Habit #4: Lettuce Discuss the Fourth Habit

Habit #4: Lettuce Discuss the Fourth Habit

by Amanda Hepp Jackson, SHOP blogger

It’s time for your fourth habit, and the good news about Habit #4 is you’re probably doing most of the work already--unless you’re only eating fish oil and protein every day (very slowly)--and that is not advisable.Habit #4: Eat 5 servings of fruits and veggies per day.This is one of very few things (maybe the only thing??) in the health and wellness community that isn’t really debated. Certainly there is debate over whether or not it has to be organic, if it’s better for you when raw, whether or not pizza counts as a vegetable, etc. But that you should eat veggies--UNANIMOUS! Hallelujah!Consequently, there isn’t all that much to say about this habit that you haven’t already heard. Basically, you should eat a lot of veggies (and you really can’t eat too many**--which is awessssooommmeeee).**This only applies to normal people--if you have addictive tendencies like Drew, you may end up with not one, but TWO cases of beta-carotenosis from overeating carrots, pumpkin, sweet potatoes, and spinach. The result is your skin turns an unfortunate shade of spray-tan orange. At least he fit right in in Dallas.According to the Precision Nutrition article on this subject found here, “Studies have shown a direct correlation between the variety of fruits and vegetables eaten and the benefits seen from the nutrients.” Also, then you don’t get bored as efffff with steamed broccoli every night.So for this habit, instead of focusing on why you should eat veggies, I’m going to give you some recipes and tips for adding variety to your vegetable diet--especially since you’re eating FIVE SERVINGS a day (serving = 1 fist for women; 2 fists for men).Anyway, since I’ve had a baby, I’ve surprisingly had more time to experiment with recipes because I’m up three times a night feeding my darling angel, and I spend that time on Pinterest looking for new recipes.Tip #1: Sign up for Pinterest. Even if you’re a dude and you think Pinterest is just for women who like to do crafts and plan imaginary weddings. Because guess what? When you get some weird vegetable you’ve never heard of from your co-op, you can type “paleo rapini recipe” in the search bar and get all kinds of good stuff. Dudes, I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking “I can just do that with Google.” And you’re right. You can. But with Pinterest, you can find all the recipes again and you won’t even have to ask your wife/girlfriend where they are.Here are two veggie recipes I tried in the last week that I found on Pinterest:Garlic Rubbed Roasted Cabbage Steaks

Whole Roasted Cauliflower

Tip #2: Follow paleo chefs and CrossFitters on Instagram and Facebook.Bob Harper (@trainerbob) posted an AMAZING looking dish the other day, and it’s super easy to copy--even without a recipe. Check this out:My favorites to follow are Against All Grain (@againstallgrain), Nom Nom Paleo (@nomnompaleo), Thug Kitchen (@thugkitchen), and Paleo Grubs (@paleogrubs) (they all have cookbooks too if that’s your preference).The thing is, I’m actually a pretty lazy person. I like efficiency and organization not because I am a neat freak but because it makes my life easier. I prefer to have people post things to my newsfeed rather than having to scour 30 websites and cookbooks to find a new recipe. If that sounds like you, you should really, really have other people do all the work for you.Tip #3: If you have leftovers, add some eggs to it in the morning and you’ve got breakfast! I made some tacos with sauteed broccoli and onions the other night and that means only one thing: two days of breakfast tacos. A gift that keeps on giving. And since I’ve left Texas, I’ve realized that breakfast tacos don’t exist everywhere in the country as a breakfast option, which makes me sad for humanity.Now go make a salad and hope that you have the fortune of one day coming across this carrot: