how to eat more veggies
A plant based dinner! Black bean and quinoa burger, quinoa fruit salad, corn and hemp heart tabouleh. Yum!
Many people ask me how to incorporate more veggies into their diet. If you grew up (like me!) eating a traditional dinner of an animal protein accompanied by a starch and a vegetable, then you may have trouble thinking outside of the box. Here are some creative ideas to help inspire you.
Breakfast
The easiest way to add greens to your breakfast is in the form of a smoothie. You can pretty much hide spinach or kale in any smoothie as long as you have a high speed blender. I typically add a handful of spinach or kale to my morning smoothie (which consists of almond milk, a frozen banana and a tablespoon of almond butter).
How about hummus or avocado on a slice of whole grain toast with sliced tomato and micro greens or sprouts sprinkled on top?
Scrambled eggs with wilted spinach is another one of my favorite dishes. If it’s the weekend, then I will make a veggie omelette or scramble and throw in any remaining veggies from the week.
Savory scones and muffins are a great way to add greens to your morning. How about feta, basil and red onion muffins? Or cheese, spinach and onion scones?
Lunch
The obvious choice here is a salad. The options are endless. I like to have a ‘theme’ in mind when I build my salads. Often, I choose a country/cuisine and let that be the focus. So for example, a Greek salad can consist of tomatoes, cucumbers, red onions and feta cheese. A Mexican salad might have black beans, roasted corn and a lime vinaigrette and an Asian salad will have mandarin orange slices, chow mein crunch noddles and a sesame oil and soy sauce dressing.
Dips are a great way to add more vegetables and legumes to your diet. Here are some ideas.
Artichoke hummus
Sorrel hummus
Dinner
When thinking about dinner, try to think about how vegetables can be the main focus of dinner rather than just an after thought.
For example, vegetable fritters are a great way to place vegetables center stage on your plate. My personal favorites are zucchini & sweet potato, corn fritters (corn, sweet potato, red pepper) and chickpea falafal.
Stir fry dishes are an easy way to include lots of vegetables especially the healthy cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli and Bok Choy. Try this recipe for bok choy and broccoli.
I love curries and these can easily incorporate a lot of veggies. Cauliflower especially holds up well in curries. Last night I simply cut up a bunch of vegetables, added some curry paste and a can of coconut milk and had a yummy vegetable curry for dinner. Chana masala is a great Indian chickpea curry.
Veggie burgers are super versatile and easy to make. My new favorite burger is a black bean and quinoa burger which also has roasted mushrooms added in. Delicious!
Snacks
Veggies with hummus/dips is an obvious snack. Cut your veggies ahead of time so they are ready when you need them.
Green juice or smoothie. I love cilantro, pineapple, lime and coconut water as an afternoon pick up.
Half an avocado with lime, salt and olive oil.
Snack on some tasty cherry tomatoes or snap peas.
Happy cooking and eating!