Although many people are familiar with the five servings of fruits and vegetables a day recommendation, consuming even more might provide the most health benefits. The University of Michigan notes that you should consume at least seven servings per day for optimal health benefits. With a little effort and creativity, you can add more vegetables to your diet to reach this threshold.
Adding to Main Dishes
One easy way to add vegetables to your diet is to add more of them to your main dishes, even dishes that might not typically include vegetables. Add vegetables to your scrambled eggs at breakfast, and chop or puree vegetables and add them to dishes like spaghetti sauce, macaroni and cheese, pizza, soups and stews. You can even add more vegetables to canned soups or meals that you just need to heat and serve.
Vegetarian Meals
Make one or more meals per week vegetarian. This is a great way to increase your vegetable intake and possibly decrease your calories and fat at the same time. Try out a number of recipes until you find some you enjoy. Many ethnic cuisines include lots of vegetarian options; this might be a good place to start.
Increasing Portion Sizes
Increasing your portion sizes of vegetables while reducing your portion sizes of grains and protein can keep you satisfied while decreasing your caloric intake and increasing the amount of vegetables you and your children eat. Try to fill half of your plate with vegetables. Serving a salad or a vegetable appetizer before the main meal also can help you increase the amount of vegetables you eat during each meal, since you will fill up on vegetables before eating the other parts of your meal.
Snacks
Try to make vegetables a component of most of your snacks. Try vegetables and dip instead of chips, for example. Prepare vegetables ahead of time and put them where you will see them to increase the likelihood you will choose vegetables the next time you need a snack. Varying the type of dip you use can add variety, so try healthy options like salsa and hummus as well as your usual dip, as these add even more vegetables to your diet.
References
- "American Journal of Clinical Nutrition"; Eating Vegetables First: The Use of Portion Size to Increase Vegetable Intake in Preschool Children; Maureen K. Spill, et al.; Mar. 10, 2010
- Harvard School of Public Health: Vegetables and Fruits
- University of Michigan Integrative Medicine: Healing Foods Pyramid: Fruits and Vegetables
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