Easy way to get in veggies?
MeganMcK11
Posts: 117 Member
I struggle with getting enough veggies every day. I love vegetables and fruit, but I love fruit more and will tend to choose a fruit over a vegetable for a snack given the choice between the two.
What is an easy way to get in some veggies every day just so that I can get the proper nutrition? I hate celery, and get sick of carrots after eating them raw for a few days. What are some simple veggies I can munch on at work that don't involve a TON of prep work?
I like salads but don't want to eat it twice a day or even every day at that. I just need some fresh ideas besides carrots and light ranch or carrots and hummus.
What is an easy way to get in some veggies every day just so that I can get the proper nutrition? I hate celery, and get sick of carrots after eating them raw for a few days. What are some simple veggies I can munch on at work that don't involve a TON of prep work?
I like salads but don't want to eat it twice a day or even every day at that. I just need some fresh ideas besides carrots and light ranch or carrots and hummus.
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Replies
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You can have 4-5 portions of veggies in your day without having at snacking on them throughout the day.
For example, you can add veggies to your morning omelette or to your smoothie (because of the fruits, you don't even taste them).
When you're preparing a meal that is composed of some carbs (potatoes, rice, etc.), a piece of lean protein and veggies, you can replace a part of the carbs with more veggies.
You can also have a meal (side dish, main meal, snack, etc.) as a salad with different kind of veggies and a hearty portion of protein.
You can make a sandwich where veggies are the star of it (like a hummus/bell pepper wrap, a tomato-avocado salad), etc.
Hope it helps.0 -
you could just stick them in a blender and make a drink to go with your meal. make it before hand and bring an ice pack.
or peppers mushrooms, baby tomatoes...0 -
I bought a steamer and I use that once a day for lunch to steam a bunch of different veggies (today I had broccoli and cauliflower) I made enough so I could munch all day on it. I put a little spray butter and sprinkled some parmesan cheese on a portion of it and put the rest back in the fridge.
As far as salads go, I've started doing mason jar salads. They are yummy. In a jar, put your dressing on the bottom, then meat if you want it, then hard veggies (carrots etc), then soft veggies with lettuce on top. Store in the fridge for up to 4 days. Dump on a plate and add any additions you want. I've been doing this daily for a week now and I love it! You can look up mason jar salads and find more recipes.0 -
Thanks for the ideas.
Re-reading my post, I get that it seems like a super dumb question. I just am at a loss for ideas.0 -
Have at least a serving at each meal; I don't snack on veggies at all...just make sure I incorporate them into my meals. I also drink a couple servings per day.0
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I use a Glad Simply Cooking - steamer bags at work. I prep fresh green beans the night before - add a teaspoon of water and cook 4:30 Lots of veggies can be cooked quickly in these.
Green Giant has individual broccoli & cheese bowls...... I like to add cooked carrots (doubles the serving size ... still plenty of cheese sauce).
Jello "salad" - sugar free lime or lemon; add chopped celery (you could sub water chestnuts), shredded carrot, and shredded cabbage. A little vinegar can be added to lessen sweetness (if desired).
Another Jello "salad" - orange jello; add shredded carrot & crushed pineapple
A non lettuce salad that's good; sliced celery (or thawed french style green beans) shredded carrot, and 1/4 (thawed) green peas - toss with Newmans' Light Sesame Ginger dressing
Soup is good way to eat more veggies..... you can always double up here.0 -
Try to add a vegetable to your main meals (lunch/dinner)..try snacking on broccoli, cucumber,corn on the cob...make salads add veggies that you like ..bell peppers,radishes,carrots etc..0
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Have at least a serving at each meal; I don't snack on veggies at all...just make sure I incorporate them into my meals. I also drink a couple servings per day.
^This. I don't snack on them. They seem to go better with my meat (protein) for the day.0 -
check out sneakychef.com. There are recipes that include all kinds of veggies and you never know they are there.. I hate veggies! That way you could get more veggies in your meals0
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Juice them.
Stir fry.
Salad
Steam them add cheese and seasoning.
Go to a gourmet restaurant and order a veggie meal.....it's amazing what they do with veggies.
LOVE a veggie sandwich, so refreshing in the summertime.
Love veggies, the really hit the spot and satisfy.0 -
Put them in your mouth hole.0
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you could just stick them in a blender and make a drink to go with your meal. make it before hand and bring an ice pack.
or peppers mushrooms, baby tomatoes...
Cherry tomatoes....YUM!
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I puree 1/2 cup of celery, 1/2 cup of carrots, and 1/2 cup of onion to put in my meatloaf. Makes it SUPER moist and delicious. I also buy those bags of mini sweet peppers and chop them up and put them in everything (salads, stir fry, scrambled eggs and hashbrowns, mixed in with spaghetti sauce, chicken and alfredo). Just a couple ideas
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KALE CHIPS!!!0
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This is going to sound crazy but some people I know have been eating baby food. I personally don't think I could. They have some really good sounding combos. I know they are fast and easy and already prepared.
Sometimes to increase my veggies I will drink V8 juice or Vfusion diet fruit juice it also has veggies in it. I drink low sodium V8 otherwise there is a ton of salt in it.0 -
Make a breakfast casserole or omelet with some veggies
Put a handful of lettuce/greens in your wrap
Chop up veggies and mix them into your chicken or tuna salad
Eat raw veg with your sandwich
Some other options of handy veg snacks (I get tired of baby carrots quickly too) - cucumbers, zucchini, snow peas, sliced bell pepper
Put extra veg in everything. If the recipe calls for 1 bell pepper, use 2. If the recipe contains no veg, think about which ones might taste good in it or even ones that have little taste and wouldn't be noticed (zucchini, mushroom). Example: last night, I made american chop suey (aka goulash) and put in 2 bell peppers, onion, garlic, a medium zucchini and 8 oz cremini mushrooms. Carrots are also really good in tomato sauce. Which remind me of another example: I have a great mexican chicken soup recipe - it already had some veg with a can of corn and a jar of salsa but I wanted more so I added a 1.5 cups of diced carrots and it was just the ticket. Thinking about also adding a bell pepper. Example 3: Stir fry recipe only called for a bag of broccol slaw for veg but I wanted more color and texture so I added a red bell pepper and 8 oz cremini. Yes, bell pepper, onion, garlic and mushroom pretty much go in everything I make 0 -
Broccoli
Cornflour
snow peas
Edamame (soy beans)
chick peas/hummus
Cucumbers
Red/yellow/green bell peppers
Radish
green beans
Mushrooms0 -
I have a Nutribullet and make smoothies. Make a bunch in advace and store in glass mason jars to grab and go. They last that way for up to two days. I also put a hand full of spinach in all my protein shakes.0
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Tomato and cucumber salad is my go to, especially in the summer. If you can get broccoli florets and toss them in olive oil and a little truvia and grill them in tin foil it is pretty amazing. I also do "veggie kabobs" with red and yellow and orange peppers, and mushrooms (spray light olive oil cooking spray lightly and add salt and pepper and grill until soft). Baked portabella mushrooms are good, too. I scoop out the black part, sauté the caps, onions and peppers in olive oil and seasoning, and then add light bread crumbs to that filling (just enough to have it stick together, maybe a quarter cup). I then add the filling to the mushroom cap and bake it with a little mozzarella cheese for about 15 minutes (or, of course, grill it). And I, too, hate celery. hope this was helpful, and it was not a dumb question!0
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my favorite is sugar snap peas. You can buy a bag of them near the bagged lettuce in the produce dept. Ready to eat. Yummy, easy, and half a bag is only 80 calories 0
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My favorite way to eat veggies is in a sandwich or stir fry. I do like snacking on bell pepper or carrots, but i can see how that might get boring.0
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You guys are awesome. SO many great ideas, thank you!0
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I eat a lot of veggies and fruits since it's that time of the year. My diary's open if you need inspiration.
I like mixing up Ranch dip using nonfat Greek yogurt instead of sour cream, and I'll eat bell pepper strips, baby carrots, raw squash slices, cucumbers, for a snack. Veggies are also good with hummus! I throw chopped celery and shredded carrots into everything I cook, pretty much. I put spinach in my protein shakes since I never taste it. Our go-to veggie for supper is steamed broccoli/cauliflower (Broccoli Wokly bags). Tonight I'm mashing up yellow squash since I need to cook it before it spoils. Mashed cauliflower is really good, too, and I make it year-round from a bag of frozen florets. I put a handful of frozen mixed veggies into anything processed that I make (dirty rice from a box, Lipton noodle packets, etc.).0 -
I try to do my prep on the weekends and then have it all portioned and ready to go for the week. When I get sick of veggies and hummus, I'll make tabbouleh or tomatoes and basil or non-mayo coleslaw to bring. Here are a couple other favorite recipes...
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/aarti-sequeira/massaged-kale-salad-recipe/index.html - the way she makes it, it has quite a few calories, but i cut way back on the oil and it was still delicious
http://www.vegetariantimes.com/recipe/classic-israeli-salad/
Good luck! And I also agree that you can have fruit for snacks and just load up on veggies with your meals!0 -
I struggle with this too because my boyfriend HATES vegetables. So I've started making my own avocado spread for sandwiches in lieu of mustard or mayo, and it also doubles for dip with chips or other veggies. I put it on my burgers, veggie burgers (there's another idea), and well any sandwich really :-) This past batch I chopped up some bell pepper and threw that in there as well. Om nom nom nom, I am so addicted to it, I eat it by itself.
I also make stir fry that is heavily laden with peppers, asparagus, squash, green beans, pretty much any veggie I like, I will throw in there. Meat is just an added bonus :-)
Basically if I snack on something, it's going to be fruit but I try to make sure my meals have them.0 -
For snacking on veggies, I like raw veg dipped in hummous or tzaiziki. Beans, managetouts, peppers, broccoli all work well.0
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I like gazpacho in the summer--tomatoes, celery, cucumber, green onion, and a bit of jalapeno blended together with some vegetable juice and a splash of olive oil.
I munch on raw radishes with salt, but I know that's not everyone's cup of tea.0 -
I like raw sugar snap peas in addition to the usual raw veggies.
I also eat a lot of soups that have lots of veggies in them. Sometimes pureed, and sometimes not. It just depends. I haven't been able to bring myself to put them in a smoothie, but maybe someday.
Don't forget fresh herbs as well. They have quite a lot of nutrients too!0 -
I puree 1/2 cup of celery, 1/2 cup of carrots, and 1/2 cup of onion to put in my meatloaf. Makes it SUPER moist and delicious. I also buy those bags of mini sweet peppers and chop them up and put them in everything (salads, stir fry, scrambled eggs and hashbrowns, mixed in with spaghetti sauce, chicken and alfredo). Just a couple ideas
This! If I make meatballs, I add in pureed celery, carrots, onion, garlic, and ground up oatmeal (in place of crackers).0 -
There's juicing which I have a lot of fun with or I buy cucumbers and slice them in advance as a quick go to also I like edamame cold and keep that handy all the time. Raw broccoli is really popular around here dipped in ranch or balsamic dressing. Hope those help.0
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