WHAT’S COOKING?
Certain compounds in tomatoes and carrots get unlocked from their fibrous
plant cell walls when heated. That makes it easier for your body to absorb
the good stuff, like lycopene from tomatoes and beta-carotene in carrots.
Some other heating tips:Boiling veggies may leave most of the vitamins behind in the water;
steam them instead.
Roast vegetables in big chunks because the smaller you cut them, the
more of their healthy ingredients will get lost to heat and air.Bottom line: There’s little risk of you overeating produce, though there are
always extremes (my friend Mike Roizen of the Cleveland Clinic once told me
he had a patient who gained weight because she downed seventy-five servings a
day of fruits and vegetables!). The simple approach is to fill half your plate with
veggies for almost all of your meals and integrate fruits as snacks and sweet-
tooth satisfiers.
THE VEGGIE WHISPERER
If you’ve always avoided vegetables, you can start the journey to loving
them with a little help. Vinegar is the perfect salad dressing—not just
because it’s lower in calories and junky ingredients than processed salad
dressing, but also because it helps lower the glycemic index of foods. That
means it helps you metabolize sugar better so it will be less likely to wreak
havoc in your system. So if you want to spice up your vegetables, a little
vinegar is the way to go. You can mix it with olive oil for a mellower taste,
or try apple cider vinegar, which is milder.Eat More Fruit and Veggies. Two leaves of lettuce on your sandwich or a