On another thread, we started talking about fruits and vegetables. How do you incorporate them in your diet? I know for me, I never eat salads because they are just too much volume & stop me from getting in my Protein.

I do have a few tricks, but would love to hear your ideas as well ...

Starwberry Overload Smoothie:

• 1 CarbMaster strawberry Yogurt (Kroger, FredMeyer)
• 1/2 Cup Frozen Strawberries
• 2T Torani SF Rasberry Syrup
• 0.5 Scoop of On's 100% Any whey Protein powder
  = 140 calories, 12 carbs, 3 g Fiber, 22 g protein, 2 g fat, and 40% daily Calcium

• Green Beans - Side dish with protein meal
• Celery with Peanut Butter - snack
• Cucumber Slices (pretend it's potato chips) and maybe a little bit of Ranch Dressing
• Del Monte No Sugar Added Diced Peaches = 25 calories & 6 g carbs as a side dish with protein meal

So, what other ideas do you have for incorporating more fruits and veggies in your daily diets?

I slice a tomato thinly and add it in with refried Beans and some cheese ina a weight watchers wrap and make a panini type of thing, I find that slightly cooked tomatoes

don't take up much space at all. Yesterday I made a lasagna but with eggplant, tomatoes, peppers and cheese, it was yummy and again not heavy to my stomach at all, full of "goodness"

Both sound very delicious. I'm going to try the panini idea this weekend!

Glad you reposted that here mini-me!

:D

WHOOHOOO!!!!

Awesome thread!!!! Thanks Mini, Chilo those are awesome ideas - in fact mini I actually have some of those fruit cups, untouched of course... LOL

In the mean time I had to go downstairs (I'm at work and they have an onsite mini store) and buy a V8, kinda a little band-aid until I can plan a little better. And whoa no joke, I suddenly feel AMAZING!! I also had a Deli turkey half sandwich on wheat. Wow my lunch made me feel so good. Aahhh... I think I needed that.

Funny thing, there was a little eating plan booklet in my Leslie Sansone DVD and I'm going to give it a whirl. Who knows, maybe it will boost my metabolism back to full force.

It had lots of little fruits and veggies mixed in. Of course I can't eat the full servings she was suggesting but still - very well balanced. That's cool in itself that I'm actually thinking her "diet" is too much food... haaa!!!

Yes, please keep the ideas coming...

I like to snack on Asian pears, bananas, baby carrots, or cucumbers. I have salads, too, they actually don't take up that much room! I just make sure to add a Protein in there. My favorite chicken salad is a rip-off from a restaurant (will post recipe in the recipe thread when I have time), but it's more time-consuming. A simple one I like consists of:

raw spinach

cooked and peeled shrimp

avocado

cucumbers

lemon juice and salt

I eat salads too. Salads are not all that filling. Everything chews down to nothing other than the chicken. I buy tysons cooked chicken strips to put on my salads. I usually add broccoli, zuchhini , cucumber, really whatever I feel like . I buy Spring Mix in the bag then add the other stuff.

As far as other veggies, I don't do very well. If out , I always ask for extra veggies instead of the side of potato or whatever they else they have if I am eating out. I will sometimes cook asparagus.

As far as fruit, it's not a good time for fruit. I add frozen blueberries to my plain yogurt, I also like those little tangerines or mandarin oranges, In the summer I eat strawberries, raspberries blueberries and nectarines

Since I have had it pounded into me to eat your protein first, I usually don't have room for anything else. I would like to eat veggies, but just can't. Will this improve?

Are there any other people out there that just HATE vegetables? I can't stand the taste of them. What do I do?

I make a pureed soup in my blender. Mind you, I am not sleeved yet, it is just something we like to eat. We use carrots, a tomato, chicken broth (or I will be using chicken soup protein powder after I get sleeved), a little red bell pepper if you like, cilantro and a chunk of CHEESE. I warm up the broth before I put it in and my blender is super fast so it heats the stuff up more when I use the soup setting. Comes out smooth and tasty. Now, the way my family has done it is we then throw in some tortilla chips and give it a little pulse. I don't recommend doing that!!!!!!! I freeze fresh cilantro in ice cubes so I don't have to throw the unused away. THere are lots of ways you can mask veggies and get more of the nutrients. The other thing I plan on incorporating is http://paradiseherbs.com/products/orac-energy-greens/ I actually have planned on asking the board if anyone does either of these.. AGAIN, I HAVE NOT BEEN SLEEVED! I HAVE NOT sought the advice of a bariatric nutritionist on doing these after the sleeve so please be sure to research.

I love vegetables and I miss them. I've been adding small salads to my day with arugula, my favorite green. I am using up my canned chicken and turkey in these small salads, as the canned poultry doesn't sit that well on it's own, and I bought way too much. Today, I bought a bag of fresh brussels sprouts, which I am going to cook and probably add chicken. Today, I also bought a salad kit with broccoli slaw, carrot, sunflower seeds, dried cranberries, a little bacon and cole slaw dressing. I added a whole can of turkey to that and I will eat it over the next few days. It was supposed to be just 2.5 servings or so, but it will last me a few days.

As for fruits, I am buying those again and freezing some in chunks for later, either in shakes or as a snack. I can't eat a whole banana or a whole package of berries. I love grapefruit but I understand the membranes can cause problems so I bought the grapefruit in cups. One cup will last two days. Unfortunately they have sugar added.