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No one will argue against the importance of including ample vegetables in our diet. We know we should but so many of us have a variety of excuses why we can't or won't. It starts in childhood for many of us. It's that unmistakable disdain for vegetables. Young bodies have immature taste buds and anything with a potent, strong taste is likely to cause us to turn up our noses and walk away. A great many vegetables fall into this category for youngsters. Parental admonitions to eat your vegetables often have exactly the opposite effect from what was intended.

As we grow up we start to understand the importance of vegetables in a healthy diet. Even if we start out with a dislike of many vegetables, most of us actually grow to enjoy a wide variety of vegetables. Soon the problem becomes not what vegetables do we eat but, rather, when and where do we fit vegetables into our diet? We live in a fast food world that often classifies deep fried potatoes as the primary menu vegetable. If we want to eat that recommended 5 a day we need to employ a bit of creativity in our menu planning.

BREAKFAST

To be successful in building a healthy base of vegetables in our diets everyday, the place to start is with breakfast. Instead of the simple cereal, bacon or toast with nary a vegetable in sight, consider an egg white omelet with green bell peppers, onions, tomatoes and artichokes. This will jump start you on your vegetable rich day.

LUNCH

Of course lunch options can easily include a salad. Two cups of Romaine lettuce with cucumbers, carrots, radishes, tomatoes or peppers provide a wide variety of vegetables to fill out your day, with the added bonus of providing a very filling meal with a very low calorie intake. If the idea of a salad everyday for lunch leaves you with a slight feeling of boredom, consider a vegetable wrap. Fill a burrito shell with four or five of your favorite vegetables, add a splash of low-fat ranch dressing and you have another great lunch option that will fill up your vegetable quota for the day. Soups are a wonderful source of vegetable servings as well. Vegetable beef barley, homemade cream of tomato or a fresh lentil soup with carrots and leeks are just a few of the wide array of options you can find in this category of vegetable providers.

DINNER

The list of dinner choices for vegetables is as large as the produce department at your local grocery store. The healthiest tip to remember is a simple, well-known acronym, K.I.S.S., or Keep It Simple

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