It’s no surprise, that 90% of Americans do not consume the required 2-3 servings each day (1 cup is considered a serving; 2 cups for raw, leafy greens). Vegetables are high in nutrients such as fiber, potassium, folate, and vitamin A. While supplements can be very helpful in modern life, you can’t out-supplement a bad diet.

 

Looking for inventive ways to incorporate more vegetables into your day (even breakfast! )? I’ve got you. Here are seven ideas to help you incorporate more vegetables onto your plate.

Add Vegetables And Fruits To Your Breakfast

The nutrients you acquire are beneficial to your health, but eating fruits and vegetables in the morning can also help maintain a healthy weight. A recent Cornell University study examined the routines of persons with normal BMIs—naturally, without effort—and discovered that 96 percent ate breakfast, as opposed to skipping it or only sipping coffee. What are the most popular things on their a.m. menu? Fruits and vegetables, like a vegetable-packed omelet or a fruit-filled smoothie bowl. Muffins are also convenient and with the right recipe, you can pack in the nutrition. Try these simple spinach muffins for a grab on the go morning meal. 

Make Veggie Soup

Data shows that people eat fewer calories when they eat soup. Soup is also a wonderful method to get extra vegetables into your diet. Make one of these vegetable-packed soups to help you get enough this week. You may find that with soup, you lose the ‘I don’t like the taste or texture’ of vegetables as when they are mixed together with added flavoring they taste delicious and are more manageable. Soups are a great way to increase the number of veggies you eat weekly. 

Use Vegetables As A Snack 

And we’re not talking about potato chips and French fries. Snacks should bridge your appetite between mealtime so you don’t feel hangry at dinner. They can also assist you in meeting your veggie quota. Try hummus-dipped carrots or cucumbers, celery with peanut butter, or a small cup of vegetable soup.

Make Noodles 

Turn pasta night on its head by creating noodles out of vegetables. When you substitute sweet potatoes, carrots, zucchini, turnips, or beets for pasta, you’ll get a lot of nutrients for a small number of calories. Make Shrimp Scampi Zoodles, Sweet Potato Carbonara, or one of our other veggie noodle recipes for dinner tonight. If you don’t have a spiralizer, you may make long “noodles” with your vegetables by peeling them.

Swap Wraps For Lettuce

If you want to increase fiber and add more vegetables to your diet, swap a wrap for lettuce leaves. Butter lettuce leaves, cabbage leaves, kale, and swiss chard are all suitable substitutes. It’s a fun twist on lunch or dinner, and it’s a simple way to get extra vegetables into your day. There are many different recipes on places like Pinterest. 

Use Squash For Lasagne 

Think outside the box of traditional lasagna and instead of noodles use spaghetti squash. You get a satisfying portion of lasagna and a full serving of vegetables at the same time. If you would prefer to stick to a traditional lasagne you could make a veggie version and swap out the meat or simply add extra vegetables into your bolognese mix. Grating carrots is a great one to try, especially if you have people who don’t like their veggies and would prefer them to be part of the sauce. 

Make Veggie Chips

Make homemade chips from beets, sweet potatoes, Brussels sprouts, or kale. Baking thin slices with a little sea salt results in a crunchy snack or side dish. Even children and finicky eaters can’t resist vegetables served as chips!

These seven tips should help you to add more vegetables into your diet without finding it too challenging. Do you have any other tips that could help? Please share some in the comments.