getting my greens

Question
Hello: I am in my 60s in general good health,and I live alone,and was wondering if one of those health food store products that contain spirula would be a good stand-in for green vegetables in my diet,as I have NO desire to make anything fancy (anything that takes more than 2 minutes to make) to eat.During the work week,I have shredded wheat cereal for breakfast with skim milk,for lunch a multigrain bread sandwich with a filling of lean ham/turkey/chicken,an apple and a banana,and for dinner,I eat one of those low fat,low sodium frozen meals,and have a cup of tea afterwards.On weekends,I let my hair down,and have bacon and eggs for breakfast,pasta and tomato sauce for dinner,and on occasion,baked chicken breasts with a potato and a vegetable or (on rare occasions),a BBQ-ed steak.Thanks

Answer
Hi Michael,

I'm wondering why you wouldn't just consider getting greens in your diet? None that take more than 2 minutes of course! A few suggestions:

You could put spinach leaves on your sandwich as a healthier form of 'lettuce' leaves, or consider snacking on raw broccoli spears instead of your apple or banana at lunch. Even carrot sticks would be a very healthy veggie, high in beta carotene and anti-oxidants, with no more than a minute to open a bag of baby carrots or carrot chips (carrots cut to look like waffle chips).
Would you consider a small salad in addition to your frozen meal at dinner, or a side of green beans? They make single-serving, microwaveable portions available in the freezer section of the grocery store with a wide variety of veggies.

The problem with choosing a supplement to substitute for veggies is that they are all different and include different nutrients... the veggies, that is. Just as it wouldn't be smart to eat brussels sprouts every day, you'll be missing out on lots of healthy compounds--some known and some still unknown--by shunning vegetables every day.

What do you think?
Laurie

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