According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Americans don’t like vegetables. The majority of them eat less than half of the daily, recommended servings. This is in spite of the common knowledge that a diet rich in vegetables and fruits can help you lose weight, lower your risk for heart disease and add more antioxidants, fiber and nutrients in your diet. Indeed, adding vegetables and fruits to your meals is the easiest route to a cleanse diet. So, what can you do to eat more vegetables in your meals? Consider the following tips:
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Add Some Flavor to the Vegetables
Plain steaming your vegetables will not add excitement, or make you look forward to having them in your next meal. That is why you should consider getting creative. You can do this by adding some flavor to the vegetables. Drizzling some additional virgin oil and adding some spices, herbs, garlic and chili can make the idea of eating vegetables exciting, or at the very least, tolerable.
Ensure Your Favorite Meals Have Some Veggies
Simple additions of veggies to the meals you love will inch you closer to achieving your daily-recommended servings. The idea is to find ways to sneak small portions of veggies into those meals you love without changing the meal to a vegetable-like taste. To do this, you can consider finely chopping, grating or blending them into a puree, then adding it to your frying pan or pot. Ensure that meals like frittatas, spaghetti, casseroles, Bolognese and scrambled eggs have some veggies.
Consider Adding Beans to the Meals You Love
Many people don’t realize it, but beans are a vegetable. Adding them to your favorite meal will add flavor and texture along with additional nutritional value. Consider adding black or kidney beans to your chili con carne, burritos and tacos and lentils to Bolognese.
Consider a Savory Breakfast Even on Weekdays
For most people, savory breakfasts are limited to the weekend. Yet, having them on weekdays too can improve your daily vegetable intake. A simple whip up of baked beans on your toast together with tomato and spinach, sprouts and tomato or toast and hummus can be delicious. Make every effort to include vegetables in every meal of the day, including breakfast. You will be surprised to find out that attaining your daily vegetable servings is within your reach.
Keep Your Freezer and Fridge Full of Veggies and Fruits
If all you see every time you open your freezer and fridge are cakes and chocolate bars, the natural thing to eat will always be treats. Therefore, you should take seriously the idea of adding healthy foods into your freezer and fridge and eliminating the overwhelming number of unhealthy foods you store there. Many healthy compounds are found in fruits like limonene, phenolics, flavonoids, and carotenoids which safe us from many illnesses.
The more healthy food you add to your freezer, the more likely you will develop a dislike for the unhealthy ones. While fresh vegetables are preferable to frozen ones, frozen veggies are preferable to cakes and chocolate, and are definitely more affordable and incredibly convenient.
As you introduce yourself to a culture of eating vegetables, your body will start getting used to them and will reduce its resistance. This will make it easier to keep to your commitment to attaining your daily-recommended vegetable servings.
