Squeezing More Vegetables Into Your Day
Vegetables are a great way to aid weight maintenance or weight loss, as well as providing your body with many essential phytonutrients, vitamins and fibre.
However, many of us struggle to get our recommended amount. This can be down to a disliking for many veggies, or simply not planning your meals and grabbing on-the-go food high in fat, sugar and salt.
Here are some easy ways to start incorporating plenty of vegetables into your day!
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Breakfast
It is easier to add vegetables to your midday or evening meal, but breakfast can seem more of a challenge. Choose a recipe that leads with vegetables, such as a vegetable omelette. We have a delicious selection to choose from:
Smoked Salmon, Asparagus, Spinach and Sun-dried Tomato Omelette
Mixed Pepper Frittata with Goat’s Cheese
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Hearty main meals
Meals such as bolognaise, curries and stews can all be bulked out with plenty of extra veggies.
Examples include:
| Courgette
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Mushrooms
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| Peppers
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Celery
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| Onions
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Carrots
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| Spinach
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Aubergine
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| Cauliflower
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Broccoli
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Smoothies
Adding any slightly sweet or neutral flavoured vegetables to your smoothie is a great way to boost your veggie intake. Smooties are a great choice for breakfast or a satisfying midafternoon snack. We have a couple of recipes for you to get started with:
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BBQ
Making meat based dishes from scratch gives a great opportunity to add extra veggies. For example, homemade burgers can become dry; especially if you are using a low fat percentage mince. Try adding in diced mushrooms or grated courgette for added texture, flavour and moisture. Veggie kebabs always go down a storm too, the BBQ has a way of making the simplest ingredients taste delicious! Try threading mushrooms, peppers, onions, tomatoes and aubergines onto skewers and whack onto the heat before enjoying with the rest of your meal.
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Oats
Much like smoothies, adding in slightly sweet or neautral flavoured vegetables to your porridge can help to bulk out your meal, leaving you fuller for longer and also with the added bonus of extra vitamins and minerals. Try grating in some carrot our courgette next time you whisk up your bowl of oats, trust us, you won’t notice the difference!
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Pizza
Sitting down to a pizza is hardly a taxing affair. Choose veggie loaded toppings to boost your intake, such as mushrooms, peppers, rocket or spinach. We have a delicious recipe idea that you can create from scratch within 10 minutes, and you probably already have all the ingredients!
For even more veggies, replace the breaded base with courgette! Try our Courgette Pizza!
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Hummus
Making homemade hummus is exceptionally easy. You’ll save money, and have the added benefit of knowing exactly what it contains. When making your own you can add in extra vegetables, we have a delicious roasted pumpkin hummus recipe that you can try below.
If you have store bought hummus, you can still add extra veggies by pureeing carrots or peppers and stirring them through – easy!
For an even greater veggie boost, chop up some celery or carrots and use these as crudités with your dip.
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Grains
If you are having a grain-based dish such as quinoa, couscous or rice, bulk it out with extra diced veggies such as peppers, mushrooms or onion. You can also stir in some spinach or rocket – you will barely notice it’s there!
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Pasta and rice
If you want to lighten your meal and boost your vegetable intake, try steaming cauliflower to replace your rice, or cut your courgette into thin ribbons to replace spaghetti. We have a couple of delicious recipes that will help to inspire you!
