Most of us have ingested a little more sugar than anticipated this past week. We aren’t perfect (yes, we fell off the wagon a bit this weekend) and we certainly don’t expect you to be either. But, we want to help you get back on track as quickly as possible.
The solution? Sneak in a few extra veggies to reverse that oxidative damage!
So many people ask us how to eat more vegetables when you don’t like them, so for those asking this question (as well as those who simply want to try to eat healthier and recover from a not-so-good weekend of eating), this post is for you! We want to show you several ways how we super sneakily get more veggies into our diet on a regular basis, and especially after weekends like Halloween.
Here are Our Top 3 Tips on How to Eat More Vegetables in Your Diet AND Save Money:
1. Add “last night’s” roasted sweet potatoes to your cinnamon oats the next morning
Sweet potatoes are in season which probably means they’ve made their way to your dinner table a time or two in recent weeks. If you prefer not to reheat these bad boys two nights in a row, instead, peel off the skin, mash them with a fork and stir into your oats the next morning (ideally while piping hot over the stove). Add a teaspoon or two of cinnamon and you are good to go!
Pro Tip: Heading into a workout? Try using oat milk as the base of your oats for an extra serving of carbohydrates for energy.
2. Add 1/2 cup frozen cauliflower to your morning or post-workout smoothie
Say hello to one of the greatest hidden vegetable tricks in the book: Blend 1/2-1 cup of frozen cauliflower into your morning smoothie. This is an excellent way to obtain an extra serving of cruciferous vegetables while adding appetizing texture (and fiber!) without the weird taste. The key here is to make sure the cauliflower is frozen, not fresh. You can trick anyone, we promise. Exhibit A: See below.
3. Finely chop a cup of leftover veggies like onion, zucchini, carrots, or celery and add it to your canned tomato sauce.
Raise your hand if you have left over veggies in the fridge that are about to go bad?! Welcome to our life every week. I don’t know about you but there is nothing that bothers us more than throwing food away. The solution? Finely chopping whatever is about to go bad and adding it to your tomato sauce. Literally, just about any vegetable will work. Our favorites are zucchini, broccoli, carrots, celery and onion. Here is how you actually make it taste great:
- Turn your favorite skillet on low-medium heat.
- Chop up whatever veggies are borderline extinct in the fridge. Try to make sure you have fresh onion and garlic on hand in addition to your veggies.
- Add 1/2 cup chopped onion and 1-2 cloves of chopped garlic to your heated skillet with 2 TBSP olive oil. Sautee for 5 minutes then add your chopped veggies. Sautee another 5-7 minutes.
- Pour your favorite canned tomato sauce into the pan. We love Raos Marinara.
- Cover with a lid and let simmer for 20 minutes.
- Enjoy!
Here is a short video that goes even more detail into this along with a few more trips and tricks to easily get more veggies in your diet:
So, now that you have our secret what on how to eat more vegetables when you don’t like them, its time to put it into practice! You’ll be surprised how often you actually enjoy the texture of your food better by adding vegetables, with very little change in taste. So, next time you fall off the wagon during a holiday or special occassion, use these tricks to get back on track!
