Sick of salad

Riskay123
Riskay123 Posts: 159 Member
in Food and Nutrition
What do you eat to increase the number of veggies you eat in a day? I am sick of salad and looking for inspiration. I do have a high-speed blender and do like a green smoothie but I am looking for food I eat rather than drink that I can take to work. I do have access to a fridge and a microwave and a sandwich toaster at work. Trying to eat whole foods when possible and stay away from pre-packaged foods. I would love to know how you pack extra veggies into your day.

Thanks

Replies

  • feisty_bucket
    feisty_bucket Posts: 1,047 Member
    I, too, hate regular salad and think lettuce sucks. My standard veggies wouldn't work as an office thing, but it's like five minutes start-to-finish at home.
    Here:
    * .5 cup each of frozen broccoli, spinach, and "mixed veggies" in a bowl. Plus frozen kale, if you can get it.
    * add random meat on top (sausage, chicken, meatballs, whatever)
    * seasoning, whatever you like (Lite Salt + Nu Salt is aces and potassiumrific)
    * over the top of all that, add olive oil, brown sauce (BBQ or HP sauce) and some sriracha sauce for a lil' heat

    Microwave for about 3 minutes. When done, cut up the big chunks and toss it all so the sauces are spread around, and eat. It's delicious.
  • pitegny
    pitegny Posts: 1,006 Member
    Soup is a great way to go. Fresh vegetables with yummy dips like avocado hummus is another.

    I know you said you are tired of salads, but what I do that makes a change from regular salad is to combine warm and cold ingredients. If you put warm tender green beans or asparagus (not canned!) with regular salad ingredients it is a whole new ballgame. Also, I loved to add warmed goat cheese and beets - even warm broccoli. Other days I add in some tuna, smoked salmon, boiled shrimp or sliced chicken. The salads are never the same, so I never get tired of them.
  • cnbbnc
    cnbbnc Posts: 1,267 Member
    I'll make sandwiches with a few veggies thrown in. Eggs in the morning with diced peppers. For dinner I'll just sauté 200-300g of whatever veggies I'm in the mood for in a little butter or olive oil. Sometimes I'll just spritz them with cooking spray/salt/pepper and put them under the broiler.

    Salads can get boring but I've found that if I switch up whatever protein is going in, and add a little diced fruit it keeps them more interesting.
  • JeromeBarry1
    JeromeBarry1 Posts: 10,179 Member
    I increase veggies in a day:

    With my breakfast burrito, I've added 30 grams of kale leaf. It fits and works with the other stuff.
    With my breakfast smoothie, I've added 60 grams of kale leaf and stems. It works well.
    With my breakfast sandwich, I add a layer of kale leaf along with the layer of bacon and egg.

    With my dinner pizza, I have 100 grams of various vegetables and fungi along with meat and cheese on it.
    With my dinner that isn't pizza, I have 350 grams of various vegetables. Some I stir-fry. Some I steam. The steamed ones get garnished with some kimchi I made. It works well.
  • Jthanmyfitnesspal
    Jthanmyfitnesspal Posts: 3,522 Member
    We've gone back to the old bamboo steamer. You can cook any vegetable in that thing.
  • pomegranatecloud
    pomegranatecloud Posts: 812 Member
    Hummus and vegetables (usually celery, carrots, or bell peppers)
    Vegetable based soup
    Stir fry
    Roasted vegetables
    Vegetable ratatouille
    Szechuan string beans (or broccoli) with rice: allrecipes.com/recipe/247349/spicy-szechuan-green-beans/
    Roasted beets with oranges and grapefruit with goat cheese
    Vegetable burritos


    What kinds of salads are you eating that you grew tired of? For me, I quickly get bored of salads that are just lettuce and the usual vegetables, but usually trying some "usual" combinations that are beyond lettuce get me back into salads again or new dressings. Here are a few I like:
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
    Carrot, bell pepper, and cucumber wedges. Make a savoury dip with Greek Yogurt.

    Edamame pods with hot sauce.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    Eat veg or fruit with every meal...eat a wide variety of vegetables cooked in a variety of ways, including raw if desired. I eat about 1 salad per week and get plenty of veg.
  • kavahni
    kavahni Posts: 313 Member
    OMG! I know exactly what you mean. One thing that I find helps me a lot, is to chop the vegetables in a salad really small and fine instead of leaving them all big and blousy. When they're chopped fine you get more in a serving so you have to eat what seems like less. Psychologically that helps a lot! Other than that…

    I get an industrial-sized bag of chopped, washed kale at the restaurant supply store, and steam it up. Usually fills two giant soup pots. I freeze half of it for later on, and keep the other half in the fridge. I throw it in whatever it might go into: my one egg omelette in the morning, or chopped up even finer on anything like a baked potato, or even over other salad stuff.

    If you lightly steamed broccoli that you've chopped up really fine, cool it, then throw a few Craisins and chopped pecans in it, toss with a little balsamic and olive oil, you've got a pretty easy salad to eat.

    If you are fond of Indian food, you can always make saag.

    Mediterranean style salad: cubed up cucumber red pepper tomato sweet onion and a little O and V.

    I think it also helps a lot if you go to the USDA Choose My Plate site. They have breakdowns for what you need to eat weekly. I find that much more manageable than trying to eat something every day. As long as you meet the weekly goals, it all works out. LOL! Anybody who's ever had a kid knows about that! So for me, at 57, I need 14 cups of vegetables per week. That's only 2 cups a day. Not quite so daunting when you look at it that way. There are days when I feel like eating the salad, and I could eat four cups. That knocks out two days worth in one meal. And the vast majority is supposed to be in the red and yellow category, and the starchy category--two of my favorites!

    Think outside of the salad box: steam up a bunch of green beans and put them in the fridge. Set some of them in a bowl right next to you while you're cooking dinner and just snack on them. By the time you get to dinner you don't even need to eat a vegetable.I find that steamed up or roasted vegetables eaten cold are really satisfying. They just plain make great snacks.
  • Lyrica7
    Lyrica7 Posts: 88 Member
    http://www.spendwithpennies.com/weight-loss-vegetable-soup-recipe/
  • Athijade
    Athijade Posts: 3,300 Member
    Buy veggies.

    Roast veggies.

    Eat veggies.
  • AnvilHead
    AnvilHead Posts: 18,343 Member
    edited May 2017
    You said you have access to a microwave at work. Buy some packages of frozen vegetables that can be steamed in the bag and throw them in the microwave. Voila, in 5-6 minutes, you have 3 1/2 servings of vegetables ready to be eaten.

    I can't see a problem with packaged food in that example. When I read the ingredients on a steam-in bag of broccoli, it says "Ingredients: Broccoli".
  • DamieBird
    DamieBird Posts: 651 Member
    edited May 2017
    I hate traditional salads, too!!! I find they're MUCH tastier with roasted veggies instead of raw veggies on a bed of chosen leafy greens. Nearly any veggie is better roasted, IMO. Red cabbage is a favorite (the edges get a little crispy- yum!) as well as carrots and all manner of squash and beets. I love kabocha squash with fried eggs in the morning, or a quick broccoli/ cheddar/ egg frittata. I add carrots to just about everything as a filler. Julienned sweet potatoes are a great addition to steak fajitas and tacos.
    I've also been known to just eat an entire giant roasted beet on occasion, lol.
    If you want to add in more veggies to your diet and don't want to go the salad route, just start adding ones that you already like into dishes that you make that normally don't have any. Go with ones that have a milder flavor, if you're not sure if they would go well together, and just start experimenting. Some of my go-to combos are: beef/most root vegetables, poultry/carrots and summer squashes, seafood/peas.
  • GottaluvFood
    GottaluvFood Posts: 65 Member
    1) What kind of lettuce do you use? My mom will only use Ice Berg & doesn't know why she finds her salads so boring. Romaine is a great deal more interesting, since it offers two textures per leaf--crunchy & leafy.
    2) Put anything you'd put on a sandwich on the lettuce. BBQ pulled pork? Yep. BBQ sauce, pulled pork, provalone cheese, romaine lettuce. It's different & yummy. Leftover burritos/tacos? Use salsa, beef/chicken, beans, cheese, avocado, etc.
    3) Salads that are not lettuce based--bean salad, broccoli salad, cauliflower salad, etc. When I steam broccoli for dinner, I steam much more than I need. The next day I reheat the broccoli, throw on some tuna & mayo. I suppose I could add more veggies, but too lazy.
    4) eggs with lots of veggies.
  • broseidonkingofbrocean
    broseidonkingofbrocean Posts: 180 Member
    I have the same problem with fruits/vegs. I take machine greens/multivit which are made from whole foods. Has multiple servings of fruits and veg in it mainly take it for a multivitamin but this makes my lack of vegetable/fruit consumption feel better. I also take fiber.
  • bbell1985
    bbell1985 Posts: 4,571 Member
    I eat cheeseburger and hot dog salads. Just put all the things in your salad.
  • Blitzia
    Blitzia Posts: 205 Member
    I like hidden veggies. If there's enough cheese and seasoning, it doesn't even feel like veggies. My favorite recipes are cauliflower pizza and cauliflower tots. Zucchini is another vegetable you can "hide" in a lot of dishes like pasta with zoodles. There are also lots of dessert recipes with hidden veggies like zucchini brownies, but I haven't gotten around to trying them yet so I can't vouch for whether they still taste like vegetables.
  • ladyreva78
    ladyreva78 Posts: 4,080 Member
    pomegranatecloud wrote: »
    Hummus and vegetables (usually celery, carrots, or bell peppers)
    Vegetable based soup
    Stir fry
    Roasted vegetables
    Vegetable ratatouille
    Szechuan string beans (or broccoli) with rice: allrecipes.com/recipe/247349/spicy-szechuan-green-beans/
    Roasted beets with oranges and grapefruit with goat cheese
    Vegetable burritos


    What kinds of salads are you eating that you grew tired of? For me, I quickly get bored of salads that are just lettuce and the usual vegetables, but usually trying some "usual" combinations that are beyond lettuce get me back into salads again or new dressings. Here are a few I like:

    Some of these salads sound amazing! I'll have to put them on my 'to try list'. Especially since the first harvest of fennel is coming in from the garden soon! :smile:
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,559 Member
    I can hardly remember the last time I ate salad.

    I eat a packet of steamfresh veggies at lunch, and then a large heap of various frozen (but then steamed, of course) veggies at dinner. I also have raw veggies for an after work snack.

    Occasionally my husband will do roast veggies.

    And we'll have vegetable soups ... like on Saturday and Sunday for example, I made myself pumpkin soup and put in some noodles and a packet of steamfresh veggies to thicken it up. :)
  • RachelElser
    RachelElser Posts: 1,049 Member
    I am also not a big fan of salads. By the time I make them taste good, they aren't good for me anymore (bacon, ranch, chicken tender, etc)

    I like to do crock pot stuff, so I have all cut up and frozen a baggie of veggies to toss in with the meat (peppers, carrots, potatoes, whatever is on sale). I also find it less tedious if I try and do - one at breakfast, two at lunch, one at snack time and one at dinner.
  • Denisse075
    Denisse075 Posts: 5 Member
    Soups and stir fry... Im vegetabled out myself right now :/
  • jbirdgreen
    jbirdgreen Posts: 569 Member
    edited May 2017
    feisty_bucket wrote: »
    I, too, hate regular salad and think lettuce sucks. My standard veggies wouldn't work as an office thing, but it's like five minutes start-to-finish at home.
    Here:
    * .5 cup each of frozen broccoli, spinach, and "mixed veggies" in a bowl. Plus frozen kale, if you can get it.
    * add random meat on top (sausage, chicken, meatballs, whatever)
    * seasoning, whatever you like (Lite Salt + Nu Salt is aces and potassiumrific)
    * over the top of all that, add olive oil, brown sauce (BBQ or HP sauce) and some sriracha sauce for a lil' heat

    Microwave for about 3 minutes. When done, cut up the big chunks and toss it all so the sauces are spread around, and eat. It's delicious.

    Me too! Only I'm a vegetarian, and people generally expect me to eat it and love it. Blech.
    • I love roasted veggies. Almost every vegetable tastes great roasted. Faves are broccoli, cauliflower, corn (wrapped in foil with a little bit of butter or healthy fat), carrots and Brussel sprouts.
    • It's may be a little warm for this now, but vegetable chilis and soups are a great way to get some extra veggies in.
    • Make kale chips when you want a salty snack at home
    • Make wraps! Has a lot of the same salad fixins, but somehow adding a wrap and a little cheese makes it so much better!
    • I stock up on steam in bag veggies. They are the perfect way to ensure that I get veggies with any meal -- so quick to prepare that I have zero excuses.
    • BBQ cauliflower! Bread it, bake it, sauce it, and bake it a lil more -- good faux chicken wings
    • Quiche can taste good room temp or hot -- I make one from Oh She Glows with sundried tomatoes, spinach and herbs.
    • Buy whole broccoli. Cut off the florets, then peel and grate the stalks. Grate a carrot, and add some shredded cabbage and/or snowpeas. Boom. Veggie packed stir fry.
    • Pasta! I love spinach lasagna and pasta.
  • shampbj
    shampbj Posts: 33 Member
    Stuffed Peppers of different kinds make a great dinner and reheat the next day simply in the microwave. A couple of my favorites:

    http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/couscous-and-feta-stuffed-peppers-230159 (Vegetarian)
    http://www.skinnytaste.com/santa-fe-turkey-stuffed-peppers/ ( I make with lean beef because they taste better than turkey)
  • Jimbolaya64
    Jimbolaya64 Posts: 7 Member
    The spiralizer is a nice switch for some veggies.

    https://bedbathandbeyond.com/store/product/oxo-good-grips-reg-tabletop-spiralizer/1045878961?Keyword=zoodler
  • hesn92
    hesn92 Posts: 5,966 Member
    My favorite way to eat veggies is just raw with dip. The only veggies that I pretty much cook and serve as a side dish, is green beans and broccoli. Boring. I like sweet peppers, carrots, cucumbers, broccoli raw dipped in ranch.
  • court_alacarte
    court_alacarte Posts: 219 Member
    make a meal in a crockpot and just throw some rando veggies in there. for a meatball recipe, i added the marinara (of course) and mushrooms and spinach. you can definitely add any leafy green pretty much. invite the onions to the party as well.

    stir frys are also a tasty way to incorporate a lot of veggies.

    bird's eye has come out with some decent deliciously flavored steamfresh veggie packs; ranch broccoli is da bomb.
  • dadsafrantic
    dadsafrantic Posts: 186 Member
    how about wheat beer? oatmeal stout? dang it wrong thread. sorry.

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