In nearly every healthy-living article you read these days, the No. 1 piece of advice is: Eat more vegetables. Unfortunately, Americans aren’t getting the message.
Last month the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that only 26 percent of American adults eat their veggies three or more times a day.
And, despite all the constant nagging, people are ordering salads as main courses at restaurants only 5 percent of the time – half as many as in 1989. Typically, adults should eat two cups of fruit and two-and-a-half cups of vegetables every day.
Why? Vegetables are excellent sources of fiber, which keeps digestive tracts functioning well and also has been shown to prevent heart disease and diabetes. Vegetables also contain significant amounts of other healthful nutrients including folate, potassium, and vitamin A and C.
But the fact is: We just don’t want to eat them. It’s easier to grab a bag of potato chips than it is to slice up a carrot, and loading up on pasta and rolls seems more satisfying than a plateful of boiled Brussels sprouts.
However, you can sneak more vegetables into your diet – in pleasant, easy, tasty ways. Here are seven ideas:
1. Pile on your pizza
When ordering pizza, request extra green peppers, onions, mushrooms, and whatever other veggies you choose. You won’t really notice the difference in taste, but your body will thank you for the extra vitamin A in the green pepper, the cancer-preventing properties of onions, and potassium in the mushrooms. If you want to make your next pizza even more healthful, ask for less cheese. Want to get kids to eat more vegetables? Have them lend a hand in making a homemade pizza. They’ll be proud to gobble up their hard work.
2. Easy omelet
When preparing your vegetable dish for dinner, slice up some extra carrots, onions, tomatoes, broccoli, asparagus, etc., and place them in the refrigerator. When making your morning omelet, simply grab your extra veggies and stuff them in with the eggs so you’re not chopping veggies before you’ve had your coffee. If you’re in a hurry, mix the veggies into the eggs and pop them into the microwave for about 2 minutes, or until the eggs are completely cooked through.
3. Sneaky additions
Harvard Medical School’s HealthBeat suggests starting with just one extra fruit and vegetable serving per day. Once you’re used to that, add another. You can accomplish that practically unnoticed by sneaking in finely grated carrots and zucchini into pasta sauce, meat loaf, chili, or stew. If you want to get really sly with zucchini, try this Chocolate Zucchini Bread recipe from JoyofBaking.com. You can also add mashed sweet potatoes and squashes to cakes, cookies, and breads to replace half of the recipe’s fat and mix in and pureed tomatoes and even beets – and no one will even know.
4. Play mind games
By simply storing sliced carrots, celery, and sweet peppers in handy see-through containers (think plastic, sealable snack bags or small containers) at eye level in the front of the refrigerator shelves, they’ll be the first thing you see when you go snack hunting. The colorful produce will draw your eye to them and stimulate your appetite. By preparing them in advance in single-serving sizes, the convenience is a no-brainer.
When setting your dinner plates, food blogger Alanna Kellogg suggests putting the vegetable dish in the center of your plate, making it the star of the meal, and the other parts of the meal (protein and carbohydrate dish) around the sides of the plate.
5. Change the taste
The thought of many veggies can elicit a scrunch-faced reaction of a 7 year old, but maybe that’s because mom didn’t season them back then. Try cooking them with a little sea salt or sprinkling them with parmesan cheese. A few shakes of rice vinegar and some freshly ground pepper will liven up raw veggies, while a few minutes on the grill will give squash and red peppers an interesting, earthy taste. Sprinkle them with some balsamic vinaigrette for a blast of flavor.
6. Make it easier
The USDA offers these tips for making veggie eating a breeze: Buy fresh vegetables in season, when they are at their peak flavor and cost less; choose frozen or canned (no salt added) veggies for convenience and quick cooking; pre-washed and sliced veggies cost a little more, but eliminate the work. And always wash all vegetables before preparing or eating them. Run water over them and give them a rub with your hands to remove dirt and microorganisms.
7. Switch up your salsa
Bottled salsa not only contains a minimal amount of varied veggies, it also contains a ton of sodium. To cut the sodium by more than half, try the veggie-powered salsa recipe from MayoClinic.com.
Vegetable Salsa
Ingredients
1 cup diced zucchini
1 cup chopped red onion
2 red bell peppers, seeded and diced
2 green bell peppers, seeded and diced
4 tomatoes, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 teaspoons sugar
1/4 cup lime juice
1 teaspoon salt
Directions
Wash vegetables and prepare as directed. In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients. Toss gently to mix. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes to allow the flavors to blend.
Nutritional analysis, per ½ cup serving: Calories: 20; Protein: 1 g; Carbohydrates: 5 g; Fat: 0 g; Sodium: 150 mg.
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