Looking to add more color and creativity to your diet? Vegetables are a great source of healthy nutrients like phosphorous, potassium, folate, zinc, folic acid, and vitamins A, C, & E. Not only do they add vital nutrients to your diet they are also full of fibre which helps fill you up faster, assisting you to maintain and/or lose weight. The USDA recommends 5 -10 servings of fruits and veggies daily so we came up with creative ways to get those servings in.
Here are our Top 10 Ways To Get More Veggies In Your Life:
#1 Drink Your Veggies
Blending veggies into your smoothie’s is a fantastic way to load up on greens like spinach and kale. You can also toss a carrot or beet in there and benefit from all the nutrients and virtually not even taste the veggies. Now that’s a win win!
We love this smoothie: 1 cup spinach, 1/2 carrot, 1/2 cup broccoli, 1 banana, 3/4 cup orange juice. Enjoy!
#2 Start Your Day With a Bang
Omelets, quiches, and frittatas are not only a protein packed breakfast but, also a great way to add extra servings of veggies to your morning. Toss in leafy greens, green onions, mushrooms, sweet pepper, tomatoes, the list is endless. If you are following a whole foods, plant base diet, you can add veggies to an egg substitute like “Just Egg” or a Tofu scramble.
#3 Boost Up Your Main Meals
You can replace most high carb foods with vegetables to really boost your dinners. Make wraps with lettuce, noodles with zucchini, and rice with cauliflower. You can also grate up veggies into a slaw, or soups, and raw veggies can replace pitas, tortilla chips, and crackers.
#4 Join A Local CSA
There is nothing quite like getting a beautiful locally grown box of vegetables delivered to your door. CSA boxes will help encourage you to eat vegetables you maybe have never tried before, and it’s a great way to stay accountable to getting those servings in.
#5 Make Vegetable Purées
If you have a food processor or blender making veggie purées can be an easy way to sneak phytonutrients into your meals. You can steam carrots, broccoli, beets, green beans, squashes, and leafy greens and add them to all your sauces and even pancake batter.
#6 Get Your Juice on
Juicing is an amazing way to get extra nutrients into your diet and up your intake of veggies. Celery, carrots, beets, lettuce, and parsley juices have great benefits and also taste really yummy. On days where you are not feeling a smoothie, you can change it up and make a juice.
#6 Don’t Forget About Frozen
While there is nothing like fresh veggies, frozen veggies are a great option when fresh is not available. Frozen veggies are often frozen right at the farm, picked at their peak, and certain vegetables (peas, especially) taste great from the freezer. You can add them to soups, scrambles, stews, and pasta for an easy quick meal.
Why Vegetables Matter
From increased sleep, to more energy, and better mental health, vegetables provide key nutrients that help us live an optimal life. If you would like help increasing your vegetable intake I’d love to help you.
