Nearly 90% of Americans fall below fruit and vegetable consumption recommendations. Yet eating vegetables is essential to get the nutrients our bodies require to feel energized, function properly and fight disease. Including an abundance of vegetables in our diets can prove challenging, especially if you didn’t grow up eating them regularly or you feel overwhelmed at the idea of chopping, peeling and otherwise prepping them on a busy weeknight.
Here are 14 ideas to get you experimenting and finding what works for you.
- Adjust textures and flavors during preparation. Don’t like crunchy raw carrots? For softer and sweeter carrots, cut them into cubes and roast them.
- Try new varieties. While spinach and kale are popular greens, stores and farmers markets often carry others, including arugula, Swiss chard, watercress, pea greens, bok choy and collard greens.
- Sweeten up your greens. The bitterness of greens can be mellowed through cooking and by preparing them with any one of the following: a small amount of healthy fat (like olive oil), a touch of sweetness (like maple syrup) or acid (like citrus), or pairing them with a poached egg or yogurt.
- Replace bread with greens. Use greens as a holder for a sandwich. Endive leaves can be filled with a scoop of egg, tuna or chicken salad. Butter lettuce can be used in place of a wrap.
- Buy produce in season. It’s a more flavorful and cost efficient option. For example, turnips, sweet potatoes, Brussels sprouts, parsnips, cauliflower and spaghetti squash are at their best and cheapest in fall.
- Supplement your salads. Feel like vegetable-only salads don’t fill you up? Add grains, beans, an egg, olives or canned salmon for a heartier meal.
- Puree and freeze. Puree steamed vegetables like squash, cauliflower and spinach. Pour the puree into ice cube trays and store them in the freezer. When you make soups, stews, sauces, mashed potatoes, smoothies, etc., drop a few cubes in for added flavor, nutrients and as a thickener.
- Swap your noodles. Use vegetable “noodles” made from carrot, squash or zucchini in place of (or mixed with) pasta. You can make your own with a vegetable slicer or buy them already in a spaghetti shape in the fresh vegetable aisle or freezer case of your grocery store.
- Shred and sneak. Shred vegetables like carrots, zucchini and spinach and add them to the batter when you bake muffins, brownies, quick breads, pancakes and waffles.
- Batch prepare vegetables. Chop and slice all the vegetables you will need throughout the week and store them in containers in your refrigerator, so that they’re ready to go as you prepare your meals.
- Puree and dip. Pureed roasted root vegetables make a wonderful base for comforting and nutritious fall-inspired dips. Mix together roasted beets, garlic and a dollop of Greek yogurt. Or combine roasted carrots, onions, peppers, butternut squash, garlic and a dash of olive oil. Use vegetable sticks or slices of whole grain pita to scoop up the dip.
- Pack them into a pasta sauce. Onions, carrots, greens, peppers, mushrooms and zucchini all make great additions to tomato sauce. Choose how to slice or chop your vegetables based on how chunky you like your sauce. Prefer your sauce smooth? Add your vegetables and then blend it!
- Make a Meatless Monday. Devote one day a week to eating meals that don’t contain meat. Start by looking for recipes for meatless versions of your favorite foods. Whether you love hearty stews, pasta, pizza, stir-fries or other dishes – you’ll discover the meatless possibilities are endless.
- Stuff them. Mix your favorite cooked whole grains (eg, brown rice, quinoa, sorghum, etc.) with onions, peppers, tomatoes, mushrooms and other vegetables you have on hand. Stuff hollowed out peppers and tomatoes, or halved eggplants and zucchinis with the filling and bake them.
—
Photo Credit: RossiHelen / Shutterstock.com