How To Eat More Vegetables

               Vegetables. The moment you say it people begin to turn up their noses because their minds immediately think healthy, green, steamed, smelly, and unappetizing. When you say pizza on the other hand, people begin to have an entirely different reaction. But back to vegetables, this underrated food group plays a vital role in our diet filling our plates with vital vitamins and nutrients without an abundance of calories and fat. Do not let one bad serving of watery California blend vegetables from the cafeteria deter you from the endless possibilities vegetables have to offer!

               According to the Dietary Guidelines, Americans are eating far below the recommended amount of vegetables. Based on a 2000 calorie diet, we need to be eating 2 ½ cups of vegetables each day. This can seem like a daunting and nearly impossible task, but with a few minor adjustments you would be amazed how easy it is to eat more vegetables. Today I am going to share with you some easy ways to add more vegetables to your diet.

1. Buy More Vegetables

You can’t eat more vegetables unless you buy more vegetables. A serving of vegetables includes any fresh, frozen, or canned vegetable. I love stocking my fridge with lettuce, carrots, and sugar snap peas. In my pantry, I always try to have canned corn and tomatoes. And my freezer always has a variety of frozen steam-able vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower, and peas. By stocking your fridge, pantry, and freezer, it makes it easy to include more vegetables into your diet

2. Can I Add A Vegetable To That?

One of the easiest ways to eat more vegetables is to ask yourself, “Can I add a vegetable to that?” No I’m not saying add carrots to your cookies, but when you are making a sandwich or even enjoying a burger – could you add a vegetable? Adding lettuce and tomato is an easy way to get ½ cup of vegetables.

3. Start your Day with Veggies

Whether it’s a smoothie or eggs, start your day with some vegetables. Add spinach to your favorite smoothie recipe or peppers, asparagus, and broccoli to your eggs. Breakfast is a great way to get a serving of vegetables.

4. Cheese Grater

Sometimes you have to get creative with your vegetables. Enter the cheese grater. I like to add vegetables to meatballs, meatloaf, spaghetti sauces, and chili’s, but not without grating them first. By grating vegetables like zucchini and carrots they blend completely into dishes adding flavor and nutrients without affecting the integrity of the original recipe.

5. Swap Your Snacks

Craving something crunchy? Swap your chips for some carrots, sugar snap peas, or cherry tomatoes. These are great portable vegetables that are perfect for snacking. They’ll satisfy your craving without adding unwanted fat and sodium to your diet.

6. Try New Vegetables In New Ways

One of the biggest complaints I hear on the topic of vegetables is “I don’t like them” or “I only like…” I have the same response for adults and kids, you don’t know if you don’t like it until you try it. It is important even as adults to keep trying new vegetables in new ways. You may not like boiled Brussel sprouts, but have you tried them on the grill? What about butternut squash? Make an effort to try new vegetables and to try preparing them in new ways.

Lettuce all enjoy eating more vegetables.