Have you been told by your doctor or dietitian that you need to add more vegetables to your diet? Are you just tired of eating the same salad everyday? There is no need to stress. We are here to give you some ideas. Watch our video, or keep reading!
You have probably heard the myriad of benefits of eating vegetables - they are high in fiber to help digestion and metabolism, cholesterol free, packed with vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and phytonutrients, and most are lower in fat and calories.
Whether they are starchy or non-starchy, here are some fun and creative ways to jazz up your meals and up your vegetable game.
Breakfast:
- Try a vegetable smoothie (any combination of vegetables - include some dark greens)
- Whole grain toast with tomatoes, cucumber, sprouts, avocado
- Omelette with vegetables
- Tofu scramble with vegetables
- Add shredded zucchini, carrots, or other vegetables to breakfast potatoes or hash browns
- Savory oats
For your Lunch, Dinner, and Snacks:
Do it Fresh!
- Add a salad to your meal.
- Try lettuce instead of a tortilla for a taco or veggie wrap.
- Add fresh or cooked vegetables to rice, quinoa, or other grains, such as mixing diced tomatoes, cucumber, and dill into a three-bean salad.
- Celery sticks with nut butter.
- Carrots, bell peppers, and cucumber with hummus or other healthy dips.
- Fresh vegetable spring rolls.
- Baby bell peppers with fresh guacamole dip.
Make them Cooked!
- Stir-fry with lots of vegetables.
- Side of steamed vegetables.
- Add some roasted vegetables to your meals (Brussels sprouts, carrots, onions— all delicious when roasted!).
- Add vegetables to soups, stews, casseroles, and sandwiches.
- Add mushrooms, cauliflower, peppers, whole tomatoes, or zucchini to pasta sauces.
- Try more vegetable-based sauces and dips (pesto with spinach/kale).
- Use a cauliflower pizza crust.
- Make your pizza vegetarian: more veggies and less cheese and meat.
- Baked vegetable chips (low sodium).
- Vegetable crostini.
For more healthy snack ideas, click here.
Takeaways
The DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) diet guidelines as well as the ADA (American Diabetes Association) guidelines recommend that we make half our plate vegetables. Now that you’ve got some fun and creative ideas for including vegetables in your diet, think of this as your superpower to help you strive for optimum health. Let’s get in the kitchen and get healthy together!