The importance of veggies?
 

I was trying to put together a menu for myself to eat and I dont think the book touched on the importance of eating veggies and if it did I missed it :)

Is it important for me to eat veggies and to keep my carbs closer to 20 or can I skimp on eating all those carbs and just taking vitamins and some kind of fiber supplement? (I'm not much of a veggies guy)


I saw that some of you take a fiber supp and the name of it escapes me but I can do a search on it. But, how many of you take vitamins and what kind? Would a multi-vitamin just be fine or should I take specific vitamins?

Thanks :)

There is a general opinion on this board that eating veggies is an essential aspect to low-carb. Of course, a lot of us looooove veggies, especially now that we don't feel guilty eating them with lots of butter, oil, and dressing.

If you prefer not to eat a lot of veggies, you may find your menu limited and boring. I think I would, anyway. Perhaps you could experiment with all the different ways to cook veggies paired with fats and you'll find something that strikes you.

I'd recommend at the very least a multivitamin. Your body needs the vitamins, especially if you're not much of a veggie lover. Any old multi without iron should do, but if you want to get fancy Atkins makes vitamins tailored to low-carb diets. I take Basic #3 and also Essential Oils, because I don't really eat fish and want those fatty acids.

You may also experience a rapid loss in electrolytes and many people find that potassiam, calcium, and magnesium will alleviate symptoms such as muscle cramping associated with this.

Good luck, I hope you find something that works for you!

Thanks for the info Skamito :)


I am sure I will find something to eat :)

The fiber supplement that I beleive that you are referring to is psyllium husk powder/capsules. But I agree that you need to get some of the phytochemicals (sp?) from vegatables, but you still may need a fiber supplement (I do)

Any multivitamin is a good thing - I look for one without Iron.

Hi! I'm a former anti-veggite. ;) I have learned to really like them. :thup: You just have to experiment. Try some you haven't tried before, try cooking them a different way, or when all else fails, drown them with dressings. ;) I'll eat just about any veggie now - even when I don't care for them - if they've got some greek dressing and feta cheese, for example.

One thing I try to do is "sneak" the veggies in where I might not normally have had them. For example, instead of my usual scrambled eggs, I have a tomato/mushroom omlette with cheese. It's even better than the plain scrambled eggs.

Good luck. :)

I love vegetables when somebody else cooks them! It's taken me awhile to get used to cooking them myself. I grew up with boiled to death vegetables, and then went through years of not eating them because I hate them without butter, but thought I couldn't have butter.

One quick Atkins meal for me -- a good break from meat -- has always been to take a zucchini, slice it in very thin slices, fry it in butter, cover it with shredded mozzarella cheese, put a lid on it and cook until the cheese is one gooey delicious mess :)

The Eades, in Protein Power, talk more about vegetables than Atkins, and suggests a higher fiber intake than Atkins does. But even on 20 grams of carbs, if you add it up, that's a lot of broccoli and cabbage :)

I agree with everyone above. There are a lot of nutrients and phytochemicals that you simply can't get in pill form or if you can aren't nearly as good as those found in veggies.
Experiment with different veggies; it doesn't have to be all salads. Hey...even my kids will eat spinach when I cook it with bacon and onions and sprinkle it with parmesan cheese! :D
I've turned a few brussels sprouts haters into brussels sprouts lovers with bacon, onions and cheese sauce ;) and who could not like broccoli with cheese sauce or green beans almondine with lots of butter?
But please....don't cook your veggies to mush. No veggie deserves such a horrible fate. :p

Fortunately, I love almost all veggies and hate almost all fruits. As to how veggies,are cooked, I think that in the southern part of the U.S. folks tend to cook their veggies longer than folks do in the northern part of the U.S.

I have also noticed that most veggies have pretty high fiber counts so many of them calculate out to about 2 carb grams a serving, which I think is a real bagain!
asugar :wave: