October Veggie Challenge!

Happy Hump Day!

Fall is officially here, and I can hardly contain my excitement. This morning, I rolled out of bed to discover it was a crisp and beautiful 52 degrees outside! You could not ask for more perfect running weather. It makes me want to go out and carve a pumpkin. Although, after watching Farmer Jake carve pumpkins at The State Fair, I don't know if I will ever be satisfied with something I carve myself. Remember these?

Farmer Jake's Pumpkins

Our Pumpkins. Eric decided it would be a good idea to make ours throw up! (I had to dig this picture out of the archives from around 3 years ago.)

I really can't believe it is already October. With the start of a new month, comes new health goals. October's health goal is inspired by yesterday's post. We learned that by increasing the amount of fruits and vegetables we consume we also increase our defenses against breast cancer. I would definitely say I eat the recommended daily amount of fruits and veggies, however I am extremely guilty of eating the same fruits and vegetables week after week. Does anyone else have this problem? Every time I go to the grocery store, I buy green apples, strawberries, grapefruit, purple grapes, frozen blueberries, spinach, baby carrots, celery and maybe a sweet potato if I'm feeling adventurous. What happen to variety is the spice of life? I have decided that this zombie style of grocery shopping will end in October! Drum roll please......

Your mission for October, if you should choose to accept it, is to add one new fruit or vegetable to your grocery basket each week. You don't have to go crazy and buy a fruit we can't even pronounce from a country we haven't heard of, but just pick up a piece of produce you wouldn't find in your house on a regular basis.

This week, I chose to pick up a big bag of chopped mushrooms. I really like mushrooms, but for some reason they never seem to make it into my basket. That is until October. One 10oz serving (that's a lot) of mushrooms contains 20 calories, 0g of fat, 2.5g of carbs, 1 g of fiber, 1g of sugar, 3g of protein, and 100% of your DV of vitamin D! Mushroom are also full of antioxidants, help boost insulin production, stimulate your immune system, and are essential to bone development and maintenance. They are also very easy to use! This morning, I added them to my normal spinach and egg white omelet. It really plumped up my omelet and added a little extra punch of flavor!

I sauted the spinach and mushrooms before I poured the egg whites in.

I topped in off with a little salsa, and it was delicious!

Food for thought:
Is there a fruit or vegetable you would like to try, but just aren't sure how to cook it?
Have you set any personal health goals for October?
Does anyone have any other delicious ways to use mushroom you wouldn't mind sharing with me?

Yours truly,