Easy Ways to Get More Vegetables
By Sara Butler
Getting the suggested five servings of vegetables per day can be tough for some people. You might be fighting against being too busy or having a picky palate to deal with. Whatever the reason, eating a balanced diet with plenty of vegetables is very important to continued health and wellness. Everyone can benefit from more vegetables in their lives and you can have 10 servings per day if you want, so here are a few easy ways to get more of the green (and red, and yellow, and orange) stuff!
Get Smart with Smoothies
Smoothies are a great way to work in vegetables to your day, plus they’re easy to take with you when you’re on the go. You can cover up any vegetable flavor by making smoothies with fruit, which often works well for little kids who may not love a huge handful of spinach first thing in the morning -- unless it was in a smoothie!
You can also make homemade popsicles out of a fruit and vegetable blend. Sweeter vegetables, such as tomatoes, were just made for this kind of thing. You may want to consider using sweet potatoes, avocados, and beets in your mixes.
Bake With Them
No one is suggesting you try to fool anyone into eating vegetables -- least of all yourself! But adding pureed vegetables to your baked goods kicks up their nutritional profile a notch and can be a great way to add more veg to your day. Try adding shredded zucchini, carrots, squash, avocado, spinach, or sweet potatoes to what you’re cooking. You can add them to casseroles, baked goods, and stews or soups.
Use Vegetables in Place of Grains
Spiralized vegetables have become very popular and why not? They’re a great idea! Zucchini noodles are easy to find (or make yourself) as well as riced cauliflower, squash, or even sweet potatoes. You can always go half and half by mixing vegetables in with the grains you’re eating. Instead of rice, you can always serve it over a bed of spinach!
Adding more vegetables to your meal isn’t difficult, you just have to be open to it and creative! Make it a challenge to see how many servings of vegetables you can work into your day -- you really can’t go too far! Well, unless you turn orange. Then it might be time to lay off the carrots.
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