Eating the same things all the time can sometimes be really boring. The key to making healthy eating a lifestyle, as I always say, is a bit about creativity. I know people who can’t even start a diet because they’re bored of eating the same things. How about making this journey a little more fun?

Our traditionally cooked vegetable and legume dishes are delicious, but we also have a great proverb: “Even baklava wouldn’t be eaten every day.” For example, no matter how much we love beans, if we eat them once in olive oil or once with minced meat during the summer, we don’t crave them anymore. When we get bored with these foods, unhealthy options tempt us.

Out of respect for our bodies, which will carry us through life, we need to nourish them with more vegetables, fruits, and legumes. When it comes to vegetables and fruits, the message is clear: “Eat more.” Studies show that people who eat a plant-based diet have a lower risk of heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and stroke, and also have lower blood pressure. Then we need to find formulas for eating more vegetables and legumes.

I want to give some examples of ways to make people enjoy eating vegetables and legumes. Kitchens are open to experimentation, and there are no mistakes in the kitchen. Everything you try, as long as it tastes good, is yours, and the pleasure of creating something from scratch is wonderful.

Adding quinoa, buckwheat, fine bulgur, brown rice, and nuts to vegetables:

Kale with quinoa and peanuts

Baking legumes with spices and consuming them as snacks or adding them to salads:
Oven-baked crispy spiced chickpeas

Lightly steaming vegetables and then baking them with cornmeal or breadcrumbs:
Healthy cauliflower fry. Dozens of times tastier than cauliflower stew with tomato paste.

Salads with legumes, plenty of spices, greens, and raw vegetables:
Beluga lentil, bean, and fine bulgur salad

This is one of the methods I use most often. Baking sautéed vegetables with eggs and cheese:

Quinoa, Swiss Chard, and Egg Muffins

You can find the recipes for these and similar dishes on my Instagram account “semaninsagliklimutfagi”. Experimenting in the kitchen is so much fun. Don’t give up if your first improvised recipe isn’t great. The second one will be better, and the third one even better.

I wish everyone healthy, happy, and sugar-free days.

Note: This article was originally published on my column at www.hthayat.com on February 10, 2017.