Favourite Ways to Eat Veggies

I love eating vegetables - when they're cooked the right way, that is. Here are my favourite ways to cook various veggies:

• Carrots are great roasted. I just cut them into pieces, toss them in olive oil, salt, pepper, and roast them in the oven.

My sister thinks these look gross.

• I like cauliflower, broccoli, red bell peppers, and zuchinni together grilled. I sprinkle salt, pepper, paprika, and whatever assorted seasonings are in my mom's cupboard, grill 'em, and they make a great side dish or snack.

• Asparagus is awesome sauteed in some balsamic vinegar and salt. Don't overdo it on the balsamic though.

Definitely my favourite!

• Peas, broccoli, or cauliflower I like to just steam and eat. You can add salt and/or pepper. I don't and I love them though.

• Butternut squash can be transformed into an almost-soup if you cook it in a pot with some cooked chicken and baby carrots. I add some potatoes sometimes as well too, as well as salt, pepper, and whatever other seasonings I feel like. The butternut squash melts right down.

• I make a stir-fry of mushrooms, bell peppers of any colour, cauliflower, broccoli, beansprouts, and bok choy. There are many complicated recipes out there but I just sautee onions and garlic in a little olive oil, add my vegetables, and cook it up with a little soy sauce.

I need a skillet like this.

• Don't forget raw, the best way to get all the nutrients! Carrots, red peppers, cauliflower, broccoli, celery, cucumbers, and cherry tomatoes are all yummy dipped in some hummus or low-fat dressing

Vitamin D Deficiency????

The sun vitamin!

I recently did a full physical at the doc. It went well and he said all was fine with me, a

nd sent me to do some bloodwork. I thought getting pricked with the awful needle was the hard part. Apparently not. :( I got a call on Friday that the doctor wanted to see me to discuss my results. I freaked out all night and all of Saturday! I couldn't even imagine what could be wrong with me. When I finally got there on Sunday (after hours of waiting might I add), the doctor told me I had a Vitamin D deficiency.

I almost cried with relief! All he did was tell me to buy a Vitamin D supplement for the time being and work on incorporating more Vitamin into my diet naturally. And maybe go for a walk and get some free Vitamin D, you know, sunlight.

I'm naturally an indoorsy person. Especially with school. My last semester was absolute hell and with school being my main concern, I definitely let my diet slip! I ate tons of junk - I'm really surprised that's the only thing I'm deficient in.

I shied away from the supplements though. I'm not too fond of pills of any kind. Here's a list of foods rich in Vitamin D:

• Fish (salmon, halibut, tuna)
• Shrimp
• Soy Milk
• Milk
• All Bran Cereal
• Eggs
• Shiitake Mushrooms

And it's summer now, so hopefully I can get off my lazy butt and go outside - my nephew and I will be going to the park a lot more, so I guess that won't be bad. :)