5 Fun Ways to Eat More Vegetables
Let’s talk about eating the colors of the rainbow (no…not Skittles!). We all know they’re incredibly important, but most of us aren’t eating enough.
Plant foods provide our bodies with a comprehensive array of macronutrients (complex carbohydrates, proteins, fats), micronutrients (vitamins and minerals), and thousands of other compounds, collectively known as phytonutrients. Simply put, phytonutrients are active compounds in plants that have been shown to provide benefits to humans when consumed (see link at end of article for more information).
The challenge for most people isn’t believing that plants are an important part of our diet, rather, they struggle with incorporating them daily. Here are five fun and useful ways to get your family to eat more vegetables!
Grow your own
Join a CSA or go to a local farm
Make it a family challenge
Incorporate them into a smoothie (my personal fav)
Bake a sweet treat
BONUS: Try a new recipe even if you don’t like the veggie
Grow your own. This is probably the most cost-effective and healthiest way of incorporating more vegetables in your life. You can start small with an herb garden (they even have indoor/countertop gardens) and eventually grow in succession planting throughout the summer and fall. If gardening is new to you, pick out two or three of your favorite vegetables and grow them in a pot or container. If you already love gardening, maybe expand your variety of crops and incorporate new vegetables you normally wouldn’t grow or buy. This could be an incredibly rich experience for children to learn where their food comes from and will be much more delicious and nutritious than any store-bought veggie. For an awesome gardening resource check out The Farmers Almanac!
Join a CSA or go to a local farm. If starting a garden isn’t the right choice for you, then benefit from someone else's green thumb! Finding a local organic farm will give you the opportunity to purchase a crop share or simply shop in their market. Through community supported agriculture (CSA,) each week you will have the privilege of eating vibrant, just-harvested produce while simultaneously giving back to your local farmer. If you are local to the northern Westchester, NY area, check out the following locations: Salinger’s Orchard, Hemlock Hill Farm, Stuart’s Fruit Farm, or Purdy’s Farmer and the Fish!
Make it a family challenge. Because who doesn’t love a challenge? Create a chart with each family member's name and earn a point for each vegetable you eat in a day. Offer bonus points for including a variety of vegetables that encompasses each color of the rainbow! Decide what the ultimate prize will be and make it good! For example, maybe the winner won’t have to do dishes for a week? I know that would get me to eat more veggies! Most importantly, creating an atmosphere of fun and discovery around vegetables (and food in general) is the soil for habit change. This is where the seeds of effort are planted and, before long, you won’t have to think twice about incorporating the rainbow.
Incorporate into a smoothie. Smoothies are a really easy way of getting your veggies in without having to cook and eat them separately. Most kids won’t even bat an eye when they drink a smoothie, especially if it’s a fun color like purple or green! The rule of thumb for a healthy smoothie that isn’t packed full of sugar is to use a ratio of three greens/veggies to one fruit. For example, you can choose spinach, kale, cucumber, and an apple or beet greens, beets, celery, and an orange. You will find that the sweetness of that one fruit is enough to balance the taste of the shake. I also love to incorporate clean protein powders and collagen into my shakes (more on that in the future!).
Bake a sweet treat. Yes, you can incorporate your vegetables into your baking! Vegetables like squash, pumpkin, sweet potato, zucchini, and beets are the perfect addition to many baked goods. The goal is to find a recipe that includes other whole-food ingredients like this zucchini bread recipe from Ambitious Kitchen or healthy carrot muffins from The Endless Meal.
BONUS: Try a new recipe even if you don’t like the veggie. I can’t stress this enough: just because you don’t like a type of vegetable (or any type of food, for that matter) doesn’t mean someone in your family won’t! I didn’t discover the deliciousness of roasting until I was nearly 30 years old and now it is my favorite way to prepare veggies. Stay as open-minded as you can and challenge yourself to try a new recipe for the heck of it. Involve your family in the process and genuinely ask if they like how it tastes. You never know what will be a hit if you don’t try.
Following one, two or all six of these suggestions will help you incorporate more vegetables into your day while also staying healthy. The less stress we place on this process, the better. If you test out a recipe that incorporates vegetables and it just isn’t your jam, don’t give up on the journey! Keep searching until you find one that you DO like and let it become a staple in your home.
Warmly,
Jennifer
1 What Is the Special Nutritional Power Found in Fruits and Vegetables?, www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=faq&dbid=4.