Ideas for getting more veggies in?

Chickpea and Spinach Curry

My family loves it when I cook this! There are 3 servings because I eat it on its own as a meal, but if you have it with rice, or pilau bulgur as I occasionally do, you can half the portion size. This is so incredibly low calorie for a huge portion and one of the meals I tend to make in bulk and keep in the freezer for a while. It really is delicious! Don't be daunted by all the herbs and spices, they are all great for using with other things.

Chickpea and Spinach Curry
Serves: 3
240g chick peas, canned, drained weight (basically one tin)
400g tomatoes, canned
100g spinach
8 mushrooms
1 onion
2g yellow mustard seeds
5g paprika
5g cumin
2g ginger
2g garam masala
3 cloves garlic
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
1g pepper
1 small red pepper
1 small green pepper
2 small yellow pepper

Heat the oil in the bottom of a large pan.
Add the mustard seeds on low temperature
When the mustard seeds start to pop add in the sliced onions garlic and ginger with a little water.
When the onions soften add in the mushrooms and peppers.
Add in the spices and herbs and cover for 5 mins until all the veg is soft.
Add in the chickpeas and cover for 5 more mins.
Add in the chopped tomatoes and stir well.
After 5 or so mins add the spinach (about 6/7 lumps frozen).
Mix the spinach in so its covered by the sauce.
Cover it up but keep stirring every few mins.
It can be served as soon as the spinach is cooked (i.e. not frozen in big lumps, but flavour intensifies the longer you simmer it for.
It may need simmering without the lid to reduce the wateriness of the sauce.

240 calories per serving, 7.4g F, 0.9g SF, 38.2 C, 8g S, 9.5 Fb, 9.8g P


Butternut Squash and Lentil Casserole

Ok, this is one of my absolute favourites. It has a great balance of protein to carbs, and is low in fat and - even better - low in calories. I should add that I lost weight through a combination of educating myself about nutrition and the phenomenon of calorie counting. The way our body works is far too complicated to ignorantly assume that even accurate calorie counting is a sure-fire method of ensuring that we lose weight, but it is a fantastic guideline to ensure you are eating at a defecit.

I found this recipe on CC and it sounded crazy! Butternut squash, garlic and cranberries!? But I was curious so I had to try it. Sure enough, with a little tweaking, it was a taste-bud sensation!My daughter makes this with cranberries i found them yo sweet and used prunes instead

Butternut Squash and Lentil Casserole
Serves: 6
500g Butternut Squash
1 1/2 cups green lentils
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cinnamon
3 cloves garlic
3g thyme
400g tomatoes, tinned
100g dried cranberries // 100g prunes (my mum recommends this its definitely delicious)
1 tsp olive oil
1 onion
1 vegetable stock cube
400 ml water

Boil the lentils in the stock cube and water for 1 hour.
Roast the squash in chunks in the oven for 30 mins.
Warm the oil and add finely chopped garlic and coarsley chopped onion.
Add the squash and any fluids which may have come off during roasting.
Drain the lentils, reserving the stock and adding it to the pan.
When the squash begings to break up a little, add the lentils and tin of tomatoes.
Simmer for 20 mins then add cinnamon,nutmeg, thyme & cranberries.
Mix well and leave to simmer for 30-45 minutes, or until the squash has almost completely broken down and the sauce has thickened.

227 calories per serving, 0.2g F, 0.0g SF, 44.2g C, 6.9g S, 10.1g Fb, 11.9g P

Ratatouille
Serves: 4

1 aubergine
2 courgettes
1 yellow pepper
1 red pepper
400g tomatos, canned
3 cloves garlic
4 g basil, fresh
2 g parsley, fried
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp olive oil

Chop the veg into fairly chunky pieces and roast with the garlic cloves and oil in oven for 30/40 mins, but keep an eye on them, the cooking time varies depending on how big the pieces are.
Blend the tomatoes, herbs, vinegar, a few of the roasted vegetables and all the roasted garlic with a hand blender, then put onto a low heat.
Add the roasted veg and leave to simmer for a while.

116 calories per serving, 5.1g F, 0.6g SF, 19.3g C, 8.0g S, 7.1 Fb, 4.1g P

I add kale to my smoothies and for my kids. It looks green but you can't taste it at all and it is so healthy. Soups are great this time of year too. My kids love cold veggies too - so like you said baby carrots (the smaller ones) avacado slices, broccoli, lettuce wraps are healthy and fast and could be kinda like an appetizer if you don't want to do just veggies for lunch.

Make soup! Vegetable-based soups are delicious and you can incoroporate lots of different types of vegetables into them. Stir fries are good for that as well. I've never believed in sneaking veggies into something or having them as a side; they deserve to be the star of the show!

In Italy, they add carrot to Spag Bol to get more veggies in to the kids!

Stir fry is a great way to get a lot of veggies in a meal. Soups or stews also. Add chopped greens to sauces. Top steaks or chops with sauted mushrooms and onions. Stuff roasts or thick chops with a bit of cheese and chopped vegetables. Vegetables are so versatile!

Looking at your diary, it looks like you hardly ever eat a regular home-cooked meal. Is that because you don't have time? It's pretty easy to get your vegetables if you just cook regular meals.

I was off the wagon the last week...to get a better idea of my "normal" diary, you'd be better to look back about 3-4 weeks...not just the last week/few days.

I went back a whole month and it looks like you mostly eat sandwiches, salads, and fast food. I'm just not seeing a lot of times when you have something like baked chicken, broccoli, and mashed potatoes for instance. People are suggesting all these different recipes but are you actually going to cook anything?

Eat veggies (or fruit) with every meal! I always try to make half my plate at dinner vegetables, like so: http://www.diabetes.org.nz/food_and_nutrition/ideal_plate and make sure to include several servings with my lunch, in the form of a salad or cut vegetables.

It can be pretty easy if you keep frozen on hand, they come in lots of varieties and preparations
Diced vegetables can be added to jarred pasta sauce, ground beef for tacos, burgers and meatloaf, tuna/chicken/egg salad, chili, everything
Even prepared frozen entrees like stir fries can benefit from extra veggies... I like to add at minimum a can of baby corn and water chestnuts
Try sliced cucumber, tomato and alfalfa sprouts on sandwiches or in wraps
When I have breakfast for dinner I still try to include a fruit or vegetable like berries or apple slices.
Try salads for dinner/lunch with boiled egg or shredded grilled chicken and a bit of cheese on top
There are a million types of pre washed and mixed salads... spinach, romaine, or spring mix salads; broccoli, carrot or cabbage slaw