What I Ate Wednesday - Go Raw!

Welcome back Wednesday! This month over at Peas & Crayons Jen encouraged us to LOVE our veggies!

This girl right here...ME...I love my veggies! I always have...even when I was this tiny...

....yup....still loved veggies!
I can thank my mother for this love.  As a kid, instead of bowls of candies or chips out at night we had bowls of raw fruits and veggies.  I mostly remember it being a lot of veggies.  Raw bell peppers, carrots, celery, cucumber (in vinegar), broccoli stems were all put in a bowl in the living room.  As the night wore on and the desire to "munch" came on...there were veggies. Therefore at a young age I got very used to eating and liking raw veggies.My Mom also let me pick out 1 fruit or veggie to eat every time we went to the grocery store.  I feel like I picked star fruit a lot.  

At gymnastics we also had a day called "Fruit & Veggie" day.  We payed $1 and on Wednesdays we would start practice with a giant tray of every kind of raw veggie out.  The rule was that you had to at least eat one of each.  Once all the veggies were gone then they would bring out the fruit tray.  The veggie tray had hearts of palm on it.  I hated hearts of palm. I don't know what was more traumatic - eating the hearts of palm or the days where they made us stay on beam until we stuck 5 of our series in a row....tough call!

Can you find me? Level 6 circa 1995.

Can you find me here? Hint - I'm the giant holding the sign! :)

Kyle is also a good raw vegetable eater.  His dinners often include raw bell pepper, carrots, or a simple spinach salad.The link between fruits, vegetables, and good health is clear. Fruits and veggies have been proven to help prevent numerous cancers and a diet high in them helps your heart.
Go raw this week! Take $15 and buy some veggies, cut them up, and see which ones you and your family like to eat raw. You may discover something new you like AND it's way faster to cut a bell pepper than to even steam one. (psst- red bell pepper totally higher than many fruits in Vitamin C content)
Today my meals have been heavy on the fruits.I had beautiful Florida strawberries in my cereal this am.

I had my usual v8 juice and carrot sticks with my lunch.My afternoon snack was a pear and some Pom Wonderful pomegranate arils.  Pomegranate's are very high in anti-oxidants, polyphenols, and Vitamins B, C, calcium, and phosphorous. 

Pomegranate seeds are notoriously hard to get out.  Pom Wonderful has made this beautiful 100 calorie pack that comes with a spoon, but my friend Alexis has an easy method on her blog.

Dinner includes more veggies in the form of mushrooms, red bell pepper (raw), spinach, and zucchini.
How do you like your veggies?
Love and carotenoids,Carissa & Kyle