5 Ways to Trick Yourself into Eating More Veggies

Photo credit: Getty Images

Let’s face it—not all of us love our veggies nearly as much as we should. Whether you think they’re too starchy, too stinky, or too plain, you’ll look for any excuse to avoid getting your suggested daily dosage of three servings a day. But what if there were sneaky ways to slip a few leafy greens and crunchy cruciferous veggies into your meals, without making a huge impact on your original recipe?

Well, actually there are hundreds of recipes that do just that. You’ll just need to do a little digging to find your favorite swap. But with vegetables’ insane health benefits—like protecting against certain diseases, boosting your immune system, supporting weight management, and adding nutrients to your diet—it’s well worth the time.

To get you started on the swap, here are five simple ways to trick yourself or your family into eating more veggies:

1. Boost your breakfast

Love a scrambled egg every day? Great! It’s the perfect place to hide a few veggies. Add mushrooms, spinach, red pepper, and cherry tomatoes to turn your eggs into an omelet. Voila—you’ve just added a dose of potassium, fiber, and vitamins A and C to your everyday eggs.

2. Cauliflower crust

Who doesn’t love pizza? It’s practically a staple of Friday night. Surprisingly, pizza isn’t as bad for you as you might think. It has tomato sauce (good for potassium levels) and cheese (a good source of protein and calcium); the crust is where pizza’s health benefits go off the rails. So, replace it with a cauliflower crust. It only takes about 20 minutes to make a crispy cauliflower crust and add protein, magnesium, fiber and vitamins C, K, and B to your meal.

3. Meatless Mondays

Challenge yourself to dedicate one day of the week to an entirely meatless meal. Make a frittata, pasta with vegetable-infused marinara, mushroom burgers, or pumpkin soup. You’ll not only add a few new recipes to your repertoire, but also boost your nutrient intake.

4. The Chip Challenge

Almost every vegetable on the planet can be turned into a crunchy, salty treat in chip form! Try it with zucchini, eggplant, kale, beets, and sweet potato.

5. Skip the bun

You’ve probably seen the bun-less burger gracing an Instagram feed near you. Replacing a starchy bread bun with lettuce cuts your calorie intake by a third and adds fiber and vitamins B and C to your bbq favorite. Sure, it looks pretty and has health benefits, but it’s actually pretty darn delicious, too. The juicy lettuce offsets the dry texture of beef. Top it with cheese, tomato, and caramelized onion and you’ll be wowed by the flavor.

Get more information on how Independence Blue Cross can be a part of your plan for health and wellness.