Increasing our intake of fruits and vegetables is one of the greatest things we can do for our overall health. Here are some hacks to help you eat more produce!
Elevate salad kits by adding more plants. These kits are convenient and tasty. Try adding even more nutrition. For example, add fresh berries and walnuts to a sweet kale salad kit, or diced avocado and black beans to the southwest chopped kit.
Use them as a vessel. Mini sweet bell peppers cut in half work great as containers for appetizers. You can also serve appetizers on top of apple slices, cooked mushroom caps or potato slices. Regular bell peppers can hold stews, casseroles, or another mixture. Serve your chicken or tuna salad in half an avocado or a leaf of romaine lettuce.
Use them to start your day. If you eat eggs in the morning add tomatoes, onions, peppers, avocado, spinach, kale, broccoli, mushrooms or zucchini. You can also sneak many veggies and fruits into a smoothie. Fruits are more common at breakfast time. Try adding some to your oatmeal or overnight oats, yogurt, chia pudding, smoothies, toast, or cereal.
Stretch meals with mushrooms. You can elevate moisture and umami in your ground meat by adding finely chopped mushrooms. As an added bonus, mushrooms enhance the meat flavor and extend your servings!
Dip with plants rather than chips. Dips are popular at summer gatherings. Try your favorite dips with carrot coins, sliced apples, cucumbers, bell peppers or your fruit/veggie of choice.
Use veggies as mix ins. Take your casseroles or noodle dishes up a notch by stirring in some veggies. Great options include spinach, kale, sauteed broccoli and cauliflower, or roasted zucchini and butternut squash.