How to up veggie and fruit intake?

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makeupfanatic
makeupfanatic Posts: 22 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I'm looking for some tasty, easy ways to increase fruits and veggies! I love kale and brussel sprouts, don't want to get stuck in a rut!

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  • Athena53
    Athena53 Posts: 717 Member
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    I enjoy baby carrots. I also sauté veggies (onions, bok choy, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, whatever I have around) and use it to "pad" a lot of my main dishes. This afternoon we had a small amount of leftover tuna casserole in the refrig- I made lunch out of it by adding sautéed cauliflower and cabbage. I also add them to canned soups (fortunately I don't need to worry about sodium content). It feels like you're eating twice as much with few additional calories.

    Blueberries are great in yogurt and oatmeal.
  • JoanaMHill
    JoanaMHill Posts: 265 Member
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    For fruit, you can always try shakes and smoothies. You can fit quite a lot into the blender! Of course it could work for vegetables, too.
  • runningcc
    runningcc Posts: 1
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    I saw a tip for getting kids to eat veggies by blending them and adding them to spaghetti
  • ButterflyAngela97
    ButterflyAngela97 Posts: 97 Member
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    I like to do stir-frys. Another good way is to either have a smoothie or juice them.
  • vyorgan
    vyorgan Posts: 9 Member
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    About getting in a rut- try fruit and veg out of your comfort zone. I grew up on a very limited subset (and I think a lot of people do) and had never tried most veggies (beets, squash, mustard greens, etc). I realized this a few years ago, so every time I went to the grocery store, I would get something that I hadn't had before or hadn't had in a long time (and thought I didn't like), especially if it was on sale. Look up a recipe online beforehand (or on your smart phone at the grocery store if you have one) to figure out what to do with it and what goes with it. By this method, I had only one total flop (and for me that was turnip greens), but found some veggies that I now adore.
  • Confuzzled4ever
    Confuzzled4ever Posts: 2,860 Member
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    make cabbage soup. it tastes like whatever spices you put in it. i make it with tofu or ground turkey and no/low sodium chicken broth.
  • beautifulwarrior18
    beautifulwarrior18 Posts: 914 Member
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    Puree veggies and sneak them into your food. For example, if you make spaghetti, puree up some squash and mix it in with your sauce.

    Eat fruits instead of sugar.
  • MelodyandBarbells
    MelodyandBarbells Posts: 7,725 Member
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    This young lady Vanessa randomly bumped a 1 year old thread, but I've been hooked on her "banana oatmeal" recipe since

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/800187-breakfast-and-dinner

    I cut it down by half to eat as (part of) a meal or snack any time of the day, and also switched the banana with half of an apple since bananas simply disappear around me.

    Baby carrots are great to snack on throughout the day, I usually just buy multiple bags and eat them straight no chaser. I blend tomatoes, red bell peppers and onions into a beans recipe, and although I don't do this much anymore, I used to chop spinach, avocados and jalopeno peppers into my morning scrambled eggs. Sliced avocados also go well with just about anything.
  • star5785
    star5785 Posts: 140
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    Juicing helps me to get extra veggies in. I have a fifteen year old Juiceman that was passed down from my parents and it still works good as new :smile:.

    My favorite recipe is simply carrots and apples, then add in whatever else looks like it's about to go bad, lol. That may be grapes, cucumbers, spinach or whatever else. If you can get enough fruit in there anything else you add will still taste good.
  • tatiianag13
    tatiianag13 Posts: 76 Member
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    Juicing (blending up whole fruits and veggies) is the easiest. But it requires some investment in a decent blender.

    But blended veggie soup is my staple. Works with a simple 19.99 immersion blender. Many vegetables can be boiled in stock (chicken or veggie, its up to you) until soft, and then blended. I've done this with zucchini, carrot, a mix of cauliflower and sweet potato, broccoli, and tomato. The basic flavor is the vegetable, but you can spice it up with your favorite flavors (onion, garlic, canned tomatoes, peppers, spices--whatever you have on hand and like).

    The nice thing is that blended in a soup, they don't taste "like vegetables." I mean they do, but in a good way rather than a bad way. For example, I actually hate cooked zucchini, cooked carrots, and cooked cauliflower (and broccoli is okay, but certainly not my favorite). But bended in a soup--they suddenly become yummy deliciousness, without adding anything bad.
  • F00LofaT00K
    F00LofaT00K Posts: 688 Member
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    Salads are a whole lot better if you mix some fruit into them. I had a salad today with raw spinach, sliced strawberries, chunks of apple and chunks of carrot. I poured 2 Tbsp of a homemade apple cider vinaigrette on it and chowed down. I like to heat up slices of apple on the stove and sprinkle cinnamon, ginger and cloves over top. If you saute them in a teensy bit of butter or oil, it gives it an apple pie taste. Mashed banana and peanut butter in oatmeal is tasty. I sometimes put bits of oranges or pineapple in my rice and serve it with fish. There's a lot you can do. I usually just eat fruits and veggies as is. I think they're quite tasty.
  • youdontknowwhatyousaw
    youdontknowwhatyousaw Posts: 221 Member
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    I put fresh salsa on a lot of things I didn't used to; meat, eggs, cottage cheese. I'll use a jarred salsa in place of salad dressing because it's a better consistency to coat the lettuce.

    Raw veggies with hummus is one of my favorite snacks.
  • keepitcroosh
    keepitcroosh Posts: 301 Member
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    Your best bet is to get a juicer!!!!!!! Mix fruits and vegetables in the juicer, I promise it will taste delicious!
  • SuperWhoLock24601
    SuperWhoLock24601 Posts: 245 Member
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    I drink infused water. I get the extra hydration and then get to eat whatever I put in it at the end. :)
  • EricMurano
    EricMurano Posts: 825 Member
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    I'm not being a smart *kitten* here, but eating more fruit and vegetables seems like the most obvious answer, no?

    Juice is fine but it's so much work to clean the machine after *every* juice!

    Plus eating is fun and being able to chew and swallow all that extra food seems like a win, right?
  • kellyskitties
    kellyskitties Posts: 475 Member
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    I add them everywhere - anything I cook I generally think, what else could I throw in - spinach, pumpkin, broccoli and more all keep sneaking into those one pot dishes. I add pumpkin or other orange squash to chili, spinach to meatloaf, spinach to pasta dishes, broccoli to pasta dishes and so on. Anything I cook I just try to add a little extra something to it. Sandwiches too - slices of tomato, pickles, avocado.

    I also went through a lentil phase - add them to everything that involves ground beef - (I don't omit the beef just add lentils). Also liked them in salads.

    Add banana to sweet things in place of some sugar/sweeteners - think pancakes, muffins, smoothies, freezer pops.

    I keep a big tub of cut up veg in the fridge for convenience - that helps too. Grab it and munch is always more likely to happen.

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