Hi ,

Growing up, I was lucky to be surrounded by friends of Italian and Chinese backgrounds whose parents often grew their own vegetables.

Those moments eating at their houses planted a love for vegetables and other cuisines in my heart at an early age and exposed me to vegetables that I didn't know exist.

Broccoli Rabe, Escarole, and Bok Choy might be available at many grocery stores today but they weren't when I was growing up and I was eating them all the time!

My father was also a doctor in a farm community and because people couldn't always pay him, they would bring us a bushel of white peaches, Jersey tomatoes, or asparagus. 

This was an acceptable payment, it was a different and more moral time in this regard.

He would often take me on his house calls and go up a single road to a farmhouse to see Grandma on the second floor who wasn't feeling well.

I loved the sight of the big barns (still do) and was so proud of being with my Dad as he helped people feel better and made me want to follow in his footsteps.

As a physician now, who helps people get better through lifestyle change, incorporating vegetables into your diet can be one of the quickest ways to get you on the right path to improved health.

It's not easy though, not everyone was as lucky as I to be exposed to so many varied ways of preparing vegetables since I was a young boy.

If you are like some of my patients, they grew up with canned peas, canned green beans, and iceberg lettuce being the only vegetables! That certainly isn't helpful.

To help introduce more vegetables into your diet, I suggest trying new recipes and looking for ways to incorporate them into meals that you already enjoy.

If you're not a fan of the taste by itself, think about adding new untried, spices to enhance it or try different cooking methods like roasting or stir-frying.

One easy way is to make a Miracle Noodle stir fry, the reason this is so great is that it takes no time to prepare, gives you a unique base for flavor in the noodles and you can add all of your favorite vegetables or new ones to try for a delicious and healthy meal.