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Your GO TO Veg list .....

T

Taffyboyslim

Well-Known Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 2
Frozen mixed veg .....I am a bachelor

Frozen peas , green beans, cauliflower , broccoli.....see above

Carrots

Cabbage

Onions

Mushrooms

Sweetcorn , swede , parsnips in stews and soups

Spinach is the devil as far as I am concerned
 
Fresh tomatoes, full of vitamin C which ever way you find them, even in a tin. After that just get your vegetables fresh don't use frozen, they don't have any flavour. I was a bachelor once and the only frozen I bought was spinach, oh, and peas, and I buy that fresh these days, but not the peas.

I like broccoli, sprouts and courgettes especially, can't stand sweetcorn, love garlic and onions. As before, we get through a field full of tomatoes every week.
 
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I love veg and I love variety so subscribe to a veg box which gives me six different fresh veg per week.
In addition, I have spuds and onions.
Plus, for convenience, in the freezer, I have peas, sweetcorn, chillis (I had a bumper crop from my chilli plant), grilled Mediterranean veg (a quick addition to a hummus wrap for lunch), ginger and spinach. The latter is mostly used in curries. I grew up with a huge allotment and used to tasty frozen veg that is harvested, prepared and frozen with a couple of hours so I don’t think of it as tasteless but often “fresher” than fresh veg that has been sitting around for a few days.
Tinned-wise is tomatoes, tomatillos (I have salsa recipe that uses them) and a load of pulses - chickpeas, black beans and butter beans. I suspect my partner also has baked beans for nights when I am away.
All of this is made more interesting with a cupboard full of herbs and spices and equivalent to a shelf in the fridge full of different chilli sauces.

Oops, nearly forgot the half shelf of different dried chillis.

I like chillis and spicy food but that is different to “blow your head off” heat which is so hot you can’t taste anything else.
 
The only frozen veg and fruit I use are ones I have grown and frozen otherwise all fresh or tinned tomatoes, kidney beans.
 
My BSc Biology is showing but the fruits I buy which are considered vegetables are courgette, aubergine, tomato and sweet pepper. Also avocado.

Celery, cauliflower, cabbage, swede, turnip, celeriac, onion, beetroot, radish, lettuce, bok choy, endive, spring onion shallots small amounts of carrot, peas and parsnip, runner and french beans.

Mushrooms - a fungus.

Also lots of herbs and a few spices
 
I obviously eat far fewer vegetables than I thought. I eat a lot more fruit though.
 
Merluza said:
I obviously eat far fewer vegetables than I thought. I eat a lot more fruit though.
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The 5-a -Day message is ambiguous as some people take that as being 5 fruits whereas the emphasis should be more on vegetables as in general they will be lower carbs so better when being watchful of carb intake.
 
Leadinglights said:
The 5-a -Day message is ambiguous as some people take that as being 5 fruits whereas the emphasis should be more on vegetables as in general they will be lower carbs so better when being watchful of carb intake.
Click to expand...
But @merluzza has Type 1 diabetes which is managed by insulin not diet so less need for them to be "watchful of carb intake".
I think by "in general" you mean people with type 2 diabetes - those without diabetes also do not have to be as conscious of carbs.

My understanding of the 5 a day message is at least 5 different fruits and/or veg a day with no emphasis on either.
 
helli said:
My understanding of the 5 a day message is at least 5 different fruits and/or veg a day with no emphasis on either.
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Isn’t it 5 portions (80g) of veg/fruit, with as much variety as possible? It’s feasible that I might have the same vegetable with both lunch and dinner, for example, but that would still count as 2 portions. Though fruit juice only counts as 1 however many you have.
 
JJay said:
Isn’t it 5 portions (80g) of veg/fruit, with as much variety as possible? It’s feasible that I might have the same vegetable with both lunch and dinner, for example, but that would still count as 2 portions. Though fruit juice only counts as 1 however many you have.
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My understanding was that it should be different types of fruit/veg so maximise consumption of different minerals and vitamins.
Five portions of grapes wouldn't be as healthy as a portion each of grapes, swede, carrots, tomatoes and broccoli
 
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helli said:
My understanding was that it should be different types of fruit/veg so maximise consumption of different minerals and vitamins.
Five portions of grapes wouldn't be as healthy as a portion eacf of grapes, swede, carrots, tomatoes and broccoli
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No obviously 5 of the same thing isn’t within the spirit! Though we used to joke at work about rum & raisin ice-cream!

NHS advice says: “To get the most out of your 5 A Day, your 5 portions should include a variety of fruit and vegetables. This is because different fruits and vegetables contain different combinations of fibre, vitamins, minerals and other nutrients.”. It doesn’t actually preclude 2 of one thing (apart from juice and pulses) but obviously emphasises the benefit of variety.
 
helli said:
Did you know potatoes are not included in the 5 in the UK but is included elsewhere?
The reason is the fear us Brits would just eat chips and declare we were getting our veg 😎
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All they'd need to do is stipulate that only one of those portions of potatoes should be fried, there'd be no problem.

5 portions of fruit + all the veg you can eat is a good starting point.
 
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helli said:
Did you know potatoes are not included in the 5 in the UK but is included elsewhere?
The reason is the fear us Brits would just eat chips and declare we were getting our veg 😎
Click to expand...
I didn't know that, but it doesn't surprise me.

Not veg related, but I saw a video on Facebook recently about a Greggs Too good to Go bag. (Items going out of date sold at the end of the day for £2.59) It contained 4 sausage rolls, 2 iced doughnuts, a filled baguette, a sandwich, a cheese & bacon wrap (pastry) and an eclair. All the discussion was about whether it was "good value". There's no hope!
 
Like veg, not overly adventurous but do like brocoli carrots turnip onions cauliflower peas sweetcorn parsnips potatoes.

Last night made homemade soup, using butternut squash sweet potato carrots onions & garlic, made it with lots of veg as we don't like our soup waterery. Fried off some bacon lardons in butter then added them to soup, it was delicious & wholesome meal.

Another must at this time of year is good old fashioned stew & hotpot, great way to add veg to your diet.
 
Love all veg and salads, so always have plenty in the house. Staples include:
Lettuce, toms, cucumber, celery, peppers, onions, carrots, peas, cabbage, garlic, green beans, sugar snap peas, olives, spring onions, cauliflower, plus whatever else we see that takes our fancy when out shopping.
Have stopped buying potatoes and sweet potatoes now, occasionally will buy parsnips.
Will have to try more squashes and celeriac and swede, had many times in restaurants, but never cooked myself at home.
 
Tomatoes and cucumber for most salads, that's 80% of a greek salad there pretty much! Peas in moderation same with sweetcorn. I like cabbage, both white and savoy, onion and carrots again in moderation and cauliflower is another favourite. I also keep some sauerkraut around as as something I like that's quick and easy from time to time and keeps well in the fridge. I need to work on ways to incorporate celeriac which I love every time I try it.
 
To go back on topic, I will eat more or less any veg except I can’t stand parsnips, or cucumber (the gift that keeps on giving, not in a good way!)

I always have tomatoes in the fridge and usually spinach - the latter is so easy to wilt into all sorts of dishes at the end of cooking, but I particularly like it in curries and in pasta with some pancetta.
 
Don't forget pickled veg like beetroot and gherkins. I find the vinegar in pickled beetroot offsets the carbs in them, so I can eat them with less concern for the carbs they contain and it is another easy way to introduce another veg and some extra zing to a meal. I also like a dollop of piccalilli for the same reason. Coleslaw is a good way of easily adding more cabbage to a menu so it is a staple on my shopping list and I add it to chilli or curry as well as having it with salad.
 
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