Veg-Head.

We all know that we need to eat at least three to five servings of vegetables a day--which can sound like a lot, but in reality it can be so easy to achieve! One of the most useful things I've been doing since I started the AAY! Nutrition Program back in January is chopping up and bagging my veggies for the week every Sunday night. It is amazing how much time it cuts down on later in the week--and I've found when I have pre-cut red bell pepper to reach for when I'm hungry, it is so much easier to surpass that bag of chips on top of the fridge.

Vegetables are also super versatile and can be thrown into so many everyday recipes. People think vegetables are boring or not very tasty, but they don't have to be! Here's some things I like to do to ensure I'm eating enough veggies, and enjoying myself while doing so:
-add kale or spinach to smoothies (yes, it turns the frozen drink a sort of ugly green color, but you cannot even taste a difference)
-add shredded cabbage to salads
-sprinkle baby carrots with cinnamon (okay, this sounds weird, but I swear, they're delicious!!)
-steam cauliflower and then mash it--it's better than potatoes!
-make zucchini chips (one of my most brilliant finds to date!!)



WAIT, CHIPS?! That's right, CHIPS. Healthy! Homemade! On my nutrition plan! How do you do it, you ask?! Let's begin..

I had a leftover zucchini from a 3-pack I'd bought and I noticed the other morning it was starting to look a little sad. Better use this tonight, I thought. Zucchini is one of those veggies I tend to overlook--it's not bad, but it is kind of dull. When I got home after work that evening, I was HUNGRY. Too hungry, you know what I mean? The kind of hungry where you want to eat every piece of bread in the house and you need sweet and salty and definitely something crunchy to go with that. I opened the fridge and saw that little zucchini, and figured I should find a way to make it taste delicious. So, I turned on the oven to 425 and sliced the zucchini into thin rounds using the mandoline. I put a piece of parchment paper on a cookie sheet and sprayed it with olive oil and then laid the zucchini rounds down so they weren't overlapping. I gave them a little spray of oil and crushed some black pepper on top. Then I let them bake for about 15 minutes, flipped them, baked another 10 or so, and they were done. PERFECT! Okay, like two of them burned a little, but the rest were ah-mazing. Crunchy like a chip, but healthy like a vegetable, because, oh right, that's all they were! One cup of zucchini only has 20 calories.  Which means I had my "guilty" pleasure snack for only 20 CALORIES. I was so proud, and am so looking forward to making more!

TRY THIS! You will not regret it. You can also do it in the microwave--I learned this the next afternoon when I just had to have more! Put a piece of parchment paper on a large plate, spray with oil, lay the rounds down, spray, top with black pepper, and microwave for around 6 minutes. BUT BEWARE. There is a really fine, delicate line between done and burnt when you microwave them, so I kept checking to make sure they were okay.

Now you know all my secrets. I hope you love 'em, too!!