How can I get more fruit and veg in my diet?

hbm616

I try to add vegetables to (almost) everything that I eat.

Stir-fry, curries, stews, chili, and a tomato based pasta sauce are all easy ways to get in some extra veggies. I always try and have carrots, baby spinach, red and green bell peppers, onions, broccoli and mushrooms on hand because I've found that they are easy to add in to almost anything

On the most recent episode of the biggest loser they suggested pureeing vegetables to conceal them if you don't like them. They made a meat loaf with a whole bunch of different veggies mixed in with the meat and seasoning.

For snacks I truly enjoy raw veggies with hummus but I know that may be a big step for some people.

Once I started focusing on my vegetables I found that I enjoy so many of them raw or just steamed. Good luck!

SoDamnHungry

I eat a piece of fruit and a serving of veggies with lunch, and I have vegetables with dinner.

MightyDomo

If you like veggies and fruits then use them as snacks and additions to your current meals, pretty simple.

But if you are not the biggest fan of one, the other or both then it might be better to find ways to sneak it in without changing up too much what you like to eat. I notice with my daughter if I cook her veggies with her meat then she scarfs them down and that might be a good option, adding the flavor of food that you like to the ones your not as fond of. Another way is smoothies, works since you don't really taste each fruit individually and you can probably find a way to make your smoothies taste like treats that you enjoy eating (ie. pumpkin pie protein shakes, black forest protein shakes, green monster smoothies). Another useful way to put veggies in your meals is to make your own breads and use vegetable puree's in it, adds your veggie content and there are recipes out that they you can tweak to add whatever veggies you'd rather incorporate. Also making sweets with veggies is another alternative. Like brownies? You can replace certain ingredients with fruits or add shredded or puree'd veggies and never notice the difference, well except it could be more moist

Being creative is the fun part! Get those creative juices going and see what you can come up with to help you get those extra's in.

K_Serz

You ask a question like this and expect people not to be a smart *kitten* about it? Most of the replies I have seen that are helpful are suggestions that are used on 3 year olds when they wont eat their carrots.

If we could all be buff by eating Pillsbury cookie dough and vanilla frosting all day that would be great, but being healthy/fit/thin (whatever your goal is) is going to require lifestyle changes.

1) I suggest you research every fruit and vegetable there is while noting the macro breakdown of each. (some fruits for example might contain too many sugars for your particular plan)
2) Eat them all
3) Take notes about which ones you like, dont like, and might be suitable to each with each other as well as other foods to incorporate them into your meals.

Sounds like a lot of work and a pain in the *kitten*? Well it should be. If achieving the body you wanted was as easy as throwing veggies in a blender and calling it a day then there would be a lot less people on this board.

plynn54

Ive never been much of a fruit/veggie eater, its a texture thing. So I blend them up and have a smoothie. If you blend them frozen, ad a yogurt its pretty thick almost like a milkshake. I add a few broccolli, cauliflower, and carrots, you cant even taste the veggies :P

fabulara

Google "Mark Bittman Vegan Till Six." The New York Times writer lost weight and gained health by eating this way.

Dezmodus

You can also sneak veggies into stuff. I like putting spinach in pasta sauce (if pasta fits in your macros, that is)

cgarand

I think of veggies as fast food. What is faster than just washing and eating delicious, crunchy raw veggies? I just finally organized my fridge (picture is my profile picture). I found too often I was buying the fresh veggies but getting lazy when it came time to make them. Or forgetting about the yummy sugar snap peas because they were buried in a mountain of veggies in bags.

I went to Walmart and bought a bunch of containers with lids. I think they were like $1.33 for the smaller ones and a little more for the larger containers. I have some even bigger containers not pictured on the bottom shelf with washed and prepared lettuce and bigger things. Then I bought the usual veggies and took the time when I got home to prep them. It wasn't bad, I just put the big strainer in the sink. Big cutting board out, containers all lined up and was a washing and prepping machine for a little while. While I did that I grilled up a family pack of chicken to use for lunches and dinners for a few days. Last night I made a grilled chicken salad in just a few minutes. And, super simple clean up because I didn't have to chop up all the veggies. It was already done.

The key to success is planning and preparation. Add veggies to your day with snacks. Raw sugar snap peas, celery sticks and carrot sticks with or without hummus and a few calamata olives are one of my favorites. And, add veggies to your usual recipes. You can do spinach meatloaf or fish florentine.

(sorry for the long post, but I love veggies! )

jennifer_417

Plan your food ahead of time. Pack fruits and veggies to take to work with you. Plan on adding a frozen veggie or salad as a side with dinner. Snack on raw fruits and veggies.

Zuragh

Make vegetables the main course in all your meals. Base them around the vegetable. That really seems to help me. And like a previous poster stated, put them with/on everything. Mix them into eggs or your pasta etc. Have a salad every day. And use fruit for your sweet tooth. If all else fails, start juicing (or juice anyway from the start because juicing is awesome and so beneficial to your health)!