Okay, let me ask you, “how is your veggie intake these days?” I am guessing that you make a point of eating them in on a daily basis, or may, on occasion, even try to bump it up to that next level. But perhaps you get bored with the same old salad, or life gets crazy and the veggies end up rotting in the produce drawer. Sound familiar? Here are some easy tips for ways to add veggies to you diet. In a future post, I will review just how much veg you should get into your diet, and what items give you the most bang for the buck. I hope you get some tips here that you can start using today!
Easy Tips for Bumping Your Veg Intake to the Next Level!
First, be sure to eat from the rainbow; choose a wide variety of different colored vegetables.
Add plenty of vegetables to soups or stews, or make a simple vegetable soup to have on hand, and eat before your main meal. This will help fill you up, so you eat smaller portions of your dinner.
Make eggs for your breakfast and add the vegetables: tomatoes, spinach, mushrooms, onions, peppers. Or add a spoonful or two of salsa.
Steam your veggies, and lightly top with your favorite dressing. It helps to make simple, steamed vegetables a divine experience. I like a lemon-tahini dressing for steamed veggies.
Keep raw cut veggies on hand. Nice vegetables to try include broccoli florets, cauliflower, pepper slices, celery sticks, carrot sticks, radishes, fennel, cucumber slices, zucchini slices, and jicama. Eat throughout the week on their own, or with a dip like hummus.
Add lots of veggies to sandwiches, and not just lettuce- think spinach leaves, cucumber slices, red pepper slices, grilled eggplant, sprouts, tomato, red onions, avocado.
Eat at least one salad or raw vegetable option every day. Pick up ideas on how to make your salad exciting from your favorite salad bar.
Add dark leafy greens to your eating. They are some of the healthiest vegetables. Chop collards, kale, or chard and steam for 2 – 3 minutes. Take off heat, don’t overcook. Run cold water over them if necessary to cool them. Dry greens and keep in fridge for quick use – top on salads, add to favorite dishes, or eat by self you’re your favorite dressing.
You can also sauté those dark greens like kale. Heat 1 – 2 tsp of olive oil in pan, sauté greens quickly with small amount of crushed garlic and/or red pepper flakes. Alternatively, wilt in the microwave for a few seconds, and drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with sea salt. Quick, easy, and healthy. Yum!
Get inventive with the vegetables that you add to your salads. Try grating several vegetables, like beets, cabbage, zucchini, or carrots and adding to spinach or lettuce. If you have a food processor, use it for easy grating. Store a container of these grated veggies in your fridge for easy access.
At dinner time, aim to make sure your plate is half full of veggies.
Set aside time on the weekend to pre-prepare vegetables for the upcoming week. That might mean cleaning them, and cutting them into smaller pieces for easy snacking or cooking. Store them in see through containers, so they are easy to recognize, and therefore grab and eat.
At restaurants, skip the often refined carbs like white rice, potato, or bread and get a double serving of vegetables.
If you get home at the end of the day and are starving, make yourself a quick salad. Or pull out the pre-cut veggies and pair with a dip like hummus. This will hold off your hunger and prevent you from snacking on less than optimal food, like chips, and also keep you from overeating at dinner.
Find great recipes that center on vegetables, make a big batch so you may eat it over several days.
Drink a freshly squeezed vegetable juice. These are packed with nutrients, but do lack the fiber. Be sure to get fiber in your diet the rest of the day by adding more whole vegetables and other high fiber foods like beans and fruits.
I hope you have found these tips helpful. Start with just a few, and master them. Develop them into habits, and they will be much easier to make happen on a week-in and week-out basis.
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