1. Take some time to prep. This step is key in my opinion. Before I took the time to prep fresh vegetables on the weekend, the end of the day would come and I would be too tired to slice and dice them for a meal. It was just one more step in making dinner and I dreaded it! But by taking the time to do the slicing and dicing on the weekend, I can easily add more veggies to breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks without feeling crunched for time!

 

2. Pack a sandwich or wrap with more produce. Meat and cheese are the usual suspects for weekday sandwiches, but to make a healthier sandwich swap I’ve been adding cucumber, lettuce, tomato, broccoli slaw, really any crunchy vegetable I have on hand. BUT I’ll also do this if I follow #1 above. Wrap + hummus + veggies. My go-to lunch! So don’t forget about prepping ahead! 

 

3. Have some dips on hand! While I love dipping my “Everything Crackers” from Trader Joe’s in hummus or Greek yogurt dip, I now make sure I’m dipping some green bell pepper strips or baby carrots along with the crackers.

 

4. Plan meals around produce. I typically take a general recipe idea and then think about what produce I can add to it for variety and flavor. Example: roasted vegetable pizza. I took my basic pizza recipe and then added roasted vegetables for toppings [roasting the vegetables first, of course].  Here is another one of my family’s favorites Build Your Own Pizza Bar for Dinner.

 

5. Make a vegetable smoothie! My toddler LOVES them. Me? Not so much. But if you’re the smoothie-loving kind like my four tops, then consider adding spinach or cooked sweet potato to your next smoothie! Need some inspiration? Check out one of these smoothies! Chocolate Spinach Smoothie, Sweet Potato Pie Smoothie, and The Best Healthy Green Smoothie.

 

6. Add vegetables to family favorites. If your family does tacos every week [we are starting to here], then take your taco filling mix and add some chopped-up mushrooms, onions, corn, or tomatoes. Or all 4! At least that’s how I’d like my tacos.

 

7. Try one new veggie a week! Challenge yourself and make a healthy eating goal you can achieve by experimenting with something new from the produce aisle each week. What I love about most vegetables is that they are delicious when simply prepared: you’ll likely only need olive oil, salt, and pepper when trying something new. Or ranch dip, if you’ve got a toddler like mine that tries most new foods when ranch dip is involved.

 

Original article can be found here: https://momtomomnutrition.com/nutrition/eat-more-veggies/