Question of the Week

Here is a question recently posted by a reader at FOODPICKER.org: I was just diagnosed with pre-diabetes. The nurse told me to eat lots of vegetables. Could you tell me what "lots of vegetables" means and what type of vegetables to consume? Also, how should I prepare them?

You could start with a goal of eating 3-5 servings of vegetables each day. A serving is either 1 cup raw or 1/2 cup cooked vegetables. That may seem like a lot but if you start adding greens to a soup or lettuce and tomato to a sandwich or onions and mushrooms to an omelet you will easily reach your goal.
There are starchy vegetables such as corn and potatoes and their counterpart, nonstarchy vegetables which have the added benefit of being lower in calories and carbohydrates.
Some examples of nonstarchy vegetables include artichokes, beans, broccoli, carrots, celery, cucumber, cucumber, mushrooms, onions, peppers swiss chard, tomato (and tomato juice) and spinach.
There is no wrong way to prepare vegetables, it is just your personal preference. You could try steaming them in a small amount of water or roasting them with a drizzle of olive oil and seasonings or herbs at 350F until they are soft. If you have limited time you could microwave as well.