In my post Foods to eat more of, I said that I am aiming for 1/3 protein to 2/3 carbohydrates for every meal, that carbohydrates should be in the form of vegetables as much as possible and that I’m trying to eat plenty of green, leafy vegetables.
For a long time I was reliant on other people cooking meals (my family still cook 4 nights out of 7), and my family usually don’t provide such a high proportion of vegetables with a meal.
Often I have dragged myself to the table from where I have been lying (sofa or bed) to discover a meal that did not match my ideal. I’d like to stress here that I am always grateful for a meal prepared by someone else, and I certainly don’t want to criticise whoever has prepared it or suggest that their efforts aren’t appreciated. So I need to increase the vegetable content without creating a fuss.
My solution to this is to always keep a bag of ready washed green leaves in the fridge. This could be spinach, lettuce, watercress, rocket or other green leaves that can be eaten without cooking. Then I simply add a handful or two to my plate. I also try and keep a jar of homemade salad dressing (olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, herbs and celtic sea salt) to make the salad a bit more interesting.
One extra tip if you’re going to try this; darker green leaves have more nutritional value than paler leaves, so don’t stick to iceberg lettuce, experiment with other darker green leaves.