Sneaky Ways to Incorporate Vegetables into Your Meals
The benefits of a diet comprising powerful greens and healthy ingredients are well known. Sadly, most food recipes in the Standard American Diet (SAD) rarely contain vegetables as a key ingredient and most of us don’t get all the nutrients needed from diet alone.
Most likely you are in this category and are looking to be healthier. Start by determining which vitamins and minerals you are most in need of by taking this helpful vitamin quiz. Then you will know which vegetables you should focus on.
Here are some easy ways to include vegetables in your regular meals:
1. Prepare Vegetable Purees
A homemade vegetable puree is flavorful and nutritious and you can stealthily sneak it into your family’s favorite foods unnoticed – even for the pickiest eaters. Use a food processor or blender to process vegetables such as cauliflower, beets, carrots, and zucchini squash. Drizzle the puree on lean cuts of meat such as chicken breasts and include them in your kids Mac’ And
Cheese. They won’t know it’s cauliflower!
Start by washing, peeling, and dicing the vegetables then place them in your steamer or bake until they are soft. Once done, put them in the food processor (or blender) and blend. You can add a small amount of sour cream or butter to give them more flavor. If your puree is too thick for your desired consistency, add olive oil or broth to thin it to your liking. (Be aware of the additional calories and fat from olive oil if you are watching these macronutrients).
2. Make Baked Vegetable Fries and Kale Chips
If you snack a lot, you can create delicious snacks out of vegetables. With the right roasted vegetable recipe, you can make great veggie fries from zucchini, carrots, and green beans. For a cold snack that’s easy to grab and go, try kale chips.
Peel your veggies and spiralize them into noodle-like shapes for “fries.” Bake the veggies and then season them to your liking. Garlic and lemon pepper are nice pairings with vegetables. If you’re up for kale chips, check out this recipe.
3. Smoothies
Adding greens and veggies to your smoothies adds to the nutritional value. Veggie-packed smoothies are great for post-workout, breakfast, and quick snacks. The best veggies for making smoothies include avocado, zucchini, kale, spinach, carrot, cauliflower, cucumber, and beets.
Prepare and cut the veggies into chunks. Put the veggies in a blender and power it on for approximately 45 seconds. You can freeze the veggies before blending them to add a chilly flavor. Look for the best vegetables for weight loss if you’re on a weight loss program. You can also buy pre-packaged frozen blends that include berries and kale if you’re on the go a lot.
4. Pasta
The benefits of veggie pasta are multiple. Veggie pasta is gluten-free and can enable you to cut carbs and calories. Veggie pasta offers wonderful nutrients, including vitamin A which strengthens your immunity, boosts your vision, and strengthens your inflammatory system.
Pasta veggies or “Zoodles” also contain vitamin C, which is essential for the bones and skin, and vitamin E, which protects you against heart disease. Most veggies are good for preparing pasta, but some are better than others such as squash. Use zucchini strips to replace regular noodles for lasagna and try spaghetti squash in place of spaghetti noodles.
5. Beans and Sauces
Toss cauliflower, broccoli, or brussel sprouts into your various beans, meat sauces, and gravies. They cook down into the beans or sauce and add a bang of nutrients without changing the flavor of the dish.
Vegetables contain phytochemicals, fiber, minerals, and vitamins essential for keeping you healthy. A diet that lacks enough vegetables may put your health at risk. Incorporating vegetables in meals is not easy, but there are easy ways to make it achievable.
These are easy and simple ways to incorporate veggies into your meals. Veggies can be incorporated into virtually all types of diets and can be converted to every recipe you desire. Be unique when creating great recipes for adding veggies to your diets.