VB6: Eat Vegan Before 6:00 to Lose Weight and Restore Your Health . . . for Good

by Mark Bittman

TIPS FOR KEEPING SNACKS HANDY I’ve touched on good snacking habits elsewhere, but here’s a full rundown: Keep a few pieces of washed fruit in a bowl on the counter. If it’s there, you’ll eat it when you’re home and take it with you on your way out the door. And be sure to have plenty of backup in the fridge, and some frozen fruit tucked away, too. Prep long-lasting vegetables. You’ll use them for spontaneous meals, too. Trim and peel carrots, cut up celery sticks and cucumbers, trim radishes, and pluck florets off cauliflower or broccoli. Keep carrots, radishes, and celery in a bowl of water in the fridge; everything else goes in airtight containers. (For dips, see Crudités with Soy Dipping Sauce.) Pickled cucumbers or vegetables, sauerkraut, and cooked salsas are also good for snacking, and keep a long time. Prepare salad greens as needed. Buy head and loose-leaf lettuces, spinach, or other greens and rinse them as soon as you can. (The prewashed kind are undeniably convenient; I still give them a rinse to freshen them.) It takes 15 minutes to sock away enough for several salads. Store the greens in a salad spinner or in sealable plastic bags with paper towels. Keep roasted or raw nuts around, at home and at the office. If you’re worried about moderating how much you eat, pack them in handful-sized single servings. Use the microwave. In the time it takes to nuke a Hot Pocket you can have steamed broccoli or leftover beans drizzled with olive oil; or you can reheat last ni...