A veggie kick!

I'm totally on a veggie kick. Have you noticed? I mean, can't you tell I'm just oozing green? (That sounds gross, sorry!)

Seriously, though. I've even got an "Eat Green" board on Pinterest. Check it out!

** Note to self, if you are writing a blog post and you go to look up something on Pinterest be prepared to disappear for like an hour. Or so. Pinterest = time suck! And if you aren't on Pinterest, leave your email info in the comments if you want an invite, so you can be addicted, too.**
Anyway, I'm turning greener by the minute ... 



... and I love that I'm doing it!

My main goal was to add greens to dinner every night. And that includes carrots and non-green veggies, as well. I've done a pretty good job of it, excepting New Years Eve, when we had simple angel hair pasta for dinner because I felt like crap. Look - I didn't PLAN on starting the new year that way, ya know? I just made do because I had to.

But greens make me happy. And they fill me up. I have a slight problem of adding cheese to greens because, well, plain and simple - I just love me some cheese. But I try to cut back on it some, when and if I can.

What I'm looking for are some great salad ideas. Now, I don't eat fish (canned tuna is a very rare exception), or bacon (Gasp! I know. Twitter will be all abuzz). I also don't eat red meat, or eggs, so those things are out of my salad topping options. See why I wind up with cheese so much? Or so much cheese?

So, tell me what kind of salads you enjoy, please. What can I toss in there? I'm a fan of chicken, dried cranberries, grapes, shredded cheeses or feta (oh - tomato basil feta? rocks my world!). Nuts work, too, but I don't always have almonds or pistachios on-hand. Those are my salad nuts. Sunflower seeds work, as well. Splash some raspberry vinaigrette on there and I am totally pleased.

Do you think I could cook up some sweet potatoes and cut them up as a topping? Those are my healthy favorites, as well. Top of the list. They also work as a delicious side. Or spaghetti squash makes a perfect dinner. Top it with some chicken, maybe some Parmesan cheese (maybe? who am I trying to kid?) and add some tomato sauce if your family is up for it and it's so delicious. Now I kind of want some.

I also tried making butternut squash soup the other day. It worked, sort of. Not perfectly, but I didn't start off in the best possible way. But either way, I got a good gourd into my dinner.

So, let's talk greens. What's your favorite veggie to add to your meals? Do you have to hide them or can you put them out fresh and shiny (are veggies shiny? Uh, if they are they're probably coated with pesticides of some sort- so beware of that. Or do research and get yourself informed, okay? I won't be responsible for anyone ingesting anything they don't want to or don't know about because I encouraged them to eat their vegetables!) ... where was I? Shiny veggies! Do your family members eat veggies straight up, or do you have to hide them? We're mostly lucky here. My daughter eats them easily, it's my husband I have to trick convince.

Mangia and enjoy!

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