One of my most asked requests is to talk about how to eat more veggies & sneak them into meals for their spouse and children. And trust me, I get it! Salads get boring and sometimes we want to change it up a bit and get our veggies and nutrients in other fun and delicious ways! Below are 7 different ways to sneak veggies in your diet that may be a game changer to you.
1. SMOOTHIES
The easiest way to get in more veggies or to sneak it to your kids or family is definitely smoothies! You can easily hide the taste of veggies as long as you use a stronger ingredient like banana, mango, peanut butter, cacao powder, or protein powder! This is also a great way to get in more fruit, too and just all the nutritious fiber!
Veggies to use:
Frozen greens like spinach and kale - It will also make it more cold and icy when using frozen but you can use fresh! Optional tip: blend it first with milk or water before you add in the rest of the ingredients. This will make sure its all blended together smoothly so you won't get surprise green chunks.
Frozen streamed cauliflower or zucchini - I know this may sound weird but you can't taste it at all and it makes makes your smoothie more thick and creamy! These are also a great option if you don't use a banana! Just make sure to add in fruit or honey or a flavored powder to make it sweet!
Avocado - This will also make your smoothies SO creamy and you can't taste anything! I love using avocado, banana, peanut butter, and cacao powder together!
2. SAUTE THEM
I rarely eat vegetables raw! I love cooking them in different ways but the easiest I would say is to just saute them on your stove! Cooking them with some oil, onions, and seasoning adds such a great flavor and softens them up. Pictured above is chopped yellow squash with yellow onion, avocado oil, salt, pepper, and garlic!
I bet your kids would enjoy eating cooked veggies than raw because its so flavorful and easier to eat AND digest!
3. USE THE OVEN
Chopping veggies up, adding oil, and roasting them in the oven or air fryer REALLY can change the game.
Veggies to use:
White potato or sweet potato - slice them thin like fries or in small chunks. I like to add cinnamon to sweet potatoes and just salt and pepper to white potatoes but use what you like!
Broccoli/cauliflower - I love roasting these in the oven! It makes it a little crunchy and it's easier to digest than eating it raw!
Really any vegetable! Zucchini, squash, carrots, peppers, asparagus, etc.
4. BAKE WITH THEM
This may sound weird, but yes.. you can use veggies in your baked goods! Pictured above is avocado brownies and zucchini bread. Sweet potato brownies are also really yummy! Your kids will never know they are getting a good serving of nutritious fiber and veggies. You can also use spinach in some recipes like muffins and you won't even taste it! Get creative & look up recipes on Pinterest! There's a ton of good ones but make sure to always read the ingredients and use the best stuff you have :)
5. CAULIFLOWER
These days, cauliflower can pretty much do anything. Other than smoothies and roasting them, I recommend sneaking them in to your mashed potatoes! Do 1/2 cauliflower and 1/2 potatoes (or start with just a 1/4!) and same with rice! Carbs are NOT bad and they don't need to be replaced with cauliflower 100% all the time, but it is a fun and easy way to sneak veggies into you and your families diet every now and then! Steaming cauliflower is also delicious! There is also a trendy recipe going on right now called cauliflower buffalo wings, and I've heard great things about them!
6. VEGGIE NOODLES
As I just mentioned.. carbs are not your enemy! However, using veggies in replace or addition to your pasta noodles is also a easy, fun, and delicious way to eat them! Veggies like zucchini, sweet potatoes, yellow squash, butternut squash, cucumber, carrot, etc can be spiralized into noodles! Baking spaghetti squash is also SO YUMMY!
It's also super easy to add leafy greens, like spinach, into your pasta and/or sauce!
7. PREP THEM
Washing, chopping, and properly storing your veggies is a GAME. CHANGER. When you have them ready and easily accessible, you are more likely to use them while you cook or as a snack. And they usually last longer this way, too!
Tip: eat raw veggies with some hummus or guacamole for a healthy snack! Mini bell peppers are my favorite with hummus! Recipe for healthy homemade hummus here.