Eating my veggies

I am not a fruits and vegetable person. I'd like to blame my Mom, but I know that's unfair. It's really my Dad's fault :) - since he refused to eat any vegetable other than iceberg lettuce, corn, and peas while I was in my formative years. So incorporating more veggies (and fruits) into my diet is something I need to do, even though it's difficult for me. I came across this a awhile ago. It offers some useful suggestions for making sure you get those 5-7 servings a day. I found this hint particularly useful:

"Spend an hour on Sunday washing and prepping your vegetables for the upcoming week. It’s much easier to grab vegetables for lunch or to toss into your eggs or your dinner if they are already cleaned and trimmed. When you have grab-and-go veggies ready, you’re more likely to use them.

"You can buy precut carrots and other vegetables (especially from Trader Joe’s), but I find that the quality is not optimal and I’d rather do it myself. Cut a whole bunch of celery into sticks and put them in a bag or cup with a sprinkle of water. Bell peppers get the same treatment, as do peeled carrots. Trimmed radishes floating in a dish of water will last a week. Cauliflower and broccoli can be trimmed into florets and stored in a produce bag. Beets can be boiled unpeeled and refrigerated; the peel slips right off when you rub it with a paper towel. Lettuce and spinach should be rinsed thoroughly, trimmed of stems, then rolled up in a dish towel and refrigerated in a produce bag. They will last a week or more when stored this way."