Part of what's helped me maintain healthier eating habits over the past year (in addition to being scared stiff by a frightening medical visit in late 2021) is having some go-to veggies that I can just grab out of the fridge and start eating. Lucky for me I’ve liked carrots and spinach for most of my life, raw or cooked. The raw bit is critical here, because it removes most of the resistance to me eating the healthy stuff. All I have to do is grab some out of the fridge and start putting it in my face.
So nearly every day, for over a year now, I eat a serving of carrots after lunch (even if I get take-out or go to a restaurant) and a serving of baby spinach after the kids go to bed at night. Most people eating raw carrots (sticks, chips, peeled carrots, etc.) eat them with their hands. But the spinach? Well, I just get in there like it’s a hand salad. I like a lot of veggies, but I’ve never cared for salad (nor most salad dressings), so why eat greens with a fork? My wife laughs at me most of the time while I sit on the sofa with my approximately 71 grams of raw, baby spinach, eating it by the bunch like chips out of the bag.
So I had to chuckle at myself when I visited Garnett's a few weeks ago and ordered a plate of spinach while chatting with a pal behind the bar. A huge plate of unadorned spinach arrives at the bar in front of me and I stared at it for a minute before realizing it probably wouldn't be appropriate to tuck in to my food with my hands. I settled for a fork :-P