Veggie Tales

 Vegetables are interesting but lack a sense of purpose when unaccompanied by a good cut of meat. 
--Fran Lebowitz

So the hubs keeps asking for more veggies in his dinner . . . I can understand that--veggies are good for you, most are delicious, they add color, they're good for you, they can be relatively easy to prepare, they're good for you, blah blah blah. The problem?

I am running out of veggies. 

No joke. It seems every week I bring home the same goodies . . . and I am so bored with it. Help? I'm trying to branch out, but it seems like either other veggies are gross (brussel sprouts anyone?), my hubs won't eat them (Hello! Big cucumber fan here, and what is his sworn enemy? the cuke), or they're too expensive or not available. We try the whole fruit thing, but we're so focused on preparing veggies we sometimes forget about the yummy fruit in our fridge . . .and then we remember . . . and it's funky colors fruit should never, ever be.

So I turned to the ultimate source of knowledge.
Why hello, Google. So nice to see you again. Been well? Splendid.

This is what dear Googs gave me:

• How to Get More Vegetables in Your Diet 
• Tips for adding veggies every day 
• Easy Ways to Get 5 Fruits and Veggies a Day 
• A - Fruits & Vegetables: Eat 5 A Day for Better Health 
• And thank God for budget articles . . . 30 Ways to Stretch Your Produce Budget

Just thought I'd share the wealth :]

My favorite bits?

• SALSA COUNTS AS A VEGGIE SERVING!!! Stop the presses! My world has just been forever changed! I now have an excuse to buy all the La Mexicana salsa I can eat! I don't know if you fully understand how epically gorgeous this is! All this time I've been feeling guilty for my salsa snackage, but really I was doing myself a favor! Hallelujah! 
• I don't have to feel guilty for serving rice or taters at dinner time--all this time I've been thinking carbs are bad, but, hey these are veggies, I'm ok! And potatoes are pretty grand. Bring on the taters!
• Recently, I've expressed my love for hummus. Lightbulb. Snow peas and hummus? Red peppers and hummus? Broccoli and carrots and hummus, oh my! Spectacular. 
• An ice cream scoop of steamed veggies counts as a serving. Just one ice cream scoop. We've been eating more veggies than we even realized. 
• Chris, I continue to find evidence that frozen veggies won't kill you. In fact, they're pretty good for you. While I'm not giving up on freshies, I'm not cleaning out my freezer just yet. Thank you. I win.
• All those canned no-added-sugar mandarin oranges I have in the pantry? Um, going to start having those in classroom snack time. They have to be better for me than those mini muffins I've been enjoying, right?

What about you? How do you get in your five-a-day?