5 Ways to Easily Increase Your Daily Vegetable Intake With Minimal Effort

In today’s busy on-the-go society, it can be challenging to eat your recommended amount of daily vegetables. From shuttling your kids to-and-fro school and activities, to back-to-back zoom meetings, to looming work deadlines, you already have enough on your daily plate before considering your daily plate of veggies. According to the CDC, only 1 in 10 adults consume enough fruits or vegetables, and eating a diet rich in fruit and vegetables can help reduce the risk of many chronic illnesses. The American Heart Association recommends that adults eat 4-5 servings of vegetables per day. Ok, so we know the health benefits of eating daily vegetables, and we know we should aim for 4-5 servings per day, but how do we easily achieve this goal with our already overpacked schedules? Read below to learn ways to easily add vegetables to your day with little effort and a whole lot of health benefits!

1. Add spinach to your morning smoothie.

Don’t like the taste of spinach? Well, you’ll barely taste it amongst the sweet fruit in your smoothie. You only need about 1 cup to significantly boost your intake of vitamin A, C, K, and folic acid. Voila! Your body is thanking you already.

2. Chop batches of fresh veggies ahead of time to eat throughout the week.

Carrots, broccoli, peppers, mushrooms, you name it! Store them in Tupperware, and pack them for lunch and afternoon snacks. Spice them up with hummus. Yum!

3. Steam vegetables as a dinner side.

This is a super fast and healthy way to eat cooked vegetables with no added oil or butter! Simply place cut veggies in a steamer pot on the stove over boiling water, steam for 5-7 minutes, and you’re done! An excellent healthy side dish with minimal effort! Broccoli, peas, and green beans are all delicious choices that taste great steamed.

4. Add vegetables to broth soups.

The vegetable options are endless here! Squash, zucchini, mushrooms, potatoes, carrots, and celery are all excellent soup ingredients. Slice them and throw them in a pot with broth and your choice of spices. Broth vegetable soups make a nutritious, low-calorie main dish or side.

5. Load your sandwiches with stacks of vegetables.

Think lettuce, tomatoes, sprouts, onions, peppers. These low calorie-dense but high nutrient-dense items will fill you up faster with the right ingredients, and easily get you to your vegetable serving goal for the day!

Now that you are armed with these new tips to easily add veggies to your daily diet, go forth and eat! With time, you may find yourself consuming way more vegetables than you’d originally think possible. And you just may find your fridge mostly stocked with fresh vegetables, a sure sign that you are eating right for your body.

References

American Heart Association. (2021). Fruits and Vegetables Serving Sizes Infographic. [https://www.heart.org/en/healthy-living/healthy-eating/add-color/fruits-and-vegetables-serving-sizes]

CDC. (2017). Only 1 in 10 Adults Gets Enough Fruits or Vegetables. [https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2017/p1116-fruit-vegetable-consumption.html]