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One of the areas that you need to address regularly when trying to have a balanced life is living healthy. This is something that I have struggled with for a long time. Especially when I was so overworked, I feel like I did some major damage to my body and now I am working to try and heal it. Not just from a medical standpoint but from a nutritional standpoint as well.
On my other site, I have written about my me and my husband’s journey to not only lose weight, but to become healthier. After many ups and downs, we have converted our diet to about 90% clean, unprocessed foods. We eat mainly a vegetable and fruit based diet, although we do eat meat or fish a few times a week. We are also limiting our processed carb intake, mainly just potatoes, beans, and brown rice.
Eating more vegetables was a challenge for me at first. For so many years, my idea of vegetables for dinner was canned green beans and canned corn! It takes time to break out of longstanding habits and routines. I wanted to share with you some things that have helped me to add more vegetables into our diet.
10 ways you can add more vegetables (and fruits) into your diet:
1. Look for one-pot meals that could enable you to add veggies in without changing the flavor too much. My daughter adds shredded carrots to her jarred spaghetti sauce and her kids have no idea!
2. Look at your store’s flyer for the week (most you can view online) and see what veggies are on sale. These are usually the items that are currently in season, making them even better for you since they aren’t shipped so far. Plan meals around these vegetables.
3. Once you buy your produce, don’t bury it away in the bottom drawers never to be thought of again. Keep it on a higher shelf so it is plain sight every time you open the fridge.
4. Consider how you can use veggies for a snack. Carrots and celery can be dipped into dressing or hummus. I love raw zucchini and my husband loves cherry tomatoes! And of course fruits make a great snack. Tangerines, grapes, apples, bananas are all so portable and easy to grab on the go.
5. Think about what vegetables you DO like and already eat. See if there are some different ways to prepare them. Maybe a sauce you could add, or an alternate way of cooking.
6. Consider having salad for lunch everyday or a side salad with your dinner meal. There are lots of things you could add to your salad such as: carrots, cucumbers, tomatoes, celery, mushrooms, edamame, spinach. Keep the makings of a salad handy in your fridge so it is easy to throw one together. The possibilities are endless!
7. What about a shake for breakfast? Smoothies are all the rage right now as it is a good way to sneak in some fruit and veggies into your diet. You can start with a handful of spinach, some frozen strawberries, half a banana, 2 spoons of yogurt and a cup of skim milk. Blend it up well and I promise you won’t taste the spinach! There are tons of recipes on the web for these, but eventually you figure out what you like best.
8. During the winter especially, it may be easier for you to use frozen vegetables. These are almost as good as fresh, and you can keep a stash handy for your use. I would recommend not buying the kind with pre-made sauces, better to make and add your own. I also keep frozen fruits on hand for a smoothie or a fruit crumble. I plan this summer to buy some things when they are abundant and cheap and freeze them myself.
9. Most vegetables taste awesome roasted in the oven. I love to roast zucchini, cauliflower, asparagus, and I even roasted cabbage this week. I use a variety of spices depending on the style of the meal, but always salt and pepper, and brush with oil. I may throw in onions, garlic, balsamic vinegar, or soy sauce. Roasting brings out a whole different flavor, give it a try!
10. Buying fresh and local is the best way to go. During the summer and into fall, there are local farmer’s markets where you can buy VERY fresh in-season produce. Also consider joining a CSA group or Community Supported Agriculture. It is a great way to get regular veggies and support your local economy. Read more about CSA’s.
It took some time for us to make the shift to a vegetable based diet. If you are like most Americans, you may have had one to two vegetables a day (not including a potato as a vegetable here). It is recommended that we have anywhere from 6-10 servings of fruits and vegetables a day, so most are a long way off from that goal!
What is your favorite way to add veggies into a meal?
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My main goal recently has been to increase the amount of fruits and vegetables we eat. I make sure we meet this goal by prepping ahead of time on weekends – shopping, cleaning, chopping, storing into individual sizes the hubby and I can take to work. I was so dismayed to read the recommended fruit/veggie guidance per the food plate was about a third of what I was actually trying to incorporate into our diets.
Great idea to roast – I’m not a huge broccoli fan, unless it is blanched, but roasting it with olive oil and garlic is a dream. Such a neat flavor! Great tips!
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Your suggestions are very helpful. Thanks for post the topic and ideas.
I was a boring vegetable maker. A couple of years ago, I decided to try jazzing up our veggies with herbs, a tiny bit of olive oil, anything that was tasty and nutritious. This encourages the family to eat bigger servings of veggies.
Another trick is to incorporate more veggies into main dishes. Add them to casseroles or skillet meals. Even pureeing veggies to add to stews and other foods, adds flavor and nutritional value.
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Green smoothies rock for people who aren’t used to eating salads.
Emily recently posted..Why Gardening Is Healthy
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I discovered roasting them about a year or two ago and LOVE that way best! I eat “green bean fries” almost every day:)
Karen@WaistingTime recently posted..This Cup Runneth Amuck
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Those veggies are definitely good! I hope I can try it too…
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Great post! thanks for providing this useful information about how to eat more vegetable. A lot of people will benefit from this idea. I will definitely share this information to all of my friends.
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We need veggies for our health, right?
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Hi, Bernice,
My favorite way of adding veggies into my meals is through small portions, blending them in for flavor and then combining them with meat, so that the colors go along together. It sounds crazy, but they say it works-if the plate is colorful and the dish is well put together, the eyes will be hungrier, and so will the appetite grow. This is not recommended if you are on diet, though.:)
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vegetables are healthy and we need it everyday…
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Eating vegetables is very important to our body it gives a lot of nutrients..Thanks for sharing this useful post to us..
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I believe that eating vegetables has a lot of nutrients and its good to our body..Thanks for sharing this post to us…
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My wife hates to see greens in her meals. I think this might help me to get her to take some vegetables.
I loved those 10 simple pints and will surely follow them.
Thanks for sharing.
-Fred
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This is really helpful…Thanks a lot…
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Vegetables are really important to our health…
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Eating vegetables is very important to our body it gives a lot of nutrients, better than taking man-made nutrition supplements. Another option is get a good juicer/blender.
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I love this vegetables picture! There is nothing more healthy than eating vegetables always… Thanks for sharing this wonderful post.
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Thanks for posting such healthy tips! Eating vegetables is a healthy way to live more. But be sure to eat just the right amount.
Katharina25 recently posted..Motivation To Lose Weight
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Oh hi there. Thanks for sharing this. It’s a very useful tips! I can try to do some of those I guess.
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I am a type of person who really doesn’t like much of the vegetables and I always try to avoid it.
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I am a veggi… and I know how this is important to our body and health.
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I guess I am the last person who likes Vegetables….
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I eat all types of vegetables except for the eggplant. I don’t know why. Weird. LOL! Thanks for this wonderful post anyway!
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I believe that eating vegetables has a lot of nutrients and its good to our body. ticket alimentação
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[...] eat probably 3 times the amount of fresh fruits and vegetables in a day than I used [...]