Help me eat more veggies

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Originally Posted by Dogmama

Two slices of sprouted grain bread (or any dense whole grain bread)
Light cream cheese - spread on both slices

Veggies:

Shredded carrots
Cucumbers
Sprouts
Red bell peppers
Roma tomatoes (add before serving so bread doesn't get mushy)
Spinach, lettuce, other greens
???

The cream cheese is a good "sticker" for the shredded carrots & sprouts so they stay put. You can also sprinkle with sunflower seeds.

You can substitute garden-type cream cheese, onion & chive - whatever floats your boat.

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This would be great to alternate with my pbjs!

Last year we got a lot of winter squash and I started putting it in lots of unusual places. We've picked a couple of them up at the farmers' market already- they look like little pumpkins. A dollop of cooked squash will brighten up plain bean burritos.

When I was a kid, Mom used to disguise parsnips by mixing them into the mashed potatoes. Yuk. It's not that I mind parsnips for their own sake. But a parsnip parading as a mashed potato should be illegal.

Grow your own vegetables and you'll WANT to eat them with pride and benefit from their fresh flavor. I usually grow tomatoes (my very favorite food) and they end up costing about a million dollars a pound in supplies and labor but oh my but they are gooooooood.

Sorry for the thread hijack, these are fruits, not veggies. I figured it falls under the heading of "getting more produce in your life"

Breakfast at Chez Knott: gluten-free pancakes with home-made fruit compote on top. We peeled apples & plums, simmered them in strawberry mango juice.

Yummy! and I just found out I've been drinking half-caff all this time

In the spirit of vegetable consumption, I just made zucchini muffins. Delicious and was very quick and easy to make....

I love those ziploc steamer bags that they came out. Often for lunch I will slice up some yellow squash (sometimes I add broccolli or green squash or whatever suits my fancy) put in the steamer bag with some seasoning. Throw it in the microwave at work for 2 minutes. Serve either by itself or over rice, quinoa or brown pilaf (cracked bulgar cooked in beef broth) and then sprinkle with a little parmesan cheese.

Simple quick and easy way to get a nice portion of veggies added to your diet.

You mentioned you make burritos. We love breakfast burritos at our house and sometimes even have them for dinner! They're super simple and fast.

I sautee chopped veggies - usually yellow squash, zucchini, onions, bell peppers of any color, and finely chopped potato. Then I beat some eggs with a little milk and add them. On the side I usually make a little turkey bacon (It gives the good flavor with WAY less fat!), then crumble that and add it in the end. Serve up the filling in a whole wheat tortilla, sprinkle with cheese, add some salsa on top, wrap up and enjoy!

These are great...now if I just had a kitchen!

My kitchen renovation is just about to start, so it looks like I'll have a kitchen in a few months. I decided to buy a fridge with a bottom freezer because the veggie bin will be more accessible, I won't forget about them, and I'll eat more of them.

You mentioned you make pasta. I like to add some zucchini and squash to pasta sauce. I also add spinach. I tell the family it's basil (which I also add) and no one complains. ;)

Stir fry is also great to make during the week because as long as the veggies are pre-chopped (buy them that way, or chop them up over the weekend), it takes nothing to toss some olive oil with a touch os seasame oil, shrimp, soy sauce and broccoli, squash, pea pods, scallions, etc and serve it up quickly. Trader Joe's also has some really good frozen veggie mixes for stir fry - that's even quicker. Brown rice takes a while to cook - so cook up a big batch over the weekend and put a little water in it then microwave to warm up.

I've also been known to assemble zucchini lasagna over the weekend, then I simply have to pop it into the oven for an hour then serve it. Soups also store well - and are usually better the next day anyway. I love a hearty Minestrone soup served with a green salad and a good dense bread.

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Originally Posted by tulip

These are great...now if I just had a kitchen!

My kitchen renovation is just about to start, so it looks like I'll have a kitchen in a few months. I decided to buy a fridge with a bottom freezer because the veggie bin will be more accessible, I won't forget about them, and I'll eat more of them.

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Tulip - you need your builder to lend you one of these during your remodeling project.

http://www.dwyerkitchens.com/tempkit...s/default.aspx

Everything you need (assuming you can stash the fridge in the dining room or somewhere accessible).

Good luck!

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Originally Posted by withm

Tulip - you need your builder to lend you one of these during your remodeling project.

http://www.dwyerkitchens.com/tempkit...s/default.aspx

Everything you need (assuming you can stash the fridge in the dining room or somewhere accessible).

Good luck!

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Very cool! I have a homemade version of that: a microwave and dorm fridge (the SAME fridge I had in college 20+ years ago--it still works!) on a table. It'll do.

I've been working on incorporating some of these ideas. My husband has jumped on the bandwagon with me too and we've been making more dinners together which is a pleasant side effect.

Thanks so much for the suggestions!

For dinner last night -- can of Healthy Choice soup mixed with entire bag of shredded cabbage (coleslaw) cooked together. Prep time: 30 seconds, cook time: 15 minutes, nutritional value: through the roof!

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Originally Posted by andtckrtoo

Trader Joe's also has some really good frozen veggie mixes for stir fry - that's even quicker. Brown rice takes a while to cook - so cook up a big batch over the weekend and put a little water in it then microwave to warm up.

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TJ's frozen brocolli is really good. It's the actual tips, not the woody stems. Also, they sell brown rice that goes into the microwave for 3 minutes. It's $$ compared to making your own, but convenient.

Hi Christie!
Although it can seem intimidating, it's actually not too difficult to add veggies to your regular diet. If you think outside the box, that is! Here are a few ideas, building on the schedule that you described. Please read below & let me know if you think any of these could work for you! Monica

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Originally Posted by chutch

I need to eat more veggies. I do well on weekends when I have plenty of free time to make a nice salad, grill some veggies from the garden, or make a big stir fry. But I find that during the week, unless I go out to eat and order a salad, I don't get enough veggies. Fruits are no problem because its easy to grab and apple or banana and take it with me to work- needs no refrigeration or special care, doesn't need anything to dress it up, etc.
On the weekend, grill EXTRA veggies and serve those as a side dish for dinners later in the week.
In addition to whole fruits, take whole veggies for lunch! A washed whole carrot, red or green pepper, a tomato, or a couple of small cucumbers don't need refrigeration between breakfast and lunch. If you keep a knife in your desk, you can slice & enjoy these with your PBJ & create a nice balanced meal. If you don't want to bother with the knife, you can eat any of these from your hand (like an apple, so to speak). If you don't already LOVE veggies and this sounds too boring, then throw some salt packets in your lunch bag.

Typical work lunches are PBJs and whole grain chips and fruit. I snack on fruit, nuts, pretzels. I prefer not to have to keep anything refrigerated and I bike to work so it needs to be easily portable in a pannier.

Dinners during the week tend to be whatever can be made quickly after working all day and riding in the evenings (pasta, burritos, etc.). I get frustrated with bagged salad because it seems to always go bad before its all eaten. Pasta and Burritos say "veggie" all over them! Throw any veggies or beans into your pasta sauce ... frozen spinach, frozen corn, frozen peas, frozen broccoli, fresh bell peppers, fresh celery, mushrooms, fresh carrots, canned beans (black, garbanzo, kidney, etc.). My pasta sauce always has more veggies than meat. Likewise for the burritos. Sliced bell peppers, onions, and tomatoes are all fast, quick, and inexpensive additions to a traditional burrito. Carrot, celery, cucumber, and pepper sticks can be prepped on the weekend and served on the side with a burrito or sandwich. In fact, that's what I call "salad" at my house. Like you, I find that bagged salad or lettuce gets forgotten in the back of the fridge. So I just skip the lettuce and put the longer lasting salad items on my plate instead. And sandwiches (which you didn't mention), with or without meat, can be a good place to add veggies too: sliced veggies, sliced avocado, etc.


Any ideas, tips?

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