Are you looking to add more vegetables to your diet, but not sure how to? Read our guide on easy ways to eat more vegetables.
Vegetables are an essential part of a balanced diet. Many people don’t eat enough vegetables, and this could lead to lowered immunity or health problems over time. Some find it inconvenient to eat vegetables, or simply don’t know how to incorporate vegetables into their diets. Fortunately, there are a variety of easy ways to eat more vegetables:
Add Vegetables to Your Smoothies
While vegetables might not be the first thing you associate with smoothies, vegetables can make an excellent addition to smoothies. Your fruit smoothie can be elevated into an even better source of nutrients by adding neutral-tasting greens such as avocados, kale, or spinach.
These vegetables will not have a drastic impact on the taste of your smoothie, because the flavors of these vegetables aren’t as strong as the flavors of most fruits. If anything, the color of your smoothie will change, but not much else. Many people find that smoothies taste even better after adding avocado, because it adds a rich and creamy texture.
Use Vegetable Noodles
As an alternative to traditional noodles, vegetable noodles can be found at almost any store. Vegetable noodles are typically made from zucchini, sweet potatoes, squash, or carrots. Vegetable noodles are also easy to make at home for a fresh addition of vegetables into your meal.
Vegetable noodles offer more nutrients than traditional noodles, and won’t taste much different. This is an excellent way to get picky eaters to eat more vegetables.
Have a Salad With Your Meals
A fresh salad often goes overlooked as an excellent way to add vegetables into your diet. Salads are easy to make and can be made with a variety of different ingredients, so you’ll almost never get tired of eating them.
Some are hesitant to buy fresh vegetables to use for salads because they fear that the vegetables will expire before being used. Fortunately, this is an easy issue to fix by downloading the Lil’ Broc app, which helps you track the shelf life of your produce and ensure that it is all eaten before it expires.
Add Vegetables to Casseroles
If you love baking casseroles, vegetables can easily be added to casseroles. Peas, broccoli, or carrots all make an excellent addition to a cheesy casserole. The flavors of these vegetables blend well in a casserole and make the casserole taste even better.
This is another way to get picky eaters to eat more vegetables. If you’re looking for a more subtle vegetable to add to a casserole, cauliflower is very neutral in taste and color, and may go completely unnoticed.
Make a Veggie Omelet
If you love eggs, adding vegetables to an omelet is an excellent way to elevate your breakfast into a tastier and healthier alternative. There are a variety of vegetables that can be added to omelets, including spinach, mushrooms, tomatoes, onions, peppers, and more.
Try adding a different combination of vegetables to your omelets, and see what works for you. You may be pleasantly surprised to see how vegetables can improve the taste of an omelet.
Eat Vegetables With Dips and Sauces
Instead of using chips and crackers to enjoy your favorite dips, try using fresh vegetables. Cucumbers, carrots, and baby tomatoes work especially well for enjoying your favorite dip. Fresh vegetables taste great when dipped in hummus, ranch, or cheese dip.
Try Vegetable-Based Dips and Sauces
Instead of eating vegetables with your favorite dips, you can try dips that are made of vegetables! Chances are, you already enjoy dips made of vegetables, such as salsa and guacamole. Vegetable dips are an easy and convenient source of vegetables to snack on, and you can even make your own!
If you have any fresh avocados on hand, try making homemade guacamole for a fresh and tasty snack.
Make a Vegetable Soup
Soups are an excellent way to eat more vegetables. Almost any soup contains vegetables, so there are a variety of soups that you can choose from. Soups are affordable to buy, but also fun and easy to make. If you prefer cream-based soup, you can make a cheesy broccoli soup or potato soup.
If you prefer broth-based soup, you can make a vegetable soup with a variety of vegetables such as carrots, celery, peas, tomatoes, and more. By making your own soup, you can customize the soup to your liking and include your personal favorite vegetables.
Tomato soup is also an excellent soup to consider, it is convenient to buy or you can make your own from fresh tomatoes.
Try Veggie Burgers
Instead of eating a traditional beef burger, try eating a veggie burger for a rich source of nutrients and proteins. Veggie burgers are made from a variety of different vegetables, including beans, tofu, grains, mushrooms, and more. Before writing off veggie burgers, try a few different kinds to see which ones you like. You might surprise yourself!
Some veggie burgers are made to taste like meat, but most taste like vegetables. You can even make your own veggie burgers as a fun project, and freeze them for later use.
Roast Vegetables
Roasted vegetables are easy to prepare and taste amazing. Almost any vegetable can be roasted, including sweet potatoes, broccoli, onions, brussels sprouts, butternut squash, tomatoes, cauliflower, and more. Roasted vegetables can be seasoned or topped with cheese to further enhance the flavor.
To roast vegetables, all you have to do is place them in the oven at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 25-35 minutes. The time and temperature may vary based on which vegetables you choose to roast. Even if you don’t like raw vegetables, you may enjoy the sweet, nutty flavor of roasted vegetables.
Swap Regular Rice for Cauliflower Rice
Cauliflower rice is an easy swap for regular rice, and it tastes almost the same. Cauliflower has a very neutral taste, so it is easy to make stir fry or fried rice with cauliflower and some may not even notice that it is not made of regular rice.
Cauliflower rice can be bought frozen at the store for a quick meal, or you can chop up cauliflower in a food processor to make your own cauliflower rice.
Swap Regular Pizza Crust for Cauliflower Crust
Similar to using cauliflower rice instead of regular rice, cauliflower can also be used in place of pizza crust. This is a popular hack for those who are gluten free.
While cauliflower crust will be more on the thin and crunchy side compared to traditional fluffy pizza crust, the taste is rather neutral and it is another excellent way to incorporate more vegetables into everyday meals if you’re cooking for a picky eater.
Easy Ways to Eat More Vegetables: Final Thoughts
Eating more vegetables does not have to be difficult. While some see vegetables as “boring” or think that they don’t taste as good as other foods, there are many ways to easily incorporate more vegetables into your diet. You may be surprised at how delicious vegetables can be, and your health will reap the benefits significantly!