Most of us could probably stand to add more veggies into our daily diet. According to the official guidelines, on average, you should eat about 2.5 cups of vegetables per day. Over the course of an entire day, this goal amount of not that much, but many people still struggle to achieve that intake.
If you have found that you are not getting enough veggies in your diet and are looking to add more, there are a few simple and tasty ways to up your veggie intake without feeling like all you are doing is eating leafy greens and broccoli!
Veggie Packed Muffins
Everyone loves a fluffy sweet muffin for breakfast or a snack in the afternoon. While it is easy to eat a muffin that in mostly sugar, carbs, and fat, you can opt for healthier recipes that is also packed with hidden veggies you cannot even taste. You get to increase your vegetable intake for the day while still enjoying your favorite foods.
You can try carrot cake muffins and zucchini bread muffins for a healthy and veggie forward treat. You can also go for a savory veggie muffin as well for a little something different. This recipe uses carrot, corn, zucchini, and peas plus some cheddar cheese for the ultimate muffin with a big serving of veggies.
Smoothies
You can add spinach, kale, and cauliflower to any creamy and delicious fruit smoothie without ever knowing! It ups your veggie intake while also adding in more minerals, vitamins, and volume without increasing the calories substantially.
Try adding two handfuls of spinach to a banana peanut butter smoothie, you can also do kale in place of the spinach. Although it may sound funny, you can add cauliflower to your smoothie and not taste it at all. Cauliflower will make your smoothie creamy and bulk up the volume with few calories.
Half Veggies Half Chips
If you love chips and dip you can still enjoy it as a snack, but instead of eating all your dip with pita, pretzels, or potato chips replace half of the chips you would eat with some veggie sticks. Carrots, celery, bell peppers, cucumbers, radishes, and kale chips are a few great veggies that always go well with most kinds of yummy dips. This can increase your daily veggie intake substantially and you can also save some calories at the same time.
Frittatas and Egg Cups
Frittatas and egg cups are a great option for breakfast ad snacks that are high in protein and veggies. The flavor combinations are endless, and you can make a new recipe with different veggies every week so you don’t get bored.
Try out this veggie packed frittata you can enjoy all week long. If you want single serve options, make a fun egg cup recipe.
Veggie Meatloaf
Meatloaf is a hearty and comforting meal, but it can easily be made a little bit healthier with the addition of nutrient dense vegetables and protein-packed quinoa. This veggie meatloaf recipe uses carrots, celery, and spinach to up the veggie content in the meatloaf. The addition of quinoa adds great texture, vitamins, and even more protein to the meatloaf.
If you want to up the veggie content even more, try adding diced bell pepper, grated zucchini, and finely minced mushrooms to the mix.
Veggie Nuggets
Great for both adults and kids for lunch and dinner, try out some veggie nuggets instead of chicken nuggets. This is a fun idea for increasing your veggies during the day without feeling like you have to eat salads.
This veggie nugget recipe has carrots and broccoli as the base of the nugget, so you are getting tons of vitamins and minerals from this fun meal. They are great for dipping in ketchup, BBQ sauce, aioli, or buffalo sauce.