Get Your Family to Eat More Veggies With These Tips
By Rachel Carver
Increasing your family's veggie consumption is a good goal, but everyone has different tastes. Some like broccoli while others will only eat carrots. This can make it hard to get everyone into the veggies you cook.
Teaching by example is important. Children follow the behavior of parents, so eating more veggies yourself can influence them in the right direction.
However, there are other ways to increase veggie consumption in your house. Read on for some of them.
Double Up
Adding extra veggies to a stew or other recipe can only enhance the flavor. If your pasta bake calls for one cup of broccoli, add two.
Shred It and Forget It
You can easily add shredded or finely diced vegetables to your favorite family recipes. Split your normal amount of ground beef in half and add mushrooms to burgers. Carrots and celery make great additions to meat dishes, especially when you have picky eaters. Add parsnips or turnips to your pan of roasted potatoes.
Puree Veggies
We often associate berries and other fruit with delicious smoothies. But vegetables such as red cabbage and cauliflower can add great flavor and a nutrient-boost to a blue berry and banana smoothie. Pumpkin and squash puree go great with pancakes or waffles. You can even make your chocolate chip cookies healthier with some sweet potato puree.
Make Homemade Pizza for Dinner
Yes, even pizza can become healthier with veggies. Sauteed spinach, finely diced broccoli, mushrooms, or roasted red peppers taste great on a pizza packed with cheese. Just make sure the veggies are finely diced. Most people -- especially picky eaters -- will not want to bite into a giant pepper on their slice of pizza.
Too busy to make homemade pizza? Grab a pizza with a cauliflower crust from the store on your way home
Rice and Noodles
There are many ways to eat more veggies if your family loves rice and pasta. Grocery stores have a variety of frozen riced veggies and veggie noodles in the frozen food section.
You can also make your own, letting the kids have some fun with a spiralizer. This handy tool makes great zoodles. Drop some fresh cauliflower in the blender for some cauliflower rice. Riced vegetables are perfect for a stir-fry, tacos, or burritos. Spaghetti squash also tastes great with your favorite meat and pasta sauce.
The Bottom Line
Some creativity and small changes can go a long way. Healthy eating does not have to be overwhelming. Veggies can be added to almost any meal. Incorporate veggies into as many meals as you can to set your family up with consistent, healthy habits.
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