I’ve stuffed up again.

Look, it’s been one of those weeks…
Why is it that when your body needs nourishment the most, you find it the hardest to give it exactly that? When I get busy, when life gets in the way of cooking, Vegemite and cheese toasted sandwiches just seem like a really good idea! I’m not even Australian, but I adore Vegemite! They hit the spot every time. Eating a variety of vegetables on the other hand, can occasionally feel like a chore.

Obviously after a few meals like that your body feels a little, hmm, shall we say neglected. Mine does anyway. Especially when I also fail to hydrate properly *shrugs shoulders*. And don’t sleep enough. I could blame the kids for the sleep situation, but to be fair, Netflix has a similarly destructive influence on the amount of rest I get.

So as I came to terms with the fact that I wasn’t doing the best for my wellbeing, I figured I needed to add some vegetables into my diet pronto.
And what is a girl to do that is too tired to cook? It gets the dip out!

And these are the vegetables I chose, no celery or carrot stick in sight:

Lettucelettuce leaves on a white plate

I like fresh cos lettuce leaves because they have such a good crunch and just the right size to scoop up dip with. The inner leaves are slightly more tender, so stick to those.

Green leafy vegetables – tick!

Radishes

radishes on a white plate

True story: My husband didn’t know what radishes were when we met.
But in Germany they are a totally common everyday staple. Not that you can’t get them here in Australia, I buy them frequently, but it just goes to show how easy it is to only stick to vegetables you know and not venture out and try new ones. Even when they are readily available.

I like them thinly sliced because they can be quite peppery.

Mushrooms

lettuce sliced on a white plate

I used to eat mushrooms raw in salads all the time but don’t seem to anymore. Isn’t it funny how we go through phases like that.

I like them sliced with dip and enjoy that they have such a different texture to all the other veggies.

Sweet Potato

sweet potato sliced on a white plate

The first time I ate sweet potato like this was at a raw foods workshop. I was rather fascinated! It had never occurred to me that you can eat them raw.

I prefer them thinly sliced into rounds, rather than sticks. They have a great crunch and literally replace the cracker.

Cauliflower

cauliflower on a white plate

To be fair, I probably prefer the little florets oven roasted, rather than raw. But when I’m lazy, raw for dipping will do. They have an interesting texture, so you might need to try if that’s your thing or not.

The dip

dip bowl overhead with hummus and vegetables

In this lazy case, it was store bought hummus :). If you want to make it yourself you can, or even make it bright pink.

The key for me here was, to make everything as easy and simple as possible.
On the hummus I drizzles lemon infused olive oil and sprinkled everything with sunflower and pumpkin seeds and some chopped almonds.

I snacked on this plate all day and it made me feel happy. The Australian guidelines say to eat 5 serves of vegetables in a day. 1 cup of raw green leafy and salad vegetables being one serve. I’m going to guesstimate that this was about 3 cups maybe? It doesn’t really matter, I don’t count anything in my kitchen, I just loosely keep an eye on things.

The point is, a bowlful of colourful vegetables is a wonderful snack and if served with hummus it also contains legumes! #winning. By the evening I had polished it off and happily tucked into my vegemite and cheese toasted sandwich again, hehe.
At least some of the balance was restored!

Much love, peace and veggies,

Katrine x