Veggie Sides…Or Main Dishes?

One of my biggest pet peeves is the way we as a society have come to view veggies: as ‘side’ dishes.

While I’m eternally grateful when I see a menu listing the ‘sides’ and including items like steamed broccoli or sautéed garlic spinach, there is still something fundamentally wrong with thinking of  veggies as anything other than a crucial part of every meal, including breakfast, and including snacks.

Think about the template we showed on Dr. Oz in which every plate is 2/3 full of veggies.

2/3 is hardly an afterthought, or a side.

If you agree, why not implement this approach at your upcoming Thanksgiving meal?  

It won’t be that big of a stretch, since we are all accustomed to having lots of dishes to choose from on this festive day… only this time, rather than the gluten-rich stuffing, the marshmallow topped yams and that (awful) green bean casserole, why not a variety of veggie dishes?

Choose whatever is locally and seasonally available and go to town!  Focus on seasonal themes, tastes and whatever is fresh and  you simply won’t go wrong.

Naturally dried cranberries tossed with oven roasted Brussels sprouts and pecans, pomegranate seeds tossed into a winter green salad and rosemary infused yam puree topped with golden delicious apples are just a few ideas from which to create your own inspired Thanksgiving dinner!

The more veg, the better.  Not only will your palate thank you, but the way you’ll feel compared to if you’d eaten a ton of breads, cakes and cookies will thank you all the more!