getting in more veggies

[caedmyn]

My nutritionist says I need to eat more vegetables. I like vegetables, it's just a matter of preparing them...I tend to feel swamped dealing with the food needs of my family and vegetables are the easiest thing to leave off. I need suggestions for easy ways to eat more veggies...

[kiana]

Frozen veggies in a bag. If you like steamed, toss them into a steamer. If you like them better with a bit of crisp around the edge, toss them on a baking sheet, add spices of choice and fat of choice to taste, and toss them in the oven until done. I do mine at 400 because I like ultra-crispy and it takes like 10 minutes tops. You can also microwave them in like a pyrex dish. If even that is too much, get the steam-in-bag veggies so you just toss the bag into the microwave. 

 

Canned veggies are better than no veggies so if you like canned (I like green beans and carrots and beets and tomatoes and they're shelf-stable), that's another quick and easy way. 

 

The nice thing about frozen and canned is that they are already prepped and peeled so you do not have to do any of that work. So it will be <5 minutes of actual work. 

 

Vegetable soup using broth of choice or even bouillon cubes is another decent way. It does usually require a bit more prep but you can make one soup and eat it for a few days. 

 

After you get your veggies, if they're boring, you can toss a bit of cheese on them, or for me I just tend to stir them in with the protein so they all mix together and absorb flavors. There are many other options as well. 

[mommyoffive]

Well you could do all those secret recipe tricks.

 

 

My kids love veggie so I don't have a problem.  They even eat them for breakfast.   Do your kids love them?  Will they eat them if they are out? 

 

Carrots and dip?  

 

We do lots of frozen veggies for 2 meals a day.

 

My kids just love raw veggies any time of day.  Just having it out is the key I think.  Also getting the veggies out first.  Have them out before you serve a meal and because they are so hungry they will eat them.

 

Lots of our main meals are just veggies. 

Baked potato with toppings

 

Do you have a garden?  My kids like to eat what they grow. 

 

Part of our deal is that every meal you start with a fruit and veggie so it is just automatic.  

[wintermom]

If your hands are full with lots of little ones, I'd totally buy pre-cut and prepared veggies and salads to save the washing and chopping time.  Hummus is my favourite "veggie dip" for the protein.

[solascriptura]

Prewashed greens and a handful of grape tomatoes make a really quick salad. Baby carrots are easy for anyone to grab.

[Tanaqui]

Prepackaged salad, frozen vegetables. Toss one bag of frozen vegetables into a pot, steam, voila: a serving of veggies for each of three people, add butter, salt, and lemon to taste. Put your salad in a bowl with (optional) a grated carrot, some cherry tomatoes, and a sliced cucumber or some radishes and voila: a second serving of veggies for three people. Have some cherry tomatoes or baby carrots or sliced cucumber with lunch, eat a piece of fruit with breakfast and as an afternoon snack, and you are at five servings of fruits and vegetables.

[Laura Corin]

I snack on raw veggies. My lunch is also usually a raw veg salad or a veg soup. The former takes five minutes to prepare. The latter takes half an hour but lasts all week. With snacked veg, veggie lunch and fruit I am well over five a day by 5pm.

[dsmith]

I like to prep when I can - precook baby carrots or other veggies, roast beets to add to salads, buy triple-washed organic greens, dice onions, etc. I also buy the frozen organic veggies from Trader Joe's, especially the broccoli and riced cauliflower. I eat a salad every day - a full dinner-sized plate of greens with whatever I feel like adding to it. I rotate my greens, too. Spinach one day, mixed field greens the next, arugula another day, a mix of all three on the fourth day... I love cucumber slices with hummus for a snack. I don't really like raw carrots or celery, but I love raw broccoli added to a salad. I eat soups with a lot of veggies, but I haven't been very good with cooking lately. Spaghetti squash is a fave with meat sauce, roasted butternut squash or acorn squash is a great side dish. I also eat a few pieces of fruit a day. I'm not worried about natural sugar nowadays since I gave up breads, pasta, processed foods, etc.

[MyLife]

Roast a variety of vegetables at one time...Get a large pan, make a section of broccoli, a section of carrots, a section of green beans, etc...Roast them all at the same time and then you have plenty of vegetables that you can eat for the next couple of days at lunch and dinner.

 

Buy raw vegetables, wash, and cut all at once. Then you will have bell peppers, carrots, celery ready to go for quick snacks.

Edited September 8, 2017 by MyLife

[MyLife]

Also wash and cut a cucumber and have it ready to go. Instead of eating cheese and crackers for a snack, try cheese and cucumber.

[Anne]

Another idea is a big veggie soup - make it one day and eat it for 3-4 days.

 

Anne

[mathnerd]

I have on hand the following veggies all the time:

1. Sliced persian cucumbers or hothouse cucumbers - you don't need to peel them so that is convenient

2. Box of grape tomatoes - Just wash them all once and store in ziplock bag

3. Prewashed baby spinach 

4. Prewashed baby kale, baby chard, baby spinach mix from costco

5. Sliced bell pepper strips

6. Lettuce

7. bag of organic carrots

8. bag of brussels sprouts

9. Bag of frozen peas

10. Bag of frozen green beans

11. Onions and green onions

12. Broccoli

 

I can easily make a salad and toss in some sprouted pumpkin seed to sunflower seed for a healthy meal.

I make vegetable soup twice a week. They are simple soups like carrot soup, tomato/bell pepper soup, butternut soup. It lasts a few days.

I eat carrot sticks, cucumber, broccoli with hummus or guacamole for a snack.

I make vegetable stir fry once a week from all the left over vegetables and greens in my fridge.

[MEmama]

Green smoothies for breakfast.

 

2 cups of greens plus a serving of avocado before 8 am. :)

[mmasc]

I always read about making a big batch of veg soup. Do you all just throw veggies in some broth? Or is there an actual recipe you're using? Maybe even a 'base' recipe of sorts? Please share!

[KungFuPanda]

They now make frozen veggies that you toss in the microwave and they steam in their bag. This is definitely better than skipping. I'm linking a veggie soup recipe. It should have a video too if you want to watch. It's easy to add corn or use onions instead of leeks. Put what you like in it. If you make enough for freezing, leave out the potatoes. Potatoes don't freeze well. You just add those when you're heating the soup to serve it. If you freeze the soup in serving amounts it's easy to thaw what you need later.

 

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/garden-vegetable-soup-recipe-1915670

Edited September 8, 2017 by KungFuPanda

[Ali in OR]

When I'm trying to up the number of veggies, I think of the 3 S's: soups, salads, and stir-fry. But I don't like too many veggies, so those are the forms that make them most palatable for me.

[lavender's green]

In addition to what everyone else has said, and assuming you live in the right area, this is a great time of year for simply-prepared squash. Just poke it with a knife a few times and cook it in the oven or microwave as you would a baked potato, minus the foil. The sky's the limit on what you do with it after that. Butter, cinnamon, molasses, nuts, ground meat, balsamic vinegar, spaghetti sauce, sage (not all at once unless you're into that sort of thing). Or chill and add to a salad, or make a soup: sautee onions and any other veggies you want, maybe carrots, celery, or bell peppers, for example, then add 4 cups stock or water and the pre-cooked squash, blend and season to taste. Simmer a while. Add milk or cream if desired, top with sour cream if desired.

[Annie G]

Roasting a variety gives you a lot of flavor and people can pick out the parts they don't like. Dd picks out carrots...dh picks out broccoli.  I use a combo of broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, bell pepper, onion, zucchini and yellow squash, brussels sprouts, butternut squash, and to make it more interesting for my family, adding in some diced red potatoes or sweet potato cubes. My sister added radishes when she made it for me and they are DELICIOUS roasted. 

 

I use olive oil and seasonings. Usually some garlic/Italian herb blend. 

 

It roasts down to less than half the original amount (we like ours really done) so make more than you think you need. 

[Pen]

I got ideas from the above, and have two to add.  

 

1. Sprouts.

 

 I particularly love pea sprouts and daikon radish sprouts grown in a pot of soil and cut off the tops to use--esp as sprout salad or just a snack by the handful or with other things like cheese. I particularly love the daikon because they have a lot of flavor, too much if they grow very long. I also use a sprout container for mostly alfalfa, which my ds likes in sandwiches, plus some others like broccoli,  and radish.  My container grown daikon sprouts then go into garden and provide leaves that work in stir fry. Apparently they can also be used for radish leaf pesto, but I've not tried that.

 

2. Kale chips.

 

 

 

I also like things like slices of raw jicama and turnip with a little seasoning, but I don't think they probably have a lot nutrient value so much as nice crunch and fiber.

[Artichoke]

I always read about making a big batch of veg soup. Do you all just throw veggies in some broth? Or is there an actual recipe you're using? Maybe even a 'base' recipe of sorts? Please share!

 

 

Here's a link for a recipe that I've used in the past: http://savingdinner.com/recipes/soup-good-food/

 

When I make soup, I usually just  use up whatever is leftover in the fridge.  Sometimes I add beans or lentils.  When I'm making a veggie soup, it's usually tomato based and uses veggie or chicken broth with whatever veggies I have on hand.  HTH. 

[livetoread]

I always read about making a big batch of veg soup. Do you all just throw veggies in some broth? Or is there an actual recipe you're using? Maybe even a 'base' recipe of sorts? Please share!

My go to recipe:

 

Sauté some chopped onions in olive oil until soft. Add some minced garlic and sauté briefly. Add about 12 cups of broth, teaspoon of salt (more or less depending on how salty your broth is) and a bunch of diced veggies. I usually use carrots, sweet potatoes, zucchini, and yellow summer squash. I also like to add some barley at this point, but other grains like brown rice or quinoa are also good. I'll add some greens like a package of baby kale or mixed greens and a can of diced tomatoes. Let it cook until veggies are tender, then turn off the heat and add a fresh herb like basil, dill or cilantro. Finish off with some lemon juice. I also serve with a side of grated Parmesan or feta. A dollop of pesto can be delicious too.

 

So basically it's saute onions/garlic, add broth and veggies, add a grain if wanted, at the end finish with fresh herb and lemon juice. Sautéing the onions/garlic in olive oil first makes it all taste better IMO, rather than just dumping veggies in a pot.

[Laura Corin]

 

So basically it's saute onions/garlic, add broth and veggies, add a grain if wanted, at the end finish with fresh herb and lemon juice. Sautéing the onions/garlic in olive oil first makes it all taste better IMO, rather than just dumping veggies in a pot.

 

That's pretty much my recipe too.

[regentrude]

I always read about making a big batch of veg soup. Do you all just throw veggies in some broth? Or is there an actual recipe you're using? Maybe even a 'base' recipe of sorts? Please share!

 

No, you don't just want veggies cooked in a  broth! You need dry heat to develop the delicious caramelizing flavors; the Maillard reaction requires temperatures higher than the boiling point of water.

My base recipe:

sautee onion, garlic, celery and some chopped carrots in oil 

When onions have browned, add liquid (stock if you have it, water if you don't) and whatever vegetables you have.

I like to put in a can of chopped tomatoes, including the liquid.

Add some kind of grain (rice, barley) or lentils.

Add greens later in the cooking process - they need less time

Cook until everything is soft and flavors have blended.

Season with herbs.

Edited September 9, 2017 by regentrude

[mom@shiloh]

I like to run vegetables through my food processor, freeze them and then add them to a variety of dishes.  This works particularly well with tomato based dishes, but I also do it with other dishes.  For example, I'll make a huge pot of chili and throw in finely chopped zucchini, carrots, onions and peppers.  Those tend to just kind of disappear when they're cooked.  This also works well with spaghetti and lasagna.  Kale and sweet potatoes are two other vegies that are easy to add to things.  You can't add too much of one thing because then it can overwhelm, but little bits of each aren't noticeable and it's a great way to add a serving of vegetables.  

[regentrude]

Lots of veggies can be eaten raw without prep. Cucumbers, baby tomatoes, carrots, bell peppers. Just bite and munch.

[HomeAgain]

Does your family have specific food needs that make mealtimes more difficult to prepare?

 

 

[HomeAgain]

I didn't actually answer the question.  Sorry.  My favorite method is 'leave it on the counter'.  I find when I tuck veggies away in a fridge drawer or pantry bin, they get eaten less.  I leave as much as possible on the counter.  If we're looking at it, it's more likely to get added to the meal. Squash, tomatoes, green beans, onions...all right there.  The ones I can't leave out I put at eye level in the fridge.  I'd suggest aiming for buying 5 at first and working those into your meals, then upping from there.

[SamanthaCarter]

If you cook something that you normally serve over rice, curry, Chinese beef or something, serve it over a pile of sautéed veggies instead.

 

 

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[historically accurate]

• plain veggies (I'm lazy and use the steamer bags)

soups (I find the family doesn't pick out too much if it's "hidden" in soup)

salads

I use the Deceptively Delicious spaghetti sauce - it has snuck in veggies (every recipe in the cookbook has hidden veggies).

I add baby spinach to every sandwich made (not much flavoring but a boost of nutrients). Not a whole serving here, but every little bit counts.

Carrot (baby carrots in the bag - as I said, I'm lazy in the kitchen) and bell peppers set out on the table before lunch and dinner for snacking. I cut up the whole container of fruits or veggies at the beginning of the week. I try not to get too many of the ones needing chopping, so I would get strawberries and bell peppers (chopping), but then add apples and baby carrots (no chopping).

Smoothies made with some veggies in them (I called them Leprechaun smoothies when the kids were little and suspicious of green). 

I have one shelf in the refrigerator that is open for any-time snacking. It sometimes has a "treat" item but it always has veggies like cucumbers, bell peppers, carrots, etc.

Serve shredded BBQ/Buffalo/whatever meat over sweet potatoes instead of on a bun.

[AMJ]

When I started big reductions in the sugar and carbs of my own diet (medically necessary) I found that I started tasting the subtle flavors of things more.  I still wanted easy snacking at times, however, so I started snacking on bagged salads.  If you really must use a drizzling of dressing for some flavor, but I will grab a bag of an iceberg mix or romaine mix (iceberg is especially nice in the hot summertime) and just snack on it as if it were chips.

 

Frozen veggies are very quick and easy to store and prepare, though I will also buy fresh veggies in season to eat either raw or just barely cooked (they should still have their bright color).  Stir-frying fresh veggies is a very quick way to cook them up.  Bagged salads from the store provide a very quick side for most any meal.

 

I started making hash from leftovers.  Basically take some potatoes (either raw or already cooked), chop them up small, chop up some onion small, put those in a wide, shallow pan with some oil to start cooking.  Root through the fridge/counter for any other veggies that need eating up, drain off any liquid, chop them into bite-size pieces, add them to the pan.  Chop up some left-over meat, add that to the pan, season everything however you like, and watch it while it cooks, stirring periodically, and cook it just until hot and pieces are done to your liking.  Let each family member add further seasoning as they like to their own bowls.

 

When I buy frozen peas I look for "baby peas" or "petite peas".  These are a little more tender and flavorful than regular (mature) peas.  Once they are cooked I'll stir a pat of butter into the hot peas just before serving.  If buying frozen corn go for the sweet or super-sweet corn, for similar reason.

 

I also make a soup my DD dubbed "Scrappy Soup".  It's another way of using leftovers up, since I'll start throwing freezer-burnt veggies into a pot, and add left-over meat, any other leftovers hanging around, and some beef or chicken broth.  If I have V8 juice or tomato juice I'll add that because I like the flavor.  I'll season with herbs (fresh ones, if I have them, tied into a bundle with cheese cloth or kitchen twine--I don't have to chop up the herbs, then, and they are easy to fish out again), seasonings, and one or two things Kenji Lopez calls "umami bombs" (stuff like Worchestershire sauce, miso, soy sauce, fish sauce, anchovy paste, concentrated beef or chicken base) for the big flavor punch they give.  I keep store-bought chicken or beef stock (not broth; I like stock because it has more body and flavor) in my pantry, so this soup is easy to throw together.  Let it cook until everything is warmed through or longer.  The longer you let it cook the more the flavors meld.  I also will cook this soup from scratch, buying and browning meat to put in and buying whatever veggies I like; when I do that my DD dubs it "Scratchy Soup".  This soup also bags and freezes well, and can be pulled out at a later date and just reheated for a quick supper.

 

The easiest way to break the habit of leaving off veggies from a meal is to focus the meal on a veggie-laden item.  Making a pasta dish?  Make it all about the veggies, with just a bit of meat on the side or stirred in if you truly want some meat.  Often canned or frozen veggies work well in such dishes, and the produce section of the store often sells pre-cut veggies, saving you the time and effort to prep them.  Throw more veggies into dishes you already make.  If you are just heating up a store-bought frozen meal you can often stir in additional veggies.  Take a look at what you are serving, take a look at the quick veggie options your store offers, and start experimenting.

 

And serve "finger salad".  This is what my Mom called cut up raw veggies.  You can offer a dressing for a dip, or just eat them straight.  

 

Grilling some meat?  Throw on some cobs of corn, or fat asparagus spears, or a grill basket with other veggies.  You could throw a frozen veggie or two into the microwave if you don't have veggies to grill, put some bagged salad into some bowls, and by the time the meat is done you have your complete meal put together.  This is one of my favorite options when I am tired or have no time, because DH will grill the food (and is teaching the girls to do so, too), and now I can just tell my kids to do the rest.

 

 

The big thing is if YOU need to eat more veggies then make sure YOU get them.  I like brussels sprouts, and I like mushrooms.  No one else in my household likes them, but I buy them and prepare them anyway because I like them.  I won't deprive myself of them just because I will be the only one eating them.  I will even buy lima beans from time to time, just because DD16 likes them (even though I don't like them).

[J-rap]

I eat a veggie smoothie every day for lunch.  It's mostly spinach or kale or sometimes even cabbage, sweetened with carrots and a small amount of fruit and a splash of coconut milk, and spiced with some fresh ginger.