Greens

[SJB]

Are you really better off eating vegetables? If I just have an extra burger and a multi-vitamin instead am I worse off?

An EXTRA burger, and no veggies? Probably? Burger+multi are not exactly matching the macros of vegetables (i.e. ~0 everything, some insoluble fiber). I guess I don't see why a person wouldn't eat a carrot now and then.

I guess you could have a carrot once in awhile, like when it's in a cake.

I'm just not sure I'm better off with the vegetable than I am with the extra burger. Performance and health wise, I don't feel worse off.

Has to be a sheet cake tho. Oh, and veggies are delicious.

[PatrickDB]

Are you really better off eating vegetables? If I just have an extra burger and a multi-vitamin instead am I worse off?

Vegetables decrease all-cause mortality (according to observational studies...), while multi-vitamins don't. So probably you are worse off.

[Allentown]

What metric should I look at to see if I'm better/worse off with vegetables?

Probably none, because if there is a benefit, it probably takes years to display or not, given macro equivalents- unless you are replacing fatty meats with leafy greens, which is just a cut in caloric intake, I don't know that you will see anything from just adding in 4-5 cups of spinach a day? But you might live longer, be less likely to have a heart attack, colon cancer, stroke, all sorts of stuff.
I guess the only real drawback is spending $5/wk on spinach vs two cups of coffee at a coffee shop or something?

[hector]

cabbage sautéed with ginger and scallions a couple times a week.

this sounds pretty awesome.

I haven't tried much with vegetables in the past. this would probably make it easier.

[Allentown]

I've been doing Blue Apron off and on for a while and it's taught me many ways to make veggies more palatable...keys for me are roasting / sautéing and adding some flavor, some combo of garlic, ginger, scallions, maybe a splash of vinegar makes spinach, kale, cabbage all pretty tasty. Turns out I really like roasted kale, for example, and I've been voluntarily eating cabbage sautéed with ginger and scallions a couple times a week.

My wife is signing up for one of these type delivery services. We are hoping to up our diet variety, cut down on shopping time, and cut down on the amount of vegetables in particular that we end up throwing away after over-buying things for specific recipes. I assume I will be adding extra meat to the recipe or alongside it.

[brkriete]

I've been doing Blue Apron off and on for a while and it's taught me many ways to make veggies more palatable...keys for me are roasting / sautéing and adding some flavor, some combo of garlic, ginger, scallions, maybe a splash of vinegar makes spinach, kale, cabbage all pretty tasty. Turns out I really like roasted kale, for example, and I've been voluntarily eating cabbage sautéed with ginger and scallions a couple times a week.

My wife is signing up for one of these type delivery services. We are hoping to up our diet variety, cut down on shopping time, and cut down on the amount of vegetables in particular that we end up throwing away after over-buying things for specific recipes. I assume I will be adding extra meat to the recipe or alongside it.

I really like it. I have learned quite a few new ingredients, recipes, and cooking techniques. The quality is also very good (the meats seem like "Whole Foods" quality, the vegetables are fresh heirloom varieties, etc). The meals are usually structured with "meat, veggie, carb" and a typical prep plan goes something like "preheat oven, chop up veggies and roast for 20 minutes, boil water and cook rice for 15 minutes, cook meat 5 minutes/side, take out of pan to let rest, make pan sauce, plate." The better recipes are well-timed so you are continually busy for 20 - 30 minutes and everything comes together with a minimum number of dirty dishes scattered all over.

I have had a couple missing ingredients and they've given me reasonable credits as compensation but they don't send replacements. Worth checking when you put stuff away so you can get a suitable replacement with your regular shopping.

I also went through a phase of pretty disappointing boxes in December (I think because there wasn't much in season) and they did some Whole30 meals that were just awful (super bland, badly structured) but overall it's been positive.

I have some invites to give away for a free first week free, PM me your email if you're interested.

[hector]

I gave in to the peer pressure from this group, broke from my steak/beer/bacon/egg/tobasco-sauce/vodka diet, and had brussel sprouts sauteed with almonds and bacon tonight.
Delicious!
But the gas was atrocious. Hours of it. So fuck it. I'm off the vegetable train.
2/5, would not recommend.

[Shane]

I gave in to the peer pressure from this group, broke from my steak/beer/bacon/egg/tobasco-sauce/vodka diet, and had brussel sprouts sauteed with almonds and bacon tonight.
Delicious!
But the gas was atrocious. Hours of it. So fuck it. I'm off the vegetable train.
2/5, would not recommend.

You mad crazy bastard. You jumped straight to an advanced vegetable program. Volume killed you.

Brussel sprouts can fuck right off and I'm a vegetarian. You need a solid broccoli or broccolini based novice LP. Add pine nuts and parmesan and basil and you have an awesome pesto sauce (just chuck them with the broccoli and some oil in a blender). 1 minute, cook pasta, smash together. just one idea for lazy vegetable hiding.

[BenM]

Spinach and rocket bags from the supermarket. I go through one of those every few days, with tomato and sliced cucumber usually. But we also buy the green salad with beetroot and tomato or some other type of premix salad too.

Broccolini is good, I usually spray with a bit of olive oil and shake some garlic powder on it before oven roasting it, but it’s not terrible just steamed with some mustard on it either. Brussel sprouts need to be roasted with garlic and maybe some balsamic vinegar. Zucchini/squash is nice baked too, with some garlic, and either breadcrumbs and parmesan cheese or just sliced cheese cooked on top.

[Allentown]

Brussel sprouts can fuck right off and I'm a vegetarian.

Brussel sprouts are awesome. I used to frequently buy the bags of frozen, cook them up in olive oil with a little salt and a lot of pepper.

I have some invites to give away for a free first week free, PM me your email if you're interested.

I wonder how many of those we can use? My wife has a few of those codes from her coworkers, I think she said she has two from Blue Apron and one from some other company.

[Shane]

Brussel sprouts can fuck right off and I'm a vegetarian.

Brussel sprouts are awesome. I used to frequently buy the bags of frozen, cook them up in olive oil with a little salt and a lot of pepper.

You are rong, broken & deluded. Fake vegetable news. There's not many things that get people on the list, but brussel sprouts is one of them.

[cgeorg]

I'm already always gassy, and I love brussels sprouts, so fuckit, brussels sprouts whenever I feel like it. Which isn't actually that often because I think the frozen ones suffer pretty badly texturally, and fresh are mildly annoying to prep (in that it takes like 5 min for 2 people's worth... hmm, may have to revisit this post-divorce)

[CamLeslie]

Are you really better off eating vegetables? If I just have an extra burger and a multi-vitamin instead am I worse off?

Vegetables decrease all-cause mortality (according to observational studies...), while multi-vitamins don't. So probably you are worse off.

My wife is a medical doctor and she says "There are a bunch of crazy enzymes and nutients in veggies that we still don't understand all the good things they do for you." So I eat 1 bag of frozen kale a day, plus veggies at all other meals.

p.s. I also sleep 8-9+ hours a night.

Come at me brahs.

[Idlehands]

I don't feel worse off.

To be fair, people with cancer can also not feel worse off.
I'm not suggesting in any way people become vegetarians or anything. But I am moderately confident that a few handfuls of vegetables a day at the extreme WORST is health neutral. Outside, like, choking. But also I'm pretty sure the number of people who choke and die on steak every year is far higher than the number of people who choke and die on vegetables.

To be FAIR!

Cancer fucking sucks

[Allentown]

To be FAIR!

Cancer fucking sucks

Totally agree 100%.

[Cinic]

I've been doing Blue Apron off and on for a while and it's taught me many ways to make veggies more palatable...keys for me are roasting / sautéing and adding some flavor, some combo of garlic, ginger, scallions, maybe a splash of vinegar makes spinach, kale, cabbage all pretty tasty. Turns out I really like roasted kale, for example, and I've been voluntarily eating cabbage sautéed with ginger and scallions a couple times a week.

My wife is signing up for one of these type delivery services. We are hoping to up our diet variety, cut down on shopping time, and cut down on the amount of vegetables in particular that we end up throwing away after over-buying things for specific recipes. I assume I will be adding extra meat to the recipe or alongside it.

I really like it. I have learned quite a few new ingredients, recipes, and cooking techniques. The quality is also very good (the meats seem like "Whole Foods" quality, the vegetables are fresh heirloom varieties, etc). The meals are usually structured with "meat, veggie, carb" and a typical prep plan goes something like "preheat oven, chop up veggies and roast for 20 minutes, boil water and cook rice for 15 minutes, cook meat 5 minutes/side, take out of pan to let rest, make pan sauce, plate." The better recipes are well-timed so you are continually busy for 20 - 30 minutes and everything comes together with a minimum number of dirty dishes scattered all over.

I have had a couple missing ingredients and they've given me reasonable credits as compensation but they don't send replacements. Worth checking when you put stuff away so you can get a suitable replacement with your regular shopping.

I also went through a phase of pretty disappointing boxes in December (I think because there wasn't much in season) and they did some Whole30 meals that were just awful (super bland, badly structured) but overall it's been positive.

I have some invites to give away for a free first week free, PM me your email if you're interested.

We've been using Blue Apron for several years. These days we probably get two shipments a month. It was great for adding variety to our diets when we were stuck in a rut. And it's nice to not need to plan those extra two meals/week. Now, we have two binders full of the recipes and often tell the kids to go pick out what they want for next week and then we'll add the ingredients to the shopping list. My only complaint would be that they're a bit skimpy on the vegetable serving size.

If you're looking for another convenience adder, check out ClickList from your local Kroger grocery store. It's essentially online shopping for groceries and you pickup in a 1 hour window same or next day. My wife loves it for the big shopping trip every week.

[cwd]

Still wouldn't use a microwave despite growing up with one. I suffered enough damage as a child when my mom would heat things up in old yoghurt containers and melt the plastic into my food...

Hot food + plastic seems unsafe to me too. I microwave every day, but in glass bowls, with glass plates for lids.

[cwd]

I gave in to the peer pressure from this group, broke from my steak/beer/bacon/egg/tobasco-sauce/vodka diet, and had brussel sprouts sauteed with almonds and bacon tonight.
Delicious!
But the gas was atrocious. Hours of it. So fuck it. I'm off the vegetable train.
2/5, would not recommend.

You understand that your gut contains an enormous bacterial colony, with thousands of competing and cooperating species, an ecosystem adapted to your customary diet, right?

If you eat veggies every day, your gut adapts and will handle them gracefully. Increase fiber volume slowly.

[cwd]

Brussel sprouts can fuck right off and I'm a vegetarian.

Brussel sprouts are awesome. I used to frequently buy the bags of frozen, cook them up in olive oil with a little salt and a lot of pepper.

You are rong, broken & deluded. Fake vegetable news. There's not many things that get people on the list, but brussel sprouts is one of them.

Fresh Brussels sprouts are *way* better than frozen. I don't bother with frozen. Broccoli is good frozen though.

[broseph]

Fresh Brussels sprouts are *way* better than frozen. I don't bother with frozen. Broccoli is good frozen though.

+1. And regarding frozen vegetables; the freezing process already softens them up. From there, they only need to be heated just past serving temperature, not “cooked” like fresh veggies. Potatoes might be an exception to this rule.