There was a time when I only ate vegetables. I also ate tons of beans and a bit of fruit. New to the ‘health and wellness’ world, I followed the advice of media-popular vegans that touted claims about how a vegan diet is the only optimal diet for us humans. While I no longer believe a vegan diet is the best for everyone, and I no longer eat only vegetables, the few years that I followed this strict diet was a big growth period. Not only did I begin learning about nutrition, I also learned how to cook veggies and how to add more to my day in simple ways.
Now, with a young daughter and a busier schedule, it is useful to have strategies for adding more veggies into our meals without adding much extra work (i.e. stress!). Below are my favorite ways to keep the nutrients high, the variety fun, and the moaning about more veggies down 🙂
How to eat more veggies – simply
Remove the barriers of cleaning and preparing
Prepare all of your vegetables on one day. Clean, cut, and store them exactly how you will use them, so each day you just grab and cook (or eat raw). The barriers of having to clean, take out the cutting board and knife, chop, clean the cutting board and knife, put everything away, THEN cook can stop us from creating a healthy meal each day. Instead, get the prep work done ahead of time, so dinner can be cooked fresh with less effort.
Buy what you like, not what you should
It took me a while to realize that I do not like kale that much. Considering that kale is the queen of the health world, a ‘superfood’, a must according to many nutritionists, it was hard to believe that we didn’t need it to be healthy. For years I ate it almost every day because I thought I needed to. In reality however, I do not really like it and I realized that it slowed my digestion since it is hard to digest. I have kale occasionally for variety, but I mostly replaced it with veggies that I really enjoy eating, such as arugula, spinach, and even collards sometimes. If you buy what you like you will eat it, otherwise it will feel like another chore.
Get creative with preparing
When you are preparing your veggies all on one day, experiment with cutting them in different ways. It is easy to get in a routine of slicing everything in thin slices, or chopping into squares, where then each ingredient is uniform. This can lead to food boredom. While it might not matter as much for the taste, varying your veggie prep will vary the textures and enliven the presentation…and we eat as much with our eyes as we do your mouths.
Try different ways of cutting your veggies:
- Slice thin, medium, and think slices
- Chop big and small pieces
- Use a roll cut on carrots
- Mince the veggies that just add flavor but you do not want a big bite of
- Spiralize to create noodles
- Use a mandolin to slice harder veggies, crinkle cut, or cut into fries shape
- Use a peeler to make skinny slices (fun for salads!)
- Shred or grate with a cheese grater
- Make hard veggies into matchsticks
- Slice bigger sticks for dipping
Blend it
Sometimes you just don’t feel like veggies, right?! Me too. But instead of avoiding them for the day, blend them into a smoothie, smoothie bowl, or soup to completely change the experience of eating.
Smoothies or smoothie bowls are great because you can consume an entire salad in one drink that feels like a treat. Start with veggies in about a 50/50 ratio of veggies to fruit and other add-ins (or more vegetables if you like). Add fruit for sweetness – frozen or fresh mangoes, peaches, pineapple, and strawberries are great; add avocado, nut milk, or nut butter for a smooth decadence; add hemp and/or flax seeds for omega 3’s. Try one of these recipes:
Similarly, adding any combination of carrots, celery, sweet potatoes, broccoli, peas, and/or any other veggie to broth or water creates an easy, healthy soup. Take it one step further and blend it with a hand blender to create a soft and creamy soup that feels much different than eating full vegetables. Add lentils, chicken, and or grains to your blend to add heft and protein.
(Note: blended chicken sounded gross to me at first, until I had it at a restaurant and realized it is delicious and not weird-tasting at all.)
Put veggies in or on what you already eat
Adding a handful of vegetables to something you already make is a quick way to increase nutrients.
- Eggs – add spinach and mushrooms to an omelet or frittata
- Sandwich – add lettuce, baby spinach, sliced bell peppers
- Pizza – add broccoli and mushrooms on top
- Hummus / salsa – eat with sliced jicama or veggie sticks instead of crackers
- Baked potatoes – add minced carrots and parsley
Make it fun for everyone, kids included
‘Make your own’ meals are always a hit with kids and adults. Even better, these can all be prepped ahead and everyone customizes their own.
- Tacos – Chicken Tinga in the slow cooker
- Pizza – stock crusts in the freezer for easy dinners
- ‘Nachos’
- Hot-pot soup (a little complex, but very fun!)
- Wraps
Taste Test Game
My grandma made us do this ever since we were kids – we couldn’t say we don’t like something until we try it. And, by ‘try it’ I mean take one good-sized bite and finish it, not a tiny nibble. This helps kids (and adults- she still makes us ‘kids’ do it!) widen their palette without forcing them to eat something they do not want yet. Research has shown that kids have to try something 7-8 times before they will accept it, but forcing them to eat overrides their natural tastes and hunger cues. Eventually, kids will develop a taste for a variety of vegetables.
Try new things
When veggies start to seem boring, maybe you need some new inspiration. Sometimes getting out of a rut happens when we intentionally get out of our routines. Instead of grabbing the same produce at the grocery store, try something new.
- Go to a new place to buy your veggies – maybe a farmers market or natural food store. Ask the farmer for advice about what to do with a certain veggies and you could get a unique idea.
- Buy something new and research recipes. Try kohlrabi, jicama, bread fruit, wild spinach, purple potatoes, or a new herb. Searching for new recipes can inspire the chef and your tastebuds!
I’m sure there is something in the list above that will help you fit more vegetables into your day without it feeling like a chore. Experiment with one technique for a week or two to see how it goes. Later add more techniques until you feel good about how many delicious veggies you and your family happily eat!
