Not Eating Enough Vegetables

Making soup or stews in the crock pot with veggies. I make bean and barley soup with carrots and onions, or bean soups with spinach or kale, crock pot ratatouille with eggplant, zucchini, onions and red pepper (eat with whole grain pastas). I also add more veggies to soups/stews that don't ask for them. Like, when I made southwestern bean and chicken stew, I add frozen corn and carrots for more veggies.

I know that these may not seem like good options for you. I happen to like veggies, so wish I could come up with some better ideas.

Maybe try a different cooking technique like roasting your veggies. If I cook something like broccoli, sometimes instead of using water, I'll cook them in some chicken broth. Add a little Mrs. Dash and some lemon juice when you get ready to eat. I also eat a lot of mini sweet peppers.

Only problem with V8 Fusion is the high sugar amount.

Try juicing or smoothies. For smoothies only a really good blender like a Ninja is needed. My mom does the smoothies. Non-fat yogurt, spinach, cucumber, strawberry, banana, splash of juice and some ice.

Juicing is even better. I can drink a lot of my veggie nutrition in an 8 ounce glass without weighing me down on calories or over-filling my stomach. Plus, once you get used to juicing, you actually will want to eat more veggies. I didn't believe it, but I'm a confirmed believer now.

You can also mix vegetables into a lot of daily foods. I diced up a ton of vegetables and added them to my turkey meatloaf. Yellow squash, zucchini, mushroom, onion, green and red pepper. It was soo good. I've also started adding them into my spaghetti. Next time you're making something, just toss a few vegetables in and see what happens.

Good Luck!

I've just recently started to significantly increase my vegetable intake as well. I used to barely every have any, but decided with my first half marathon coming up, that I wanted to start eating healthier... These are some of the things I do:

1. V8 Fusion or V8 Fusion Light - it's relatively the same thing, but the light version is half the calories AND half the serving of veggies -- I like the light just because I'd rather drink 16oz than 8oz, for the same thing.

2. As much as it was a bit difficult, I've replaced most side dishes with veggies - so for lunch instead of chips with my sandwich, I have either celery with PB, or carrots with dressing, or a side salad

3. Same as above but with dinner, instead of bread or pasta, I cook veggies in the oven with olive oil. I know the oilve oil isn't great for you, but I use it in moderation, and since I'm just replacing something I already would've eaten it doesn't add any calories. I typically do roasted broccoli, zucchini, carrots, or cauliflower.

One other suggestion I have, is if you like Ranch, buy non-fat plain regular or greek yogurt, and then mix ranch dip seasoning in it, and it's very similar to ranch for WAY fewer calories!

I've also heard dipping in the "laughing cow" cheese wedges (only 35 calories), is good too, although I haven't tried that yet.

EDIT - As someone mentioned above, the V8 is very high in sugar, which is why I typically just have 1 glass with dinner, just to add 1 serving. I've been trying for a minimum of 3 servings/day and have been pretty good about it.

If you like smoothies, you can always add spinach or kale into them. Also, adding spinach/kale and tomato into scrambled eggs is amazing. I put onions and peppers into meatloaf or meatballs. I usually snack on carrots too. Get creative and fun!!

I cut up cucumber and have baby carrots as my mid morning snack, with Hidden Valley Fat Free ranch to dip (only 10 cals per TBSP). Also, my husband makes really good veggie soup (1tbsp of olive oil, cook onion, celery and carrots until soft, add sugar snap peas, green beans (whatever veg you like) add 1 can of crushed tomatos, 2 cartons of veggie stock and simmer for about an hour. He adds a whole bunch of spinach just before it is done, and cilantro (we like it, but you could leave it out). It is a good way to get veggies in, and that batch lasts us all week, and it is 210 cals for 1 & 3/4 cup. I also try to add peppers/spinach to my omelets/scrambled eggs.

Set a goal with yourself to eat a rainbow everyday! It sounds silly, but it means that you'll start to incorporate more vegetables into your diet - and it'll encourage you to try things that you hadn't previously.

A typical meal could be like this:

Grated carrot and beetroot salad, steamed broccoli, tomato and red onion salsa and a protein like grilled fish, chicken or marinated tofu.
Served with a glass of juice, you've already eaten your 5 a day in just one meal!

I lost a ton when I did this a year ago - and have just started up again this week. Already feeling healthier and more energised!
Bring on the colourful plates!

I'll preface this with saying that I really dislike veggies, especially raw, so all of my suggestions involve cooking them. I eat a lot of stir fry, and then mask the icky veggie taste with lots of low-sodium soy sauce. Cooked zucchini picks up the flavor of whatever you're cooking with it...season it and saute it with garlic and onions in a small amount of olive oil. Use spaghetti squash in place of pasta. I like brown sugar glazed carrots. Just a small amount of butter and brown sugar (don't forget to salt) makes it just sweet enough to be enjoyable. Otherwise my go-to is to puree it. I mix pureed carrots and cauliflower into spaghetti sauce. Pureed cauliflower also tastes good in mashed potatoes if you're okay with the carbs. I spread pureed sweet potatoes on sandwiches (delicious on grilled cheese or paninis). You can hide pureed veggies in almost anything...

There are lots of low calorie desserts that have hidden veggies in them. For example: carrot muffins, zucchini brownies, spinach muffins, my friend is the same way. lol

The yummiest sandwich ever is to take equal amounts of shredded carrots and cheddar cheese. Combine with a bit of chopped scallions (and chopped green or red pepper if you like it) and then moisten the mixture with just a little REAL mayonaise (the recipe won't work with fat-free or reduced fat mayo). Spread the mixture on your favorite flatbread and pop it under the broiler until the edges of the flatbread get brown and crispy and the cheese is melted and sizzling. It is an old Weight Watchers recipe.