More Produce Leads to Better Health and Tastier Guacamole

Have you ever heard someone say, "Geez, I really have to cut down on the number of vegetables I’m eating”? Didn't think so. Everyone needs to add more veggies to their diet. And it can actually be quite simple to achieve, as well as a little fun.

For most of us adding vegetables means adding more salads to our meals. I love salads and their many expressions, but there are so many other ways to add veggies to our everyday meals. 

One of the ways I bump up my produce quotient is to think of vegetables in similar groupings. If a recipe calls for tomatoes, I know I can almost always add peppers too. If you consider most Mexican, Spanish or Italian cuisines, tomatoes and peppers are paired in countless recipes. Thai and Indian dishes tend to match tomatoes with eggplant. It is usually very easy to add some sautéed eggplant to dishes from these areas.

Similarly this philosophy works with what I call the "Greens". If you are adding one of spinach, broccoli, peas, kale or chard to a recipe, then you can generally add all or any one of these veggies in to it as well. The other grouping I like is what I call the "Sweets". Carrots, tomatoes, yams and sweet potatoes generally work very well together. Adding one or two more from this group is an easy way to bump up the number of vegetables you consume.

The key with adding more veggies (and really with all cooking) is experimentation (cooking should always be fun). I have added my "Choc O Bloc Guac" guacamole recipe to give you an idea of how to add more veggies to even the simplest recipe.  

Choc O Bloc Guac

3 ripe avocados, peeled and slightly mashed

1 Roma tomato, diced

1 Maestro™ Sweet Bell Pepper, seeded and diced

1 large shallot, minced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp. ground cumin

½ Gusto™ Hot Pepper, seeded and minced

1 lime, juiced

1 tsp. kosher salt

½ cup cilantro, chopped

Instructions: Mix all ingredients well.  Keep guacamole in an airtight container and cover the surface completely to keep it from oxidizing.