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We all know how important it is to get your fruits and vegetables in. But while eating fruits seems an easy task, eating enough vegetables each and every day can actually be quite challenging.
This is often to do with lack of time in our day to day lives. Preparing a healthy nutritious meal is all too often substituted by a convenient take away dish.
Are you also struggling to eat enough veggies? Then this article is for you!
How to Eat More Vegetables
Here are 19 smart ways to sneak more vegetables into your diet:
1. Drink Green Smoothies
If you’ve been here before, you’ll know how much I love green smoothies. Blend 60% whole fruits, 40% green leafy veggies, add water, and you’ve got yourself the best tasting veggie dish ever.
Try one of these nutritious breakfast smoothie recipes for that much needed morning energy boost!
2. Use Vegetables Instead of Pasta Noodles
You can get a spiral slicer or a mandolin slicer at most cooking stores, but failing that just use a vegetable peeler to create fun noodle shapes out of veggies. Try zucchini, spaghetti squash, and eggplant. Top with your favorite pasta sauce.
3. Dehydrate Some Kale Chips
Instead of reaching for those starchy potato or corn chips, why not get your greens in? You can dehydrate your own kale chips with a dehydrator, or alternatively use your oven on the lowest setting.
4. Guzzle Some Green Juices
Do you prefer juicing over blending? Invest in a good quality juicer and make juicing an everyday habit. It’s another great way to get your minerals and vitamins in!
5. Puree Vegetables into Soup
You can either use a blender or a juicer to make fresh, yummy veggie soups. Try a mix of carrot and cucumber, and add your favorite spices, or give it a little kick with some feisty fresh ginger.
Be sure to check out this delicious spicy pumpkin soup!
6. Try New Vegetables and Find Creative Ways to Eat Them
See what’s available in your area and surprise your senses with exciting new vegetables. Why not chop broccoli up into salads? Shred some turnips, or try bok-choy as a dipping veggie.
7. Shred “Tough” Veggies into an Easy Slaw
With a food processor or by hand, shred those tough “winter veggies” into an easy to enjoy slaw. You can top it with your favorite salad dressings or invent your own. Plus it’s so easy to grab some in a container when you’re on the go.
8. Marinate Vegetables
Chop up some of your favorite vegetables and marinate them for a few hours to soften them up and give them that extra taste. I like a mix of olive oil, garlic, ginger, and soy sauce. I’ve marinated mushrooms, broccoli, string beans, asparagus, the list goes on.
9. Make Your Own Pasta Sauce, and Add Chopped or Pureed Veggies
If you usually buy pasta sauce, why not chop or puree your own fresh vegetables into it to make it that much healthier? Alternatively you can make fresh veggie pasta sauces with your blender.
10. Steam a Sweet Potato
If you’re craving that warm comforted feeling, reaching for a steamed sweet potato is a healthy non-processed starch way to go.
11. Add a Green Powder to Your Drinks
If you’re on the go and fear not being able to get enough greens in, then green powders are the way to go.
I recommend a blue-green algae like spirulina, and there are tons of other great green powder products. Add them to your water, smoothies, or on top of salads.
12. Cut up Fresh Veggies and Add to Grain Dishes
It doesn’t matter if you eat cooked or raw quinoa, brown rice, or barley, you can still use this tip. Simply chop up fresh vegetables like spinach, cucumbers, and other veggies and put them into your grain dishes.
13. Drink Raw Gatorade
Instead of reaching for a sugary drink after a work out, why not embrace the fruit and veggie duo in raw gatorade? To make raw gatorade blend water, bananas, and celery.
14. That’s a Wrap
You can make tons of great vegetable rich entrees with wraps. Simply wrap veggies up in a leaf or a gluten free tortilla, and add your favorite sauces or spices. Even the wrap itself can be a vegetable, like a collard leaf, a cabbage leaf, or even a lettuce leaf. Yum!
15. Make Veggies Available at All Meals (Not Just as a Side Dish)
Yes, that means breakfast too! The key to eating more vegetables is to treat them as a central theme to all meals.
16. Make a Vegetable Sandwich with Anything That Won’t Fall Out
When eating out ask for a vegetable sandwich instead of the extra heavy meaty variety. With a veggie sandwich you could end up with a lovely looking salad, between two slices of bread. You can make raw bread in a dehydrator, so don’t discount this option if you’re all raw!
17. Make Your Own Veggie Salad Dressings & Dips
When you blend your own salad dressings, you can sneak more veggies into the dressing itself too! Try blending avocado, cucumber, as well as sea vegetables and add some spices. Yum.
18. Have Sliced Veggies on Hand at All Times
We’re a lot more likely to reach for the veggies instead of the chips if they’re already in snack form. When you get home from a shopping trip, wash and cut your snacking vegetables and store in the fridge for easy access.
Then either make your own delicious veggie dips or have a healthy alternative on hand for when the snacking strikes. Check out my list of healthy office snacks for more healthy snacking inspiration!
19. Eat Your Salad Before Your Main Meal
This ensures you get your veggies in before you get full. Plus a good salad before a meal will keep you from overeating the foods that aren’t as good for you.
