Upping veggie intake, please help with ideas!

mxmakm

Hey guys! I'm trying to get together meal plans and I really want to try to up my veggie intake but I was so picky growing up and never ate any (besides corn which is barely a veggie) so I would like some suggestions on ways to sneak veggies into my meals or what veggies have a mellow enough taste for picky eaters. I also hate mushy textures (like the texture of mashed potatoes) so I have a problem with some cooked veggies like carrots so I would probably prefer raw or crunchy if I had to. I do try to eat raw baby spinach, especially in smoothies, but I have tried it by itself before and it's not terrible but it's hard for me to eat a plain bowl of baby spinach by itself. Also, I'm not opposed to adding in puréed veggies into a tomato sauce or something but I don't know if that would even add a serving or two. Does anyone have any suggestions on what to eat? Thanks in advanced!

SuzySunshine99

Have you ever tried roasting vegetables? It's a great way to cook them that gives them a wonderful, crisp texture (no mush). Vegetables that I never used to like (brussels sprouts, squash), I now love when they are roasted. Pretty much any veggie works, but broccoli, carrots, squash, and asparagus work great. If you want to try, just cut up the veggie into bit-sized portions, toss them in a little olive oil, salt, and pepper, and bake at 375 degrees for 15-25 minutes (depending on the vegetable) or until they are starting to turn brown. Stir them halfway through. Give it a shot....VERY different experience than mushy boiled vegetables.

TheCupcakeCounter

I was also goin gmmf to suggest roasting veggies although I prefer a higher heat-around 425- for Brussels Sprouts and cauliflower

jgnatca

Edamame with hot sauce.
Romaine with cucumber, purple onion, cherry tomatoes and a dressing.
Get a variety of dressings. Or even better learn how to whip up a vinaigrette.
Frozen peas. Heat first. Try with a bit of butter and mint.
Pick up one vegetable every week you have never tried before and google a recipe.
Shred a whole carrot fine and add to your spaghetti sauce. I did that last night.
Rutabaga or turnip. Slice in to bite size nibbles.
Celery filled with low fat cream cheese.

jgnatca

http://damndelicious.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/IMG_7205edit.jpg

dfwesq

mxmakm wrote: »

Also, I'm not opposed to adding in puréed veggies into a tomato sauce or something but I don't know if that would even add a serving or two.

This just caught my eye, because tomato sauce is a vegetable. Or at least, it has vegetables (i.e., tomatoes) in it. Some kinds have tomatoes blended with sugars and other stuff and I could see why you might be looking for an alternative to them. There are tomato sauces that have nothing but tomatoes in them though - Pomi is one brand. Or you can make a tomato sauce by sauteing onions then adding canned crushed tomatoes and cooking it down a bit. It's very versatile and eating more of it is an easy way to add vegetables to your menu.

Since you prefer raw vegetables, you might also try sliced tomatoes with fresh basil, cucumbers with fresh dill or mint, red or yellow bell pepper slices, or fresh sugar snap pea pods.

lemurcat12

I often make a tomato-based sauce with or without meat, and always add a bunch of vegetables, depending on what I have around. A good base is chopped onion, carrot, garlic, maybe mushrooms and peppers, and then for bulk I'll add cauliflower or zucchini and maybe finish with some spinach (spinach cooks down small and is great added to lots of things).

Anyway, I like vegetables, so maybe am not a good judge, but something like that might be tasty -- you could start by adding an amount that seemed okay to you and then work up.

I sautee vegetables and add them (with lean meat or other protein) to a stir fry (with rice, of course) or pasta, as a topping that is not tomato-based.

I assume that every meal has a significant vegetable component and roast or sautee them as a side, again depending on what I have. I don't really get into plain raw spinach other then in a salad (where it's great), but sautee it with some garlic and maybe onion in a bit of oil and add a touch of lemon, and it's the most delicious thing ever.

I do a 2-egg omelet with lots of vegetables -- current favorite is broccoli and spinach.

Roasting really is a great way to start. Raw carrots are delicious, but roasted is good too and not mushy. Other root veg like parsnips and turnips. Cauliflower and broccoli. Roasted brussels sprouts are the best!

mxmakm

Thank you all for the ideas!! I'll definitely try roasting veggies and see how they are along with a few other of the suggestions.

@dfwesq, I figured tomatoes were considered fruits now but anyway I thought I could try to add even more veggie content, like @jgnatca had suggested adding a carrot and @lemurcat12 suggested spinach and cauliflower or something along those lines, but thank you all for the suggestions.

Theo166

I rely heavily on the mixed frozen veggie bags I buy at costco. I steam up a batch and combine with soup or leftovers in the fridge. You have full control on crisp vs mushy. Tonight I'll mix with a cup of lentil curry, the veggies provide the bulk that fills me up.

buffalogal42

Roasted Brussels sprouts are an epiphany (coming from someone who gagged on boiled ones!)

arya8

Yes, try roasted veggies. I like to roast bags of frozen veggies at really high heat like 425 degrees for about 25 mins and they are great. You can buy the ones that are already seasoned, or add a little bit of oil and put some of those dry salad dressing seasoning on them.

MadDogManor

I quick stir fry veggies a lot - tonight was broccoli, green beans and carrots. Bit of oil, garlic, onions, white wine maybe too. Also, shredded carrots cooked in Pomi tomatoes was always a way to hide a veggie from my kid :-)

KrisJ125

Try different types of salads like tabouleh or cucumber-tomato with tahini sauce or even veggie-fruit mixes. There are a lot of recipies on line! Also try stuffing veggies with more veggies (plus a grain of some sort). My fave is stuffed zuchini (stuff with quinoa, tomato, onion, spices), also you can stuff bell pepper halves with whatever you want and don't precook the peppers--that way they are crisp not mushy.