This has become a mantra for me, words to live by. When I was a kid there was a huge ad campaign by the fruit and vegetable board, telling people, kids in particular, as the commercials played during Saturday morning cartoons, to eat their five servings of fruit and vegetables a day for proper nutrition. Now for whatever reason, some 20 years later, this annoying little quotable has stuck with me, and in a sense, formed the way I eat.

Now I realize the food pyramid has gone through many different changes in years past. This year they changed my good old adage to 4 1/2 cups of fruits and vegetables a day. 4 1/2 cups a day for proper nutrition, not as catchy is it? 5 a day, 4 1/2 cups, how does one girl consume so much proper dietary nutrition? I will admit that it does seem like a lot, and there are days when however good my intentions may be, I fall off the wagon a bit. But there are a few simple ways to get those vitamins into your daily regime of food intake. Have a piece of fruit with breakfast. Not only will this start off your day consuming what you should be consuming, but it’s also so simple to just grab an orange on your way off to work. And the second, most overlooked vegetable option that soon you will be unable to live without, is a little thing I like to call– veggie combo.

It’s dinner, you have cooked a fairly blase, but well-balanced meal, meat, potato, and broccoli again. That broccoli, lying limp on the plate, adorned with just a smidge of butter, a sprinkling of salt, looks so pathetic and lonely. Perhaps you should have tried the veggie combo to make your meal a little bit more appetizing. The veggie combo is truly simple in concept. I have found it to make my meals infinitely more tantalizing, as well as adding yet another vegetable to my 5 a day. For example, let’s say you have just purchased some spinach for dinner that night. Instead of simply wilting and sauteing it alone, try sauteing it with sliced shallots, then walk over to the freezer, pull out that package of peas (I’m not above using frozen products), dump them in, heat through, and viola, one glorious vegetable side dish.

You’ll get the hang of it, it just takes a bit of time; something many of us aren’t willing to devote to our veggies. And besides it’s a very bourgie thing to do, if one vegetable’s good, two, or maybe even three (!) is better. It’s all about redefining what we eat and how we do it. If you are the type of person who is remotely concerned eating a well-balanced diet, make the food you eat interesting, and you will receive so much more pleasure from the experience of eating. Now that I’ve preached at you for four paragraphs, I will kindly step down off of my soap box, and tell you this very simple recipe.

Sautéed Peas and Spinach

Serves 4

3 shallots, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon butter
2 cups frozen peas
1/4 cup water
1 bunch (4-5 cups) spinach, washed and dried
salt and pepper to taste

In a large skillet, preferably non-stick, melt butter over high heat. Add the shallots and brown slightly, about 3 minutes. Pour in the frozen peas and the water, cover with a lid and steam until thawed and evenly cooked, about 5 minutes. Add the spinach, which has been washed and spun dry, and cover the pan one last time to wilt the spinach, about 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and serve.