Fitting in Fruits & Veggies

curlyclo

Ok - I am a HUGE carb monster, and really struggling with fitting in fruits & veggies into my diet. Anybody have ideas about good ways to incorporate my 5 servings of each into what I eat each day?

curlyclo

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fatty2fabby

just turn it into a habit..
have it with breakfast, as a snack
do you log your food on mfp? i'll be able to help more if you do or can give me some examples xx

rosebarnalice

Apples are handy and portable

I have at least one serving for breakfast every morning one of two ways:
Oatmeal with 100 g of either blueberries or blackberries in it; or
An omelette (more like a fritatta) made with 1 egg and 100 g of spinach, artichoke hearts, mushrooms, or eggplant

Then I buy celery and carrots and prep them on weekends so I have a sandwich baggie with 100g each (2 veggie servings!) that I snack on during the day

Then at dinner, eat salad FIRST

melsinct

It is easy to incorporate vegetables into eggs. You can scramble just about anything in or make an omelet.

Start dinner with a salad course.

If you eat sandwiches or wraps, don't eat just turkey. Load it up with tomato, greens, onion, etc. Better yet, I love vegetable wraps. I'll put hummus, sprouts, baby spinach, tomatoes, slices of grilled vegetables like eggplant, zucchini, or whatever else I may have on hand.

Bump up your dinner side dishes to include more vegetables. My husband is a big potato fan but instead of eating just potato I will make things like kale and potato hash or mashed broccoli and potato (links to recipes below). So we may have protein, a potato/vegetable side then another vegetable side.
http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/cheesy_broccoli_potato_mash.html
http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/kale_potato_hash.html

Snack on veggies: celery with peanut butter is one of my favorites; carrots and hummus; baba ganoush (roasted eggplant dip)

aiyana1228

First of all remember that a portion is not that big. A banana-2 portions. A small apple = 1 but a large apple would be 2. I think 18 grapes is a portion. I tend to not focus too much on vegie portion size but I think its like a half cup for most things. I am sitting here eating breakfast and have 3 portions of fruit. (Oatmeal with cinamon, blueberries and banana)

I try to keep cut up vegies in my fridge all the time so that if I want to munch or want something crunchy that is what I go for. Celery, baby carrots, red yellow and orange bell pepers (I don't like the green ones raw, califlower, cucumbers). I am, also very careful to have lots of fruit in the house. Bananas, blueberries, grapes, apples, strawberries, cantalope, pineapple watermellon papaya, etc. When I go out even if its just shopping and definately to work there is always some fruit and or veggies with me. I know the dangers for me if I am out and get really hungry. Carbs are the only things available when you are out. Having all of this in the house also makes it easier at dinner to get in another portion oor two of veggies. I like to take a handful of several veggies, steam it and add a little soy sauce. Lots of flavor and very filling for very few calories. If your not a veggi girl try to experiment and broaden your tastes. Veggies are wonderful that way. You can do a thousand different things to them and they will taste a little different.

With fruit there is always smoothies but I love them so much I tend to eat plenty of them in their natural form. The fact that you are thinking about it is a good first step. Try to plan ahead. If you even start out replacing one carb with one fruit you will be making a positive first step.

curlyclo

Thanks for all the great suggestions! Definitely going to try some of these things - especially vegetable omelettes, eating veggies first at dinner, stir-fry...

crissyking

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auctoritas

Try sauteing bok choy in garlic and olive oil as a side dish with dinner. Stir fries are excellent since you can put all manner of veggies in there - including leafy greens. Throw some baby kale or spinach into your next meat dish while you're cooking. Toss some broccoli or brussel sprouts in oil and garlic and roast them in the oven at 425 for 20 minutes, then toss with more olive oil and some freshly grated parmesan and lemon juice for a truly delightful veggie experience. Start having a side salad with dinner - throw in tomatoes or onions or whatever into a spring greens mix (don't just eat Romaine, it's mostly water. Go for darker green ones.) You can find awesome pre-mixed and washed salads at the store for interesting combos, just add your favorite dressing. Balsamic and vinegar is an awesome choice, but maybe splurge a few calories on a tasty asian or italian dressing.