Eating plenty of vegetables is one of the best ways to ensure a steady, easy weight loss. Most vegetables are packed with fiber and nutrients, helping immensely in burning fat and shedding pounds. But you may have wondered, does it matter if you cook the vegetables, or should you eat them raw most of the time?

One consideration to keep in mind is the calorie difference between raw and cooked foods. For example, one cup of raw fresh peas has approximately 120 calories, while one cup of cooked peas has approximately 230 calories. Why is this?

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Remember when your parents used to load your plate up with veggies and not let you have any dessert until you finished every last bit? They just might have been onto something with all those dark green vegetables.

Take a look at Popeye and his spinach. He would down a can and practically lift a car. Impressive wasn’t it? Maybe the general idea isn’t so far fetched.

Five of the healthiest dark green vegetables include broccoli, kale, spinach, romaine lettuce and Swiss chard. These vegetables, identified by their dark green color, are rich in antioxidants and usually have large amounts of phytochemicals like Vitamin C.

Many foods tend to lose nutrients when cooked. The great thing about these dark green vegetables is that you can find them easily in your grocery store and they taste great with little or no cooking, leaving much of their nutrients intact.

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Fruits and vegetables are an important staple in any diet. While a diet containing a variety of fruits and vegetables is best, orange is one of the healthiest colors you can look for.

Orange vegetables contain beta-carotene, a form of Vitamin A, which is great for eyesight and eliminating free radicals. The beta-carotene gives the vegetable its orange color.

Some of the healthiest orange fruits and vegetables are sweet potatoes, squash, pumpkin, carrots, mangos, oranges and papaya. These fruits and vegetables are great sources of nutrients and usually have a sweet flavor, making them ideal for satisfying those cravings for sweets.

Let’s look at why these top 7 orange fruits and vegetables are so incredibly healthy:

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Vegetables are a veritable powerhouse for those on a diet. Low in calories but full of fiber — not to mention vitamins and mineral — vegetables play an important part in your weight loss plan. But, for a lot of people, it can be tough to get in your daily servings.

Believe me, I understand it’s easier to just cook up some spaghetti or pop a frozen pizza into the oven. Who wants to clean and cut up vegetables, right? You should try to get past that mindset, though, because your mother was right: vegetables are good for you!

Here are six tips for getting more vegetables into your diet.

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