How To Eat More Veggies - creative ways to add more vegetables to your diet

April Schum
Sep 21, 2017
4 min read

We all know that veggies are good for us and we all could benefit from eating MORE of them. We are suppose to eat 5-6 servings of vegetables A DAY! The average American rarely eats even half of that. It can be hard to reach that number of servings, but we all should be making a more conscious effort to eat the recommended serving of veggies. Why? Because veggies are filled with nutrients that our bodies need such as vitamins, minerals, fiber, antioxidants and water. They can certainly help you maintain a healthy weight and diminish all of those crazy cravings that we experience throughout the day too. When big juicy burgers, fried foods, and pastries are constantly put in front of us, I know it can be hard to reach for the veggie tray and salads. But if we make a conscious effort to eat more veggies throughout the day, we won't over eat and crave the bad stuff as bad because the vitamins and minerals from veggies stop those cravings! Eating more veggies is something I've become more and more conscious about over the years. Eating more veggies has never harmed anyone (that I know of). To help you out I've put together some ways that I add veggies to my daily routine.

1. Add veggies to your breakfast! I know this might sound weird to many of you at first, but when you add veggies to your breakfast you're starting off on the right foot and setting the mood for the rest of the day. Eating veggies first thing perks me up and gets me going for the day. I like to add spinach, tomatoes, onions, mushrooms and peppers to my omelette to get a healthy dose of veggies first thing. Don't be afraid to load them up, veggies are a low carb and low calorie food! Other ways you can add veggies is by topping your toast with them. Spread a piece of toast with avocado and top it with spinach and a poached egg. Add a side of roasted veggies for a bonus.

2. Eat a veggie with your snacks! Most people are quick to grab an energy bar, fruit or piece of candy for their snacks, but adding a veggie to your snack is another way to get those nutrients in! They also will give you a better energy boost than a carb heavy and sugary snack will. At the beginning of the week I like to make a big batch of homemade salsa (made with ALL veggies!). Then I slice up sweet peppers, cucumbers and carrots to dip in it. I grab this for a quick healthy snack during the week and feel great for getting yet another serving of veggies in. To switch it up I also like to make guacamole, hummus and cashew cheese for other tasty dipping sauces.

3. Use vegetables in place of starchy, processed carbs! It's common to plan a meat and carb heavy meal, but unfortunately there is not a whole lot of nutrition in that. Most people don't even think about adding a veggie too! My meals start with the vegetable and then I plan around that. I love using cauliflower in place of rice or the base of a pizza. If you're not a fan of cauliflower you could use other veggies like eggplant, broccoli or zucchini as a pizza base. I also enjoy baked sweet potato and zucchini fries! Another idea is to try using vegetable patties in homemade burgers and sandwiches like this sweet potato bun.

4. Drink your veggies! I know, sometimes we just aren't in the mood to eat a veggie. They can be boring. I wouldn't only drink smoothies to get your veggies in, but it's a great way to fit in another veggie in your day. What's great about smoothies is that you can customize them to taste how you want! They're also a great way to cover up the flavor of those veggies that we don't care for like spinach or kale. Smoothies can provide you with tons of nutrients and are a great pick me up! Just careful not to over do it on the fruit and other sugary items.

5. Grill your veggies! If you're heating up the grill anyways for your meat then why not add a veggie basket too? Grilling veggies with a little olive oil and seasonings gives them a great flavor! Plus veggies cook pretty quickly on the grill too, so why not add them while you're waiting for your meat to finish? Making grilled veggie skewers is fun too! There are so many fun ways to add a variety of veggies to your plate. It's okay not to plan every meal around meat, carbs, sugar and cheese! You will survive and you may even start to feel better! Get creative and start eating up those veggies! Leave me a comment below on how you like to add veggies to your meals!