You know that vegetables are key to a healthy diet. You probably also know how great it feels when you meet your recommended vegetable intake several days in a row. Because veggies are jam-packed with antioxidants, nutrients, and water, they provide the energy and nourishment your body craves.
After consuming too many salads though, you may lose steam and find your daily veggie counts dwindling. While it's hard to maintain the proper vegetable intake for many days when you feel like you're sacrificing your other favorite foods, sneaking vegetables in alongside members of other food groups will ensure that you score your CDC-recommended 2-3 cups of vegetables per day.
Add Them to Your Smoothies
Who doesn't love a cold and refreshing fruit smoothie in the morning or as an afternoon pick-me-up? Common smoothie ingredients include bananas, mangos, berries, peaches, pineapple, and a variety of plant-based milks and juices.
Smoothies can also be a great way to add veggies to your day. Try adding greens like spinach or kale for a vitamin boost. Or, try a carrot and ginger smoothie for immune-strengthening goodness.
Cucumbers, beets, and pumpkin are other vegetables that make surprisingly easy and delicious smoothie ingredients. Though avocados are technically a fruit, they make another nutritious smoothie addition thanks to their smooth texture. You can even add herbs like basil or mint as a garnish for added flavor and green goodness.
Try this Strawberry Banana Peanut Butter Smoothie, this Carrot Apple Turmeric Smoothie, or this Pear Smoothie with Kale.
Snack on Soup
Soup is a staple for healthy eaters partially because it's so easy to make and partially because it can be packed with veggies. Try making a large batch of soup on the weekend to fulfill your snacktime cravings for the whole week. Try this Spicy Tomato Soup.
Blended vegetable soups like cauliflower or sweet potato bisques have excellent nutritional value and allow you to reap the benefits of their star vegetables. Other soups, like provençal pistou soup or minestrone, allow you to mix and match your ingredients so you can benefit from your favorite vegetable medley.
Soups are easily frozen, which helps avoid food waste. Reheating a cup of soup can add several servings of veggies to your day in just one go!
Try this Copycat Panera 10 Vegetable Soup, or Easy Minestrone Soup.
Add Them to Desserts
Desserts may seem like an unlikely place to find vegetables, but they present a great opportunity to maximize your daily nutritional intake. You can rely on vegetable classics like carrot cake and squash pie. Try this zucchini bread.
Today, though, there are also countless innovative ways to sneak vegetables into non-traditional recipes. Add black beans or carrots to brownies, swap your apple crumble for a zucchini alternative, or try making a cake with beets; they add a fabulous, moist texture to chocolate cake!
Veggie Pasta and Rice
This easy swap will save you calories and boost the nutritional value of your dinner plate. In any of your favorite stir-fry, curry, or pasta recipes, which may already feature some vegetables, swap out your rice or noodles for vegetable rice, such as the cauliflower or broccoli varieties common in grocery store freezer sections. Try this Chicken Thai Basil with Zucchini Noodles.
You can also trade in classic noodles for zoodles (zucchini noodles), spiralized squash, or spiralized sweet potato. Spaghetti squash provides a natural noodle texture as well. If none of these appeal to you, try one of the many vegetable or chickpea pasta varieties available in the pasta aisle. These taste just like their wheat-based cousins but pack a better punch when it comes to nutritional value.
Try this Sweet Potato Noodle Stir Fry with Steak, Zucchini Noodle Stir Fry with Shrimp, or Greek Zucchini Noodle Salad.
Sheet Pan Dinners
One of the absolute easiest ways to boost your vegetable intake is to cook sheet pan dinners at least once a week. These meals require very little prep, so chopping veggies doesn't feel like an ordeal. You can even chop all your vegetables for the week on the weekend to save time on busy weekdays.
Simply pick a healthy protein like chicken or fish, a favorite seasoning such as smoked paprika, and two or more vegetables, such as sweet potato, broccoli, or green beans and carrots.
Roast your protein and vegetables in the oven for a quick and easy dinner. To maximize the nutritional value of these dinners, try to pick two veggies of different colors, as this often indicates a variety in the vitamins that they provide!
Try these delicious sheet pan dinners like Sheet Pan Salmon, Sheet Pan Chicken with Butternut Squash, or Sheet Pan Chicken Stir Fry.
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