Mission: Fruit & Veggie Consumption!

Lately, the universe has been screaming at me: Eat your veggies!

As you may remember, Alex and I did a juice fast last summer after watching the documentary Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead, (streamable on Netflix, trailer below).  It was amazing, helped Alex shed quite a few pounds, and altered our diet for months to follow.  However, once the holidays rolled around, we got sucked back into white flour, sugar, and processed foods.

Now, we're both ready to up our fruit and veggie intake, lower our meat consumption, and cut out white flour and sugar with the occasional splurge.  My friend Jen was a big inspiration for this shift.  She, her husband, and her sister recently watched Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead and embarked on their own reboot raw food diet.  Since their "reboot," Jen has not had to use her asthma inhaler and feels like she is in the best athletic condition of her life, (which is pretty incredible because she is always training for triathlons and other intense races!).

More inspiration came from watching the documentary Forks Over Knives, (trailer also below, streamable on Netflix).  The film emphasizes the importance of eating fruits and veggies and minimizing meat consumption.  Ironically, one of my students, a quirky kid with a highly developed sense of irony, also mentioned this film this week when I asked him about his daily lunch of multiple strips of bacon.  It seems that even bacon-eating children know that our diets need to change!

So, here I am, taking on the challenge of integrating as many fruits and vegetables as possible into our meals.  So far, so good.  One week in, I'm craving fresh produce and have managed to eat very little processed food.  The first couple of days were challenging, but now I'm certain I can keep it going, (especially after a delicious breakfast of freshly juiced OJ, avocado/tomato/jalapeno guacamole on black bean, brown rice, and egg tacos, and a strawberry/banana fruit bowl!).

At one point in my life, I would have thought that this was extreme, but now I'm convinced that it's critical to our health, (see mom, I do listen!).  Nonetheless, I'm still eager for more easy-to-make recipes that highlight fruits and veggies, (especially for lunch!).  If you have any favorites that fit this description, please send them my way!

Also, make sure to check out the trailers below, they're super inspiring!