Sneaking in Vegetables

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kerrilucko
kerrilucko Posts: 3,852 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I'm not a big vegetable eater so I'm always looking for ways to sneak more of them into my diet. I HATE raw veggies, so having a big ole salad is no use to me.

I thought we could share ways of sneaking in more veggies for all of us that aren't big fans. These ideas are good for the kiddos too!

1. I like to add about a cup of raw baby spinach to my smoothies. It adds almost no calories and you can't taste it at all but wow, major nutritional benefits!
2. I like to add chopped veggies to canned soups. Cook the veggies first either in the mircowave or by steaming them or you'll be waiting a long time for you soup to cook.
3. I add slices of fresh tomato, chopped peppers and onions to frozen pizzas.
4. Grate carrots, chop peppers and onions and stir mushrooms into your canned/jarred spaghetti sauce.
5. Instead of bacon bits, sprinkle finely chopped broccoli over your baked potato with cheese.
6. Stir frozen mixed veggies or raw chopped bell pepper into your rice as it cooks, it makes for a colourful rice dish whose veggies you can barely taste!
7. When making homemade soups, opt for a vegetable base- like tomato or carrot- instead of a cream one.
8. Add just 1 vegetable to your sandwiches- and remember- iceberg lettuce has nothing good in it so opt for romaine. Or use spinach as a substitute! Or go with tomatoes, avacado, cucumbers or sliced peppers.
9. Try a vagetarian alternative such as veggie chili or lasagna. If you're really daring give veggie burgers a try!
10. Spruce up a cheese omelette by mixing in green onion, mushroom and bell peppers, finely chopped.

I hope you all can add a few to my list! Lets get our veggie servings up to where they should be :)
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Replies

  • cherylcole15
    cherylcole15 Posts: 10
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    really good tips! thanks!
  • SquidInTraining
    SquidInTraining Posts: 196
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    Great idea -- I don't like raw cauliflower, but cauliflower mash is delicious and lots healthier than its spud counterpart.

    I steam an entire head of cauliflower, mash it as fine as I can and while it's still hot, I add a tiny bit of milk, about 4 oz of (American) Neufchatel, and salt/pepper to taste. The cheese makes it rich and creamy without adding a lot of calories. I actually prefer it to potatoes.
  • kerrilucko
    kerrilucko Posts: 3,852 Member
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    Great idea -- I don't like raw cauliflower, but cauliflower mash is delicious and lots healthier than its spud counterpart.

    I steam an entire head of cauliflower, mash it as fine as I can and while it's still hot, I add a tiny bit of milk, about 4 oz of (American) Neufchatel, and salt/pepper to taste. The cheese makes it rich and creamy without adding a lot of calories. I actually prefer it to potatoes.

    I have heard about this! I may have to try it because I HATE cauliflower raw. I don't like it much cooked either but I have indeed heard it is good mashed! Maybe with some galric mixed in or something
  • metalpalace
    metalpalace Posts: 576
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    I drink a shakeology every day. It' gives me a surplus of nutrients including my daily vegetables. But I must confess, I LOVE eating vegetables sooooo I eat fresh produce as well :-) I know a lot of people who HATE eating vegetables but they love shakeology so they are covered anyway
  • kerrilucko
    kerrilucko Posts: 3,852 Member
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    I drink a shakeology every day. It' gives me a surplus of nutrients including my daily vegetables. But I must confess, I LOVE eating vegetables sooooo I eat fresh produce as well :-) I know a lot of people who HATE eating vegetables but they love shakeology so they are covered anyway

    Sorry to sound ignorant, but what the heck is a shakeology? :huh:
  • SquidInTraining
    SquidInTraining Posts: 196
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    I drink a shakeology every day. It' gives me a surplus of nutrients including my daily vegetables. But I must confess, I LOVE eating vegetables sooooo I eat fresh produce as well :-) I know a lot of people who HATE eating vegetables but they love shakeology so they are covered anyway

    Sorry to sound ignorant, but what the heck is a shakeology? :huh:

    I was wondering the same thing :tongue:
  • HealthyKt78
    HealthyKt78 Posts: 439
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    bump. =]
  • courtney_love2001
    courtney_love2001 Posts: 1,468 Member
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    Speaking of this, I saw a Manwich commercial the other day that said "with a whole serving of vegetables!" I laughed...yeah some tomatoes covered with sugar and other crazy chemicals. I would rather make my own sauce and put veggies in it like you have indicated :bigsmile:
  • jennylynn84
    jennylynn84 Posts: 659
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    I eat soy-based veggie chicken. Morningstar farms makes chik patties, but my newest love is their grilled chik'n starters and their chicken tenders. I've been making some yummy sandwiches/wraps with these. They also have buffalo chicken tenders that my husband likes. So, not like veggies at all, but drastically increasing my servings per day.
  • Yurippe
    Yurippe Posts: 850 Member
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    I drink a shakeology every day. It' gives me a surplus of nutrients including my daily vegetables. But I must confess, I LOVE eating vegetables sooooo I eat fresh produce as well :-) I know a lot of people who HATE eating vegetables but they love shakeology so they are covered anyway

    Sorry to sound ignorant, but what the heck is a shakeology? :huh:

    I was wondering the same thing :tongue:

    The answer was in his signature. http://HeavenInAGlass.info Looks like a meal replacement shake.
  • metalpalace
    metalpalace Posts: 576
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    I drink a shakeology every day. It' gives me a surplus of nutrients including my daily vegetables. But I must confess, I LOVE eating vegetables sooooo I eat fresh produce as well :-) I know a lot of people who HATE eating vegetables but they love shakeology so they are covered anyway

    Sorry to sound ignorant, but what the heck is a shakeology? :huh:

    I was wondering the same thing :tongue:

    The answer was in his signature. http://HeavenInAGlass.info Looks like a meal replacement shake.

    I suck for leaving for a while :-) Thank you for answering svey. Like she said it's a meal replacement shake / health shake / weight loss shake. I replace one meal a day, or two at the most and eat a well balanced diet the rest of the day
  • PureAndHealthy
    PureAndHealthy Posts: 539
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    I drink a shakeology every day. It' gives me a surplus of nutrients including my daily vegetables. But I must confess, I LOVE eating vegetables sooooo I eat fresh produce as well :-) I know a lot of people who HATE eating vegetables but they love shakeology so they are covered anyway

    Sorry to sound ignorant, but what the heck is a shakeology? :huh:

    I was wondering the same thing :tongue:

    The answer was in his signature. http://HeavenInAGlass.info Looks like a meal replacement shake.

    I suck for leaving for a while :-) Thank you for answering svey. Like she said it's a meal replacement shake / health shake / weight loss shake. I replace one meal a day, or two at the most and eat a well balanced diet the rest of the day

    This is the 2nd person I've seen mention Shakeology in the past half hour.... and their MFP userID is always in the url... did they just release a bunch of salesman onto MFP...?
  • lvfunandfit
    lvfunandfit Posts: 654 Member
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    I love Veggies! So, I don't have to sneak them in... you can puree them and add them to soups, spaghetti or pizza sauce (squash and spinach work great for that). I do that for my daughter.

    Side note: The shakeology drinkers that promote it are usually beach body coaches. Beach Body is the company that sells P90X. The Shakeology is one of the supplemental shakes they sell. I'm thinking of becoming a coach. =) haven't yet.

    anyhow, it is a good product.
  • kdiamond
    kdiamond Posts: 3,329 Member
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    Some good ideas.

    The way I sneak a few in...

    I hate broccolli but broccolli slaw is good, as are broccolli sprouts which just add crunch to a salad.

    I saute almost all veggies in a little bit of olive oil and TONS of garlic. Basically it tastes like garlic. Yum!

    I add raw spinach to my regular salads. An all-spinach salad is too much but a cup of leaves in there doesn't make that much difference in taste.
  • metalpalace
    metalpalace Posts: 576
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    I love Veggies! So, I don't have to sneak them in... you can puree them and add them to soups, spaghetti or pizza sauce (squash and spinach work great for that). I do that for my daughter.

    Side note: The shakeology drinkers that promote it are usually beach body coaches. Beach Body is the company that sells P90X. The Shakeology is one of the supplemental shakes they sell. I'm thinking of becoming a coach. =) haven't yet.

    anyhow, it is a good product.

    Thank you for that. I hope you become one it's the coolest thing I've ever done. My mom is a severe type 2 diabetic. Her blood sugars are more stable now than in the past 20 years of her life. My dad has only 30 percent of his lungs left after smoking for 50 years. This is the first year he didnt get sick in over ten years. One bad cold could literally kill the guy. Shakeology is a god send
  • metalpalace
    metalpalace Posts: 576
    Options
    Some good ideas.

    The way I sneak a few in...

    I hate broccolli but broccolli slaw is good, as are broccolli sprouts which just add crunch to a salad.

    I saute almost all veggies in a little bit of olive oil and TONS of garlic. Basically it tastes like garlic. Yum!

    I add raw spinach to my regular salads. An all-spinach salad is too much but a cup of leaves in there doesn't make that much difference in taste.

    I love love love all my dark green veggies. I'm glad that I do because of how densely packed with vitamins they are. Funny, just a few years ago I hated almost all vegetables. It's amazing how someones taste buds can radically change over time
  • PureAndHealthy
    PureAndHealthy Posts: 539
    Options
    I love Veggies! So, I don't have to sneak them in... you can puree them and add them to soups, spaghetti or pizza sauce (squash and spinach work great for that). I do that for my daughter.

    Side note: The shakeology drinkers that promote it are usually beach body coaches. Beach Body is the company that sells P90X. The Shakeology is one of the supplemental shakes they sell. I'm thinking of becoming a coach. =) haven't yet.

    anyhow, it is a good product.

    Thank you for that. I hope you become one it's the coolest thing I've ever done. My mom is a severe type 2 diabetic. Her blood sugars are more stable now than in the past 20 years of her life. My dad has only 30 percent of his lungs left after smoking for 50 years. This is the first year he didnt get sick in over ten years. One bad cold could literally kill the guy. Shakeology is a god send

    Got ya. Not trying to be a jerk or anything... just skeptical with internet stuff. :)
  • metalpalace
    metalpalace Posts: 576
    Options
    I love Veggies! So, I don't have to sneak them in... you can puree them and add them to soups, spaghetti or pizza sauce (squash and spinach work great for that). I do that for my daughter.

    Side note: The shakeology drinkers that promote it are usually beach body coaches. Beach Body is the company that sells P90X. The Shakeology is one of the supplemental shakes they sell. I'm thinking of becoming a coach. =) haven't yet.

    anyhow, it is a good product.

    Thank you for that. I hope you become one it's the coolest thing I've ever done. My mom is a severe type 2 diabetic. Her blood sugars are more stable now than in the past 20 years of her life. My dad has only 30 percent of his lungs left after smoking for 50 years. This is the first year he didnt get sick in over ten years. One bad cold could literally kill the guy. Shakeology is a god send

    Got ya. Not trying to be a jerk or anything... just skeptical with internet stuff. :)

    It's cool :-) A lot to be skeptical about with all the crap floating around on the internet and other media sources
  • click
    click Posts: 36 Member
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    awesome ideas

    esp love the one about putting more veggies in canned soup

    i really like kale chips too, and if you don't overcook them they are tasty and just provide the crispy texture of a potato chip and the saltiness you'er looking for.

    You can also start cooking stir fry, which gives you a huge variety of vegetables all at once, and in tasty, tasty sauce.
  • click
    click Posts: 36 Member
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    one more thing

    for those of you who like to cook and are lucky enough to live somewhere with a CSA / community supported agriculture / farm delivery, GET ONE.

    I hardly ever have to buy vegetables at the grocery, I have htem in my fridge all the time and feel compelled to find a way to use them up. I attribute at least 50% of the fruits & vegetables I eat to the fact taht I have this shipment. I would never go to the grocerya nd independently buy this many vegetables.

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