Eating vegetables... eh.. encouragement needed

Gallen88

How do you guys get your servings of veggies in? I will be the first to admit that i am not a big vegetable fan and i have been having a really hard time adding them to my diet. Idk if i want to add them as a snack or with every dinner.

I have alot of corn in my cabinets, i eat soup, i have string beans and peas but i also feel like im not doing enought

namrettik

Stir-fry! A lot of Asian meals (minus a lot of the meat (which tends to be of American influence)) are fantastic. The great thing about stir-fry is you can use any veggies you like (maybe add one you are okay with or haven't tried) and add a little bit of sauce. You can serve it with rice, noodles, by itself, or even wrapped in a tortilla.

For a sauce, I highly recommend garlic hoisin. Use the recommended serving size per person, and add some water to thin it out a bit while you're cooking it with the veggies to help them absorb the flavors.

AnnaPixie

I always have half my plate full of veggies with my dinner. I dont eat carbs. Just meat/fish/chicken with veg. I either steam broccoli, carrots, beans, baby corn, cabbage, peas. Or I mash butternut squash. Or I roast peppers, courgettes (zuchini), onion, squash, tomatoes........

I also have a veg omelette for lunch some days - onion, tomatoes, spinach.

I dont have any with breakfast :laugh:

Gallen88

Stir-fry! A lot of Asian meals (minus a lot of the meat (which tends to be of American influence)) are fantastic. The great thing about stir-fry is you can use any veggies you like (maybe add one you are okay with or haven't tried) and add a little bit of sauce. You can serve it with rice, noodles, by itself, or even wrapped in a tortilla.

For a sauce, I highly recommend garlic hoisin. Use the recommended serving size per person, and add some water to thin it out a bit while you're cooking it with the veggies to help them absorb the flavors.

I have no idea why i am thinking stir fry is high in cals.. maybe im think about the white rice

Gallen88

I always have half my plate full of veggies with my dinner. I dont eat carbs. Just meat/fish/chicken with veg. I either steam broccoli, carrots, beans, baby corn, cabbage, peas. Or I mash butternut squash. Or I roast peppers, courgettes (zuchini), onion, squash, tomatoes........

I also have a veg omelette for lunch some days - onion, tomatoes, spinach.

I dont have any with breakfast :laugh:

That all sounds wonderful! i may have to save this thread

RachM

My favourite thing to do is to get a big oven safe pan and add onion, brusselsprouts, zucchini, potatos, carrots, asperagus,and any other veggie you can think of and toss them with some olive oil, and seasonings; I like Mrs. Dash and bake at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes. Then I have yummy roasted veggies on hand at a whim to heat up. I also like to snack of raw carrots throughout the day.

namrettik

Stir-fry! A lot of Asian meals (minus a lot of the meat (which tends to be of American influence)) are fantastic. The great thing about stir-fry is you can use any veggies you like (maybe add one you are okay with or haven't tried) and add a little bit of sauce. You can serve it with rice, noodles, by itself, or even wrapped in a tortilla.

For a sauce, I highly recommend garlic hoisin. Use the recommended serving size per person, and add some water to thin it out a bit while you're cooking it with the veggies to help them absorb the flavors.

I have no idea why i am thinking stir fry is high in cals.. maybe im think about the white rice

Rice does pack a lot of calories. Also, making it yourself puts you in control of how many calories you're going to eat. Vegetables by themselves have close to no calories. It's all in the preparation.

cgsamp

My wife and I have been "hiding" vegetables in everything we can think of. Particularily carrots, spinach and broccoli.

Chop and steam them first (in a microwaveable bowl and loose lid, with splash of water, 2-3 minutes).

Put them in the food processor or blender and puree them. Add them to any sauces, like spagetti sauce or in casseroles or anything else.

I put a ton of finely chopped steamed broccoli in soup. It adds few calories, gives me a lot of volume, adds veggies and tastes like ... soup.

We got the idea from mommy blogs where kids don't like vegetables. Do some googling and you can find a ton of ways to 'hide' veggies.

Proudmumofboys

I LOVE VEGGIES!!!! Mix it up everyday, don't eat the same veggies everyday the same way.. Do something different w/ them, or find a way that you do like them and eat them like that.

servilia

A lot of the suggestions involve cooked veggies.. which is fine, but try to get some fresh uncooked veggies into your diet too. Cooking takes a lot of the nutrition out of most (not all) veggies. One of my fave salads is some torn romaine leaves with tomatoes and red bell peppers, topped with a bit of olive oil and balsamic vinegar - YUM!
I also love brocolli, bell peppers, cauliflower, spinach, there is so much variety, you're bound to like something!!

EpiGaiaRepens

I'm a vegetarian so I love me my veggies. One of my favorite low calorie meals is broccoli lightly sauteed in water (so it's bright green but still crisp), add in a chopped roma tomato and mushrooms and let it simmer...add some soy sauce for flavor. Then I usually add in marinated tofu, but you could add meat or whatever or nothing.... at the end I add garlic powder, salt, and turmeric to taste.... It's delicious! Super low calorie, too!

I also really love grande parisian salads. Basically, I get mixed baby greens, put some raisings and feta cheese on it (you could add tomatoes and stuff like that but I keep it simple) with an italian dressing....also very yummy.

For other good veggie ideas, I would hit up this website...check out the african peanut yam stew- TO DIE FOR!!!
http://www.fatfreevegan.com/gluten-free/index.shtml

sweetsarahj

I eat a ton of veggies- easily getting up to 7 servings a day. Once a week, usually Sunday or Monday, I prep my fridge for the week. I use my mandoline to slice up a ton of carrot, celery, zucchini (enough to fill a large ziploc bag. I also mix it up by adding different stuff each week, This week its julienned snowpeas, other times I use asian pear or apple, you can also use broccoli stems or sliced bell peppers. If I prepare fruit (apple or bell pepper-yes its a fruit) I have to keep it in a seperate bag to avoid spoilage.

Then i use the matchstick-sized veggies for salads, in sandwiches, stirfrys or just steamed. It takes me about an hour or so to prepare all the veggies I will use for the week. I might also chop up broccoli, carrot sticks, or roast red peppers. Last night I also roasted 2 chickens to have have them ready for easy meals throughout the week.