Diet question: substitutes for fresh fruits & vegetables

[mekannik]

The situation: as much as I like to eat vegetables (raw or cooked) more often that not I end up throwing them away or not knowing enough ways to cook them. So I am left with trying to sub in a decent substitute. Any opinions on V8, any of those Green Magma mixes, or other ideas anyone uses?

 

[silverbackn]

V8 would be a good substitute. That or twinkies.

 

[The Shadow]

vITAMINS AND FIBER

 

[Sassy69]

During competition prep I went thru volumes of frozen broccoli & green beans. Fresh, they cost an arm & a leg. Frozen I can buy them in bulk, nuke them to eat or even if I had to just throw them in tupperware & let them melt over the course of the day (e.g. I pack 5 meals in a small cooler to carry to work & back to the gym -- at work I had access to a microwave but not at the gym - by the time i got there, the frozen stuff was thawed and you could still shovel it down on schedule.

Not graceful it works. Also canned beans were ok in a pinch. I just rinsed them good to get rid of the sodium & stuff. The frozen stuff seems to be less processed tho.

 

[vin01]

I think frozen is sometimes even better then fresh, because the frozen veggies/fruits are cleaned and flash frozen. That's the best way to preserve it.

 

[dce2956]

I practically live on frozen broccoli, its an easy way to really fill up and get some good vitamins without too many calories. for example, you can stretch a small amount of pasta and meat with a lot of broccoli, mix it all together with a little bit of sauce and you got yourself a meal. also, if you're looking for recipies, try epicurious.com, loads and loads of recipies and you can browse by ingredients, i.e. vegtables.

 

[Tatyana]

OH MAN, THERE ARE NO SUBSTITUTES FOR WHOLE NATURAL FOODS!!!!

Seriously, if you have to, start using a olive oil/lemon dressing or something to get them down your neck until your taste buds change. You will end up craving pure healthy steamed veg, trust me on this one

IT IS A PROCESS AND NOT GOING TO HAPPEN OVER NIGHT.

Enjoy the journey!

Hippocrates "let your food be your medicine, and your medicine be your food"

 

[Lifterforlife]

During competition prep I went thru volumes of frozen broccoli & green beans. Fresh, they cost an arm & a leg. Frozen I can buy them in bulk, nuke them to eat or even if I had to just throw them in tupperware & let them melt over the course of the day (e.g. I pack 5 meals in a small cooler to carry to work & back to the gym -- at work I had access to a microwave but not at the gym - by the time i got there, the frozen stuff was thawed and you could still shovel it down on schedule.

Not graceful it works. Also canned beans were ok in a pinch. I just rinsed them good to get rid of the sodium & stuff. The frozen stuff seems to be less processed tho.

Were you copying my diet? Seriously, I could have written that exact post.

 

[Assertive Guy]

I think frozen is sometimes even better then fresh, because the frozen veggies/fruits are cleaned and flash frozen. That's the best way to preserve it.

In the UK that's a given. Because they are frozen within an hour of picking, they actually preserve more goodness than fresh veg.

 

[Tatyana]

Fresh veg is expensive in the US????

There are still small green grocers all over the UK, so you can get some really great deals, like STRAWBERRIES (YUM YUM YUM) about 200 g for about 75 pence!!! A big head of brocolli is about the same!

I have tried some frozen veg, I can only tolerate sweet corn, green peas, and sometimes spinach.

I do have a few frozen bits in case of emergencies, but I have a hard time eating most things that have been frozen!!! THe texture is different, kind of soggy.

Pre comp though, I spend a fortune on chicken, eat about 1 kg/day, works out to about 120 pounds a month