8 Perfect Tips To Eat More Vegetables

Incorporating vegetables into traditional recipes, or using them as sides in dishes we are used to cooking are two easy ways to eat more vegetables easily.

Changing your habits can be difficult  and require a lot of willpower and effort on your own.

However, if this change brings health benefits, we should do all we can to put it into practice as soon as possible.

In this article, let’s take a look at some tips for eating more vegetables.

Why do we need to eat more vegetables?

Vegetables are an integral part of a healthy diet. They provide a good amount of nutrients (including vitamins, proteins, fibers and minerals ), and consuming them allows us to prevent the onset of certain diseases.

However, vegetables are less and less present on our plates. Why ? For several reasons, for example, the fact that canned food and processed foods are faster to prepare than vegetables.

If there are children in your household, it is very important to instill in them a love of fruits and vegetables from an early age. With their first taste buds, they must be allowed to discover all the flavors of vegetables.

In this way, you will prevent, as adults, that they refuse to eat healthily, and that they maintain bad eating habits.

Eating vegetables doesn’t mean dieting, being a vegetarian, or being sick. On the contrary, to feel good and healthy, it is imperative to consume it.

Tips for eating more vegetables

We should consume 400 grams of vegetables per day (where possible, raw vegetables). It may seem like a lot and a little impossible at first, but you can increase your vegetable intake step by step.

You will find that when you hit the recommended minimum your body will want more from you.

Read the following tips carefully.

1. Edit the recipes 

Those dishes that you are used to preparing or consuming on a daily basis can change completely if you add a few vegetables.

You can, for example, add:

• of carrots in meatballs;
• broccoli sautéed in pasta;
• sliced ​​eggplant between the different layers of lasagna;
• an omelet with a garnish of spinach, mushrooms and broccoli.

2. Eat vegetables from the start of the day. 

Who said that only fruit is allowed for breakfast? Although fruits are very healthy, you can also add vegetables to the table, such as cucumber or tomato slices, celery juice or an omelet with spinach leaves.

If you eat vegetables the first hour of the day, it will be easier for you to meet the recommended daily intake.

3. Buy vegetables you don’t know 

The next time you go shopping, be sure to put vegetables that you have never tasted before in your cart.

No need to take a kilo, but only a few grams to taste at home. Next, look for a quick and easy recipe that includes this vegetable. You will be surprised by your new discovery!

Varying the vegetables has many advantages: on the one hand, you incorporate new nutrients, and on the other hand, you will never get tired of eating the same thing over and over again.

4. Make soups and smoothies 

In winter, we want to eat more filling and calorie-dense foods. We need food that comforts us when we come home, and warms us up.

What could be better than a good vegetable soup ? We’re not talking about bagged soups, but “real” soups like the ones your grandmother makes.

Making soup takes less time than you might think, and if you make a lot of it you can store it and enjoy it at other times. You just need to heat it up.

On the other hand, in summer, we recommend that you drink excellent smoothies or vegetable juices (raw or cooked), which can be mixed with fruit.

The vegetables to use par excellence in smoothies are carrots, beets, celery, spinach and tomatoes. And what about an excellent, cold gazpacho: healthy and nutritious.

5. Leave the vegetables in sight 

Although in the refrigerator there are special bins for fruits and vegetables, once inside they are “hidden” and we tend to forget them.

And if we don’t know they’re there, how will we use them? You can leave most of your vegetables in these bins, and put one or two on a refrigerator shelf.

So, as soon as you open the refrigerator door, you will see them immediately.

6. Look for alternative recipes 

Those who think vegetarians and vegans only eat tomato salads are wrong.

There are millions of vegetarian and vegan recipes. This will allow you to eat more vegetables, and your palate will be delighted with new flavors : a pumpkin pie, burgers with beetroot and lentils, eggplant lasagna… Endless options are available to you. you.

7. Use vegetables as a side dish

If you like meat, chicken or fish, instead of the usual everyday salad, consider preparing different toppings: mash, scrambled zucchini, sautéed diced pumpkin, etc.

8. Prepare healthy snacks 

To eat more vegetables and, at the same time, avoid salty snacks and morning pastries, a good tip is to have carrot or celery sticks, cherry tomatoes, strips of peppers or rings available. cucumbers.

You can mix them with different pâtés or creams such as:

• hummus (chickpeas);
• guacamole (avocados)
• the  ganoush Baba  (eggplant)
• the  tzatziki  (yogurt and cucumber Greek)

These are great snacks, and what’s more, they’ll keep you from munching on bad foods between meals.