or twice a week.  He also makes mashed potatoes that are half potato and half cauliflower.

[regentrude]

Yeah, but I would much rather have a salad with baby greens or spinach leaves than a romaine salad. We do have those sometimes, but they are not my first choice. I will tend to not eat salad at all if I only have heads of romaine.

 

Yes, spinach does not keep as well. But unless I buy a giant box, it is gone in two days :) 

If I buy a big box, I usually also make some wilted spinach with cherry tomatoes on pasta or throw the last leaves into a stew.

[Greta]

Hey, Albuquerque is beautiful, too! I'm jealous you get to live there.

 

 

:D  I have a love/hate relationship with Albuquerque.  It IS beautiful!  I love the desert landscapes and the even more stunning "skyscapes" (the sky here is just so big, so beautiful, so blue, the clouds are so pretty, the night skies are so pretty, the sunsets are breathtaking).  Love all the sunshine.  Love the cacti and yuccas and roadrunners.  Love all of that so much, and I will miss it dearly if/when we move.  

 

But the culture.  Ugh.  The crime here is just awful.  I want to live in a place where I can go to a play or a musical performance, or go for a run in a park or an open space area without having to worry so much about my safety.  I want my daughter to go a college where I wouldn't have to be worried sick all day about what might happen to her on campus.  I'm really sick of that part of living here.  I know I probably sound ungrateful - I do realize there are far worse places to live.  But I always lived in low-crime areas before this, so this was a bit of a shock to me.

[regentrude]

But the culture.  Ugh.  The crime here is just awful.  I want to live in a place where I can go to a play or a musical performance, or go for a run in a park or an open space area without having to worry so much about my safety.  I want my daughter to go a college where I wouldn't have to be worried sick all day about what might happen to her on campus.  I'm really sick of that part of living here.  I know I probably sound ungrateful - I do realize there are far worse places to live.  But I always lived in low-crime areas before this, so this was a bit of a shock to me.

 

I'm sorry - I had no idea. So UNM is not a safe campus?

[Arcadia]

This is an interesting point. We go to the store pretty much every day. I can walk to several grocery stores and several more fruit & veg markets.

That was how it was when hubby and I grew up in Singapore. Houses and refrigerators are small so people would just top up daily.

 

We bought where we stay now because the grocery store is 24/7 and about 10mins walk away on sidewalks. We have more grocery stores within a 30~40 min walking radius.

 

When we rented, we were a 10mins walk to an asian supermarket that sells live seafood in one direction, and to a western supermarket in the other direction.

 

Since I don't drive and hubby doesn't like to drive, having grocers within walking distance makes sense for us. The library is walkable and next door to the grocer :)

[Greta]

I'm sorry - I had no idea. So UNM is not a safe campus?

 

 

I had no idea either, until after I'd lived here for awhile!  NM doesn't have a reputation for high crime, which is really strange because the state as a whole has the second highest crime rate in the nation.  There are some very localized areas in other states that are far worse, like those cities that we all think of when we think of crime.  It's not that bad.  But it's pretty bad.  Yeah, UNM campus is not safe.   :(  It's a shame too, because it's cheap, and the program that my daughter would want to study actually has a very good reputation.

 

 

ETA:  I'm sorry - I shouldn't be derailing the thread, should I?   :blush:

Edited July 9, 2016 by Greta

[Melissa in Australia]

We try for the 5-8 servings of veggies per day. Fruit is extra and freely available for snacks. Typically the main meal, what I call tea and you probably call dinner will have 5 plus veggies. This will include potatoes, capsicum, carrots, peas, broccoli, beetroot,silver beet, pumpkin and onion. There is always 3 different colours and 3 different vegetable groups. Even. Pasta dish will be full of vegetables - onions, capsicum,carrots, tomato, corn, and silver beet.

[SparklyUnicorn]

I think one area where "convenience" comes into play is simply in the storage of fresh fruits and vegetables. Depending on the item, you have a few days to a week to use those fresh fruits and veggies. So it is often more convenient to have canned or frozen veggies or to just skip right over to the Tater Tots instead. As long as they remain frozen, you can eat them for dinner five years from now. ;)

 

I feel as though I go through this dilemma with fresh salads often. I'm perfectly delighted to have a well-made salad with my meal or even as my meal, but the ingredients don't all last the same amount of time and get used up at different rates. So maybe I bought a bunch of fresh greens, a package of cherry tomatoes, some pieces of salami, a few cukes, and some pepperoncini one day. The first couple days, we all eat salad like crazy. Then some of the greens start rotting and we ran out of cukes. Now there's less enthusiasm for the salad because it takes longer (sorting leaves) and there are fewer components. Sure, I could go to the store and get new stuff over again, but I don't want to. It's too inconvenient to go to the store for three things and if I do go, it will turn into twenty things.

 

Yeah I do a once a week clean out the fridge and just make something with what is there.  In winter the majority of it goes in the trash.  In summer it's all good.  This is despite always eating the most sensitive stuff first.  The exceptions would be stuff like carrots or cabbage.  Although 2 weeks ago I bought a cabbage and straight from the store it was rotten.  So I had to go back out because I had all the other stuff cooking and the plan was cabbage.  And going back out is not quick and easy. 

 

Today I had zucchini left from last Sunday.  It was as good as the day I brought it home.  In winter it might not last 2 days because it's already dead when I get it.  I probably should just not buy most vegetables "fresh" in winter, but I dunno..I like fresh veggies...so I keep stupidly trying.