YOUR MINI RESOLUTION EAT MORE “FnVs” • WEEK 3

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Good morning! We hope you tried a salad-a-day last week and saw how easy it is to hit the goal of 7 servings of fruits and veggies (FnVs) each day.
 
In these next few weeks, we’re moving beyond the obvious salad onto different ways to substitute and replace grains with FnVs in some of your favorite dishes.

CCP helps you stay on track!

Use our log to to track your progress toward our mini resolution. This month, we’re looking to up our fruit and veggie (FnVs) consumption!
 
For questions or assistance, email your Motivated Mondays Coach Michele McCambridge:
[email protected]

 
You probably remember the old government-issued food pyramid from the low-fat craze of the 90’s… The same food guide pyramid which told us to eat SEVEN servings of grains per day? (Keep in mind this was the SAME food pyramid which also incorrectly told us eggs were a dairy product! That isn’t even anatomically correct!) Well, that’s just bonkers! Importantly, eating all those grains crowds your plate of more nutrient-dense foods like FnVs (and protein, but that’s another story). So, for the next two weeks we will be showing you how to replace those grains with FnVs, which are more nutritious and carb/diet friendly.

This week, we’re starting with pasta, noodle and rice substitutes and recipes. Need a little guidance in the kitchen? Ask us! We have a retired chef on board.

 
Spaghetti Squash

 
Spaghetti Squash is probably the OG pasta substitute. It is, literally, a squash that, when cooked, produces strings of squash resembling noodles or pasta. It can be prepared in the oven or nuked and then treated like pasta or noodles with toppings.

PREPARING SPAGHETTI SQUASH

 
How to Prepare Spaghetti Squash:

• In the oven.

• In the microwave.

• There is also a dehydrated version on the market which can be rehydrated and then topped. The jury is out on pre-prepared spaghetti squash, but we guess it’s probably convenient for camping. 

RECIPES

 
The recipes for spaghetti squash are endless! Getting started is easy by subbing out your pasta for spaghetti squash, and here are some more unusual recipe options for this versatile veggie.  

 
Noodled FnVs

 
In 1991, as part of the raw food movement, it started with “zoodles” (noodles made out of zucchini) and quickly progressed to boodles (noodles made out of beets), coodles (noodles made out of carrots) and now most all FnVs can be noodled—even red cabbage!

PREPARING FNV-BASED NOODLES

 
In the early days, folks had to invest in a large countertop spiralizer. Now, most grocery stores sell them pre-noodled for you, fresh or frozen.

RECIPES

 
Here are some recipes ready to go with your purchased veggie noodles. Keep in mind-they can replace pasta/noodles in a hot dish- but are also great as an alternative to lettuce in a salad, like this one!
 
Firm fruit can also be spiralized! Guests at the next BBQ will be dazzled by your spiralized fruit salad and kids will gobble up your fruit crumble recipe.

 
Other Noodle Options

 
Palmini—hearts of palm pasta—is a fairly new player to the market. There is an entire line of palmini pasta alternatives, including lasagna noodles. These cook up a little firmer, more al dente than typical veggie noodles.
 
Shirataki noodles have been around a while and are made from the fiber of the Konjac plant. They are decidedly NOT for everyone except for those adventurous eaters out there. (Coach Michele likes them!)

 
Rice Alternatives

 
As with the noodles, riced vegetables are more nutritious and carb/dieter friendly. And just like the noodles, they also can be made at home or purchased fresh or frozen by the Green Giant and Trader Joe’s. and Palmini has a hearts of palm rice version of their products too.
 
Once you have your riced veggies, you can search for riced vegetable recipes like risottos, sushi, fried rice, or even “rice” pudding—the possibilities are endless!

See you next week for breakfast and dessert!