7 Easy Ways to Eat More Veggies
There's so much noise in the nutrition world. Trying to figure out the best way to eat is confusing! Many of my clients come to me wanting to eat well and ready to commit to what will make them feel best, but they have no idea where to start. Should they cut carbs? Count macros? Try intermittent fasting? Eat paleo? Eat vegan? There are people (usually salespeople!) who will swear up and down that one of these is the one and true way forward. I beg to differ.
People can have success reaching their goals with many different approaches, and there isn't one that's best for everyone (or even necessarily for anyone). Most of the time, trying to follow a very specific, restrictive plan isn't sustainable, it's no fun, and truth be told, it's not necessary. Stop overcomplicating nutrition!
I have an easy approach to improving nutrition that will help most people. You don't start with counting, or cutting, or tracking, or measuring. All you do is eat more veggies. That's it. That's the plan. When you are getting ready to order in a restaurant or plan a meal or grab a snack, ask yourself, "can I include a vegetable with this?".
Sure, other things might shift in your diet when you do this. Your fiber and micronutrients will probably increase. You hydration status may improve. Your total energy intake could go down. Any number of things you could measure might change. But you don't have to measure them to get the benefits. Remember, everything measurement is arbitrary in a way: it's using a scale that was created to measure a concept that was deemed relevant by someone to something at some point. Would you build your nutritional house on that?
So if you want to know where to start, whatever your goal is, give it a go. Eat more veggies. Here are seven strategies to help you get started.
Make kick-ass smoothies. Who doesn’t love a smoothie? Spinach has a very mild taste that will not be noticeable when blended with fruit (but it will turn your smoothie green or brown). Cauliflower is mild and will add creaminess when blended (try buying frozen, plain riced cauliflower: it keeps forever, is easy to portion, and makes it extra creamy). Pumpkin and sweet potato blend well with mild, sweet fruits like banana and are perfect with ginger and cinnamon.
Add spinach to everything (breakfast scramble, soup, pasta sauce, pizza. . . ). It practically disappears when you cook it and adds a powerful nutritional punch.
Start with a salad. You can still get that burger, but get a small salad first. A side salad is a widely available and inexpensive addition to your meal. Eat that first, then get to the rest. Despite what the government once famously claimed, ketchup isn't a vegetable.
Change up your "dip utensils". Hummus, salsa, and guac go great with baby carrots, celery, snow peas, and bell peppers. Just make sure you actually eat a few when you're scooping away.
Subscribe to a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program and get a weekly farm box. You'll get what you get, and you'll learn to use all kinds of local, seasonal produce you might not have tried otherwise.
Eat power bowls. This is an easy thing to throw together for lunch or dinner (or even breakfast), and you can mix and match components. Include a whole grain, a ton of greens (raw, steamed, or sauteed), a bunch of roasted or grilled veggies (which brings out their sweetness), a protein source like chickpeas, beans, or tempeh (or eggs, fish or free-range/grass-fed meat, if you choose to consume them), and a delicious sauce (hot sauce or salsa, tahini or cashew-based creamy sauces, Asian-style peanut sauce, barbecue sauce, whatever you love). These are satisfying and customizable so you never get bored. This is a great strategy if you have time for a little meal prep once or twice a week.
Make it easy! If the pre-washed, pre-cut stuff means you'll use it rather than let it wilt, I absolve you of guilt over the extra dollar and the plastic bag. If you can't seem to eat fresh veggies before they go bad, buy frozen. This is not a sin!
It’s not rocket science. It doesn’t have to be perfect. Just start focusing on the veg and go from there. What's your favorite way to add produce to your plate?
