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Wellness Wednesday for May 29, 2024

The Wednesday Wellness threads are meant to encourage users to ask for and provide advice and motivation to improve their lives. It isn't intended as a 'containment thread' and any content which could go here could instead be posted in its own thread. You could post:

  • Requests for advice and / or encouragement. On basically any topic and for any scale of problem.

  • Updates to let us know how you are doing. This provides valuable feedback on past advice / encouragement and will hopefully make people feel a little more motivated to follow through. If you want to be reminded to post your update, see the post titled 'update reminders', below.

  • Advice. This can be in response to a request for advice or just something that you think could be generally useful for many people here.

  • Encouragement. Probably best directed at specific users, but if you feel like just encouraging people in general I don't think anyone is going to object. I don't think I really need to say this, but just to be clear; encouragement should have a generally positive tone and not shame people (if people feel that shame might be an effective tool for motivating people, please discuss this so we can form a group consensus on how to use it rather than just trying it).

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Do you have recommendations as far as recipes go, for making veggies taste good and making you actively want to eat them?

To maximize the taste/health/satiety/caloric density equation there are some general principles I adhere to. Low oil for low caloric density (non stick cookware and soups eliminate the need for lots of cooking oil). Easy digestibility for me (cauliflower is hard for me to digest, which sucks because cauliflower rice is otherwise great, ymmv). Also, perhaps I just love or have learned to love vegetables.

For me personally, here are some go-to's

Boiled frozen peas for 10 mins. Strain, rinse briefly, add salt. Possibly add butter spray or a small amount of butter to taste. Sweet and delicious and I literally look forward to it. Doesn't get much easier. Decent amount of slow carbs and protein.

Cut two heads of broccoli into large chunks. Place in large pan with 3cm boiling water. Steam for 10 mins, remove, let rest, and salt. I love broccoli.

Pan fried zucchini: cut length-wise, salt with favored spice mix (think Mrs Dash plus salt), on medium/ medium low heat place skin side down in 32cm. high-wall non-stick pan with spray, cover and let simmer for 10 mins, turn, cover, and cook for 10 more mins, remove and let rest (they should be browned, maybe blackened in some areas. It will take some experience to dial in your stoves heat level, the salt/spice level, and cooking time. Keep the temp below the smoke point of your oil. I'll do this is 2kg batches. They re-heat really well. I like them. Simple.

Bag of frozen veggies in the same cook pan. Spray with oil. Salt and season to taste. Let cook on medium heat uncovered until the water evaporates. Then cover, cook, stir occasionally until "aldente". Stop, remove from heat, let rest covered until desired tenderness. I do batches of 1kg. Again, super simple.

Peel carrots. Chop in half or quarters lengthwise. Place evenly spaced on cooking tray with parchment paper. Cover in cooking spray. Cover in salt and herbs. Place in pre-heated 180C oven for as many minutes as you like to get the tenderness you want. Pairs excellently with parsnips done the same way.

In a way, this is primal vegetable preparation with easy access to modern amenities (salt, able veggies, clean heat). I'm basically making large batches of veggies tender enough to eat, salty and seasoned enough where I like them. I also eat a few large carrots raw on most days.