Start Small With Smoothie Magic
Here’s something that might shock you: you can actually enjoy spinach raw in salads, sandwiches, and smoothies, and cooked spinach also has significant health benefits and is a great addition to pasta dishes and soups. The smoothie trick is probably the easiest vegetable hack I’ve ever discovered. When you blend leafy greens like spinach or kale with sweet fruits like bananas, berries, or mangoes, you literally can’t taste the vegetables. It’s like the fruit becomes a delicious disguise for all those nutrients. Smoothies are an easy way to add some extra vegetables in your diet without even noticing, and you can put a handful of spinach or some frozen cauliflower or zucchini in your blender for some extra creaminess and nutrients. The frozen cauliflower especially adds this amazing creamy texture that makes your smoothie feel like a milkshake.
Master the Art of Sneaking Veggies Into Favorites
Think about your absolute favorite comfort foods – pasta, burgers, or even mac and cheese. Now imagine boosting their nutritional value without changing the taste you love. When the craving kicks in, cauliflower is the ultimate sneaky vegetable – it’s basically undetectable, or for more flavour, add leeks to your sauce and top with roasted cherry tomatoes. I’ve seen people add grated carrots and zucchini to meatballs, mix chopped spinach into pasta sauces, and even sneak pureed vegetables into tomato-based dishes. Vegetables can be added to everyday food items in many ways, and some can sneak right into recipes without a lot of drama (like spinach), and some add color and flavor in ways you’d never expect (like beets and sweet potatoes). The key is starting with vegetables that have mild flavors and similar textures to what’s already in your dish.
Transform Your Snacking Game
Raw vegetables with dips are probably the easiest way to boost your veggie intake without feeling like you’re forcing yourself to eat healthy. Carrots, cucumber, bell peppers, and cherry tomatoes become way more appealing when you pair them with flavorful dips like hummus, guacamole, or yogurt-based dressings. Incorporating veggie-based snacks into your day is a very effective way to boost your nutrient intake, and an added bonus: it crowds out less nutritious foods, like packaged and processed goods and sweets. What I love about this approach is that you can prep vegetable sticks in advance and have them ready for quick snacks. Easy snacks include baby carrots, sliced cucumbers or bell peppers with hummus, or celery with nut butter. It’s like having healthy fast food waiting in your fridge.
Unlock the Power of Roasting
If you’ve ever hated Brussels sprouts or broccoli, you probably had them steamed or boiled as a kid. Here’s the game-changer: roasting transforms vegetables into something completely different. If you don’t like a certain vegetable that you’ve only tried boiled, try roasting it, and so many people who hate boiled Brussels sprouts end up loving roasted or sauteed sprouts. The caramelization process brings out natural sweetness and adds this amazing depth of flavor. Try roasting broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, or sweet potatoes with olive oil, salt, pepper, and your favorite herbs or spices. Grilling vegetables can add great flavor to vegetables, even ones you may not be crazy about. It’s honestly like discovering a completely new vegetable you never knew existed.
Soup Your Way to Success
Soups and stews are like the ultimate vegetable vehicle. You can literally throw almost any vegetable into a pot with some broth and create something delicious. Soups are an excellent way to consume multiple servings of vegetables at once, and you can make veggies the “base” by pureeing them and adding spices. The longer cooking times help soften the vegetables and blend their flavors seamlessly into the broth. What’s amazing is that you can add diced carrots, celery, tomatoes, spinach, or beans to your favorite recipes without changing the fundamental character of the soup. Furthermore, it’s simple to cook veggies into broth- or cream-based soups. It’s like getting multiple servings of vegetables in one comforting bowl.
Make Smart Carb Swaps
Here’s where things get really interesting – you can replace some of your usual carbohydrates with vegetables and actually enjoy it. Turn vegetables into “noodles” to reduce the amount of calories and carbohydrates in your meal, and zucchini, sweet potatoes, beets, butternut squash, jicama, parsnips, cucumbers, and onions all make tasty vegetable noodles. Use cauliflower rice instead of white rice, spiralized zucchini or sweet potato noodles instead of pasta, or lettuce leaves instead of bread for sandwiches. There are many vegetable alternatives to bread, pasta, and rice you can use to get a few extra servings of vegetables in, and when you’re preparing a meal, try swapping regular rice with cauliflower rice, or grain-based pasta with chickpea, lentil, or edamame pasta. These swaps reduce calorie intake while boosting fiber and nutrient consumption, and over time, they might become your new favorites.
Prep Like a Pro
The biggest barrier to eating more vegetables is often convenience. When you’re hungry and in a hurry, you’re way more likely to grab something quick and processed than to start chopping vegetables. Spending a small amount of time, say, at the beginning of the week, to wash, cut, and prep the vegetables you want to eat for the week ahead is a great tool to set yourself up for success. Keep washed, chopped, and pre-portioned veggies in the fridge so you can add them to meals or snacks quickly. When vegetables are readily available, you’re more likely to reach for them instead of processed snacks. There’s no denying that grabbing something that’s ready to go is more appealing than having to chop veggies before having a snack. Think of it as creating your own healthy convenience food.
Grow Your Own Motivation
There’s something magical about eating vegetables you’ve grown yourself. When you invest time and care into cultivating your garden, you’re naturally more motivated to enjoy the produce. Even if you don’t have a large outdoor space, many vegetables can be grown in containers on a balcony or windowsill. This hands-on approach helps you learn more about different vegetables and encourages you to try new varieties. Growing your own vegetables also gives you a deeper appreciation for fresh produce and can make you more excited about incorporating them into your meals. It’s like having a personal investment in your health that literally grows over time.
Create Veggie-Based Sauces and Spreads
Making sauces and spreads from vegetables is one of the cleverest ways to boost your intake without feeling like you’re eating whole vegetables. This is a great way to sneak veggies into liquid foods like soups, sauces, dressings, or dips without the texture of whole vegetables, and when you lightly steam your leafy greens and puree them in a food processor, you can add a serving of vegetables to just about anything. You can make a roasted red pepper sauce, eggplant dip (baba ganoush), or a creamy avocado spread. These can be used on sandwiches, as dips, or as toppings for grilled meats and fish. Try adding pureed spinach or kale to your pasta sauces, or add pureed veggies to tomato bisque or lentil soup. They add flavor and nutrition without requiring you to deal with vegetable textures if that’s not your thing.
Plan Meals Around Vegetables
Instead of treating vegetables as an afterthought, try shifting your mindset to make them the star of your plate. Start by choosing a vegetable you enjoy and build your meal around it, adding proteins and grains as sides. Generally, a well-balanced meal should be at least 1/2 vegetables because they’re super dense with nutrients and fiber. This approach encourages you to explore new recipes and flavors, making vegetables the highlight of your plate instead of something you try to avoid. Variety and color are key to a healthy diet, and on most days, try to get at least one serving from each of the following categories: dark green leafy vegetables; yellow or orange fruits and vegetables; red fruits and vegetables; legumes (beans) and peas; and citrus fruits. When vegetables become the foundation of your meal planning, eating more of them becomes natural and enjoyable.
Embrace the Power of Disguise
Sometimes the best way to eat more vegetables is to hide them completely. Trick your kids (and yourself!) into eating more veggies by incorporating them into your favorite meals, and these recipes are sneaky good at disguising good-for-you ingredients. Finely chopped mushrooms can be mixed into ground meat for burgers, grated zucchini can disappear into meatballs, and pureed cauliflower can be stirred into mashed potatoes. Sneaking finely chopped mushrooms into your beef burgers not only ramps up the nutritional value, it brings an extra layer of delicious umami flavour, and just be sure to sautée them first to fry off the moisture and concentrate the mushroom flavour. The key is matching vegetables to dishes where they naturally blend in terms of color, texture, and flavor. The trick with disguising vegetables in curry sauces is to think about the colour that they would be anyway, and korma is yellow and sweet, so try blending some tinned sweetcorn into the sauce.
Make It a Habit, Not a Chore
The most sustainable approach to eating more vegetables is making small, manageable changes that fit your lifestyle and preferences. Eating vegetables doesn’t have to be a chore, and there are several easy ways to incorporate more of them into your diet, with adding leafy greens to smoothies, blending them into a sauce, and swapping plant-based proteins in place of meat being just a few ways to add more vegetables into your daily diet. Instead of completely overhauling your diet overnight, focus on adding one extra serving of vegetables to your existing meals. You’ll significantly increase your intake of fiber, nutrients, and antioxidants by making veggies a regular part of your eating habits. Over time, these small habits will help you eat more vegetables without feeling like you’re making a big effort, leading to better health and well-being naturally.
What would you have guessed was the easiest way to sneak more vegetables into your day?
