Veggies are the key to health. They contain antioxidants and the all-important dietary fiber.
Some ideas.
Add chopped broccoli or grated zucchini to your omelet.
Toss sliced cucumbers with seasoned rice vinegar for an instant salad.
Dip crunchy raw vegetables (cherry tomatoes, mushrooms, celery, and/or carrots) into salad dressing or hummus.
Toss corn kernels (fresh or frozen) into a green salad.
Experiment with unusual vegetables such as long beans or kohlrabi.
Spread tomato-and-onion salsa over grilled fish.
Roast peeled, diced beets and carrots at 425 degrees F for 30 minutes. Sprinkle them with salt, pepper, and olive oil. Beets are also great raw; simply grate them in your next salad. Place them on top of your salad, or else your salad will be pink!
Mix chopped spinach, kale, or other greens into spaghetti sauce.
Mix carrot juice into your orange juice for breakfast. (P.S. I generally don’t drink juice, but in case you do sometimes, please leave in the orange juice pulp.)
Veggie Sandwiches: Try a little mashed avocado instead of butter or mayonnaise as a spread on bread – it has healthy fat, more nutrients, and more flavor. We’re all familiar with grated carrot, but have you tried grating other vegetables like zucchini, beetroot, or red cabbage and adding them to salads or sandwiches, or tried baking beetroot or sweet potatoes in their skins?
Dietary Fiber content in grams
Split peas, cooked, 1 cup 16.3
Red kidney beans, boiled, 1 cup 13.1
Raspberries, raw, 1 cup 8.0
Whole-wheat spaghetti, 1 cup 6.3
Oat bran muffin, medium 5.2
Broccoli, boiled, 1 cup 5.1
Oatmeal, quick, regular or instant, cooked, 1 cup 4.0
Green beans, cooked, 1 cup 4.0
Brown rice, cooked, 1 cup 3.5
Apple, medium with skin 3.3
Popcorn, air-popped, 2 cups 2.4
Whole-wheat bread, one slice 1.9
More tips:
What’s wrong with eating vegetables for breakfast? Try vegetable soup or a potato/vegetable patty for breakfast? Lentil or split pea soup can regulate your blood sugar. How about an English muffin spread with carrot butter or pumpkin butter and sprinkled with a grating of cheese? Let’s think outside the box…
Wash and cut raw vegetables such as carrots, celery, broccoli, cauliflower, and radishes, and keep them in the refrigerator to use as snacks and in salads. If they’re handy, they will be eaten.
Puree vegetables and add them to soups and stews. A puree of cooked potatoes, onions, and celery makes a nice, low-fat stock to use instead of a cream base
Try grating carrots or zucchini into batter for muffins, pancakes, or quick breads for more fiber and vitamins in your breakfasts and snacks. If you juice, save the pulp for muffins and other baked goods.
Add more fresh vegetables to sandwiches – not just the usual lettuce, tomatoes, and onions. Try green or red bell pepper rings, cucumber slices, sprouts, and sliced radishes.
Add vegetables to a family favorite dish such as chili, macaroni and cheese, or spaghetti. You can add fiber and other nutrients to main dishes and use smaller amounts of meat, using plenty of vegetables.
Roast some veggies – better than French fries. Arrange pepper chunks (try red, yellow, green, and orange), onion chunks, zucchini, or whatever you like, on a cookie sheet, sprinkle a little olive oil and a little seasoning, and roast at 400 degrees for about 5-7 minutes. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese if you like.
One of my personal favorites: Cut yams into sticks and roast as above in #7. Delicious!
Add more vegetables of many colors when you make a salad. Use less lettuce and add an assortment of fresh vegetables.
Offer kids and guests a big platter of cut-up raw vegetables and dip as a snack, appetizer or with the meal.
More yet…
Choose a wide variety of salad greens, including arugula, chicory, collard greens, dandelion greens, kale, mustard greens, spinach, and watercress.
Look for pasta made with vegetables, such as spinach or beets.
Stir-fry vegetables with tofu or just a small portion of poultry, seafood, or meat.
Order a vegetarian pizza instead of a meat-based pizza.
Use vegetables as a base for or as added ingredients in soups.
Enrich or thicken soups and sauces with cooked and pureed vegetables in place of cream or whole milk.
Add grated raw carrot to lean ground beef or turkey when making meatloaf or meatballs.
Add chopped vegetables to your spaghetti sauce.
Enjoy vegetables as snacks by keeping them ready to eat in the refrigerator.
Many different kinds of vegetables fill the produce section of your grocery store, or better yet your local Farmer’s Market, so don’t limit yourself to familiar favorites. Try some unusual vegetables, such as Jicama, kohlrabi, okra, or watercress. You may discover new favorites that add both interest and health benefits to your diet.
Next time you make a meatloaf, steam some spinach, cool, and squeeze dry. Press the meatloaf into a rectangle and place the spinach (or kale or chard) on top of the meat mixture. Roll up. When you slice it, you have a pretty line of green. Makes a meatloaf special and adds more vegetables
Start adding vegetables to the things you already eat anyway: pack those sandwiches and burgers full of tomatoes, lettuce, sprouts, cucumbers, shredded carrots, and slices of bell pepper.
Top pizza with chopped veggies
Try a veggie frittata or omelet for any meal.
Pasta is a great vehicle for vegetables. Throw a handful of fresh spinach into the warmed sauce and stir it just until the spinach wilts. Sauté some chopped veggies in olive oil, and kiss them with some lemon juice, salt, pepper, and a sprinkle of your favorite herbs, then toss with pasta. Or layer zucchini, carrots, peppers, tomatoes, and eggplant in your next batch of lasagna.
Have a baked potato bar and cut back on the customary butter, cheese, sour cream, and bacon bits in favor of veggie toppings like steamed broccoli, diced tomatoes, chopped bell peppers, green onions, sautéed zucchini, and asparagus spears.
Try stuffing bell peppers with zucchini or tomatoes.
Other great ways to include more vegetables in your diet include soups, stews, and chili; pot pies, shepherd’s pies, and quiches; shish kebabs; burritos and enchiladas.
