5 Sneaky Ways To Eat More Veg
Forget About Boring Salads, Have These Instead!
Getting your 5-a-day can be a hard challenge within the busy world of adulting and maybe, you’re feeling a little run down and want some new ways to eat more greens so you’re more energised. Maybe you want some sneaky ways to get more veg into your kid’s diets without them noticing. Or maybe you’re an adult who has never liked vegetables and finally decided that you wanted to give them a try. Whatever reason that’s made you click on this article, I’m here to give you some tips and tricks on how you can eat more veg in a way that doesn’t make you want to gag.
1. Blend It Into Soups
This is by far one of the most versatile options, as there is an infinite amount of veggies that you can roast in your oven and stick in your blender to make a wide array of soups. And the best part is, you never see them in your food! So, if you have a kid squeamish about veg or if you’re just someone that hates the texture of certain vegetables, just stick ’em in a blender and make some delicious soup! All the taste and none of the complaints.
2. Add It to Lasagna
Most people usually opt for a side of greens to go with their lasagna, or if they are trying to get more veg in, end up getting a vegetarian lasagna instead. But why not just combine the two? As the great Hannah Montana once said, “You get the best of both worlds!” This way you’ll have the umami flavor of the mincemeat with the addition of a delish Mediterranean veg mix. Adding some courgettes, aubergine, yellow and red peppers, could be a yummy addition to the dish. If you chop them finely, add it to the mincemeat, and cook them down together, the overpowering flavour of the meat should cover any vegetable taste and the layering component of the pasta sheets should overshadow any lingering texture differences.
3. Throw It Into Anything Saucy
Curry is one of those things that I can have at any time of year. A warm bowl of comfort to fill you right up. You can sop up the sauce with some naan or a fragrant bowl of white rice. And you guessed it, it’s also a great vehicle for veggies. This will largely be a trial-and-error approach to what kind of veggies you’d like in your curries. I would suggest vegetables that would become mushy in the sauce so that it's hard to differentiate vegetables from each other. You could even go the vegetarian curry route if you’re brave enough — lentil curry is basically just a thick soup and you can make a meat protein on the side to go with it. You could also experiment with things like chickpea and spinach curries.
4. Add Colour to Your Stir-Fried Rice
The thing I love about stir-fried rice is you can throw just about anything you want in there and it’ll still taste just as good! Yes, the veg will stand out in the rice but once it’s seasoned all together you barely notice they’re there. You could also experiment with different cuisines such as using a tomato-based Mexican rice or a soy sauce-infused egg fried rice to better hide the veggies in them whilst also adding some variation and flavour.
5. Bulk up Wraps With Greenery
This is the time to get creative, as you can bulk up your wraps with pretty much anything. Leafy greens from pre-prepared salad bags or even bulky black beans for more substance. The best thing about this is you can just cover any veg you’re not one hundred percent a fan of with your favourite sauces and sriracha’s never let me down before. So, if it’s a taste versus texture thing for you then this is definitely a great way to get more veg in.
Key Message: Don’t buy things just because you think it’s healthy and what you’re supposed to eat because all you’ll end up with is a fridge full of wasted food and a hurt wallet. Eating healthily is not an all-or-nothing approach: have fun with your food, so long as it tastes good to you and there’s some form of veg on your plate, you’re doing great!
