Use frozen vegetables. They’re already cleaned, cut, and ready to use. All you have to do is steam, microwave, or lightly saute them in olive oil with a little garlic.
Chop up a ripe tomato and cucumber, dress with 2 teaspoons of olive oil and balsamic vinegar, and there you have it: a vegetable salad (which counts as two servings).
Buy prewashed and peeled baby carrots, grape tomatoes, and chopped cauliflower and broccoli from the salad bar. If time and expense are your stumbling blocks, figure out a way to get past them; veggies are worth every second and every cent you spend on them!
Vegetable preparation tips reprinted from Get a Real Food Life by Janine Whiteson (hardcover, $24.95). Published by Rodale Inc., 2002.
