When do we find the time to plan meals? Don't we often just base our grocery lists on something we get a craving for or something we know we're out of? Or don't we run through our mental lists and think, I haven't had such-and-such in a while? Habits like these might result in repeating the same not so healthy meals a little too often. Of course, I know we're all very busy (or at least we feel that we are). How many of us actually even find the time to prepare meals at home? I find that if I become familiar with a recipe, it's quite easy to just throw it together without much conscious thought. Even though vegetables seem to me like something troublesome to select at the store, keep fresh at home and finally process and cook, I'm sure some good habits could be learned. Too often I've avoided being bothered with vegetables. Frozen vegetables are one alternative. Though not as nutritious as fresh they aren't altogether bad, and they do wait patiently for us without spoiling.

I think we can only get cravings for foods that we're familiar with. If we haven't developed healthy eating habits how can we crave something that's good for us? Many good tasting and healthy items would be unfamiliar to us, and therefore, outside the range of our choices. Maybe we've decided to gradually expand our eating choices by gradually replacing unhealthy foods with healthier ones. If so we've got to look for opportunities to incorporate some new, healthy items into our lives. It wouldn't hurt to try to bring some new healthy vegetables into our range of experience. Since we've decided that vegetables are a good category to think about, why not try to experience a new vegetable recipe, or maybe even a recipe that calls for an entirely different vegetable than we usually eat? That might be more easily accomplished with some simple, healthy recipe suggestions. One place to look might be the Sneaky Kitchen vegetable recipe index at:

http://sneakykitchen.com/Categories/vegetable.htm

Or maybe you're willing to try some recipes that are designed to make you feel better too. If you're looking for something that doesn't stop at just tasting good it wouldn't hurt to scan through some of the vegetable recipes at Freedomyou.com:

http://www.freedomyou.com/recipes/vegetable%20recipes.htm

You can find a long and interesting list of quick and easy vegetable side salad recipes at About.com:

http://busycooks.about.com/od/sidevegetablesalads/Side_Vegetable_Salad_Recipes.htm

If it's really going to take outside intervention to get you to try new vegetable dishes you might prefer to have recipes especially for "vegetable haters" e-mailed directly to you. What could be easier for those who don't know where to look or don't have the time? Sign up for a trial run here:

http://www.healthymenumailer.com/articles/healthy-cooking-for-vegetable-haters.html

For a few more hearty vegetable recipes and some detailed nutritional information on vegetables take a look at:

http://www.healthrecipes.com/vegetable_recipes.htm

We'll get back to our vegetable search tomorrow. All comments and suggestions are welcomed and encouraged.