Easy Ways to Get More Veggies

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One additional serving of vegetables every day has been show to dramatically reduce the risk of heart disease in adults. Yet, most people still do not get the recommended the minimum of three servings a day. Here are some simple steps to incorporating more vegetables into your daily eating.

1. Stock up on frozen. Keeping frozen vegetables in your home makes adding them to a meal easier and more convenient. Some simple frozen vegetables include spinach, broccoli, and peas. All you have to do is steam or microwave them and they're good to go!

2. Keep them front and center. When you go to open the fridge and the first thing you see is all your leafy greens, carrots, cucumbers, and other vegetables, these will be the things your body begins to want to eat. Most cravings stem from seeing the food first and then thinking about it, so if you keep your veggies out front you'll be more likely to grab those as a snack instead of something unhealthy.

3. Precut and prepare. When you buy all your fresh vegetables for the week make sure to precut everything so that you have it ready to go for easy snacking. This little bit of preparation will save time throughout the week and keep you on track. You can also cook your veggies ahead of time and keep them in the fridge throughout the week so that they will be ready to add to meals or take for lunch.

4. Add vegetables to food that you already love. This works particularly well in omelets, lasagna, pizza, and pastas. If you incorporate just a few extra items such as putting broccoli into your macaroni and cheese, green pepper in your omelet, or zucchini in your lasagna, you will subtly add more healthy, high-fiber vegetables into meals you already enjoy.

5. Smoothies. Incorporate veggies into your fruit smoothies. Kale, spinach, and avocado all blend well with fruits, making a healthy snack even healthier.

6. Even at the drive-through. If you must stop for fast food, make sure to order a side salad or full salad in order to get some vegetables into your meal. The greens will also be high in fiber so they may help keep you from eating too much junk from the restaurant. But be careful of high-calorie add ons like creamy dressing, croutons, cheese, etc.