6 Creative Ways to Eat Veggies

Sarah Jane Bedwell,SELF magazine

We all know we need to eat more fruits and veggies, but steamed veggies and salads can get boring after a while. There are plenty of delicious and creative ways to get in your five servings each day. I have listed six of my favorite ideas below:

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Add veggies to your baked goods.
Making chocolate cake or banana bread? Add in some canned veggies for extra vitamins, minerals and fiber. Veggies will also keep your cake moist because of the high water content. A typical box of cake mix calls for a little more than 1 3/4 cups of liquid (some combination of water and oil). Swap these ingredients out for a 14.5-ounce can of vegetables for a healthier cake and a tasty way to eat some veggies.

Top your sandwich with a mix of veggie. You probably already put lettuce and tomato on your sandwich, but add other veggies to amp up the flavor and nutritional content even more. For an awesome crunch, add cucumbers or shredded carrots. For a great savory flavor, add roasted red peppers. Want a creamy spread without the fat? Try pureed edamame.

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Sprinkle diced veggies into your favorite dip recipe to add awesome flavor and texture. Try adding diced cucumber and onion to a yogurt dip to turn it into a chunky tzatziki sauce. Or take traditional low-fat ranch dip up a notch by adding diced sweet peppers and sun-dried tomatoes. You can even puree some kale or arugula into your pesto to amp up its antioxidant potential.

Make veggies the star of your meal.
Swap out a hamburger patty for a grilled portabella mushroom cap, or try roasted eggplant in place of chicken in pasta recipes or on pizza. You can even make a dish centered around a vegetable's unique flavor, like I did with this recipe using butternut squash.

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Include veggies in your breakfast.
Whether you are having a smoothie or a breakfast sandwich, adding veggies to your breakfast will always make it better. Throw a handful of spinach in your smoothie, use leftover asparagus in your omelet or on your breakfast sandwich or have a side of sweet cherry tomatoes with your usual yogurt.

Eat veggies instead of chips. Veggies taste great with any dip you would normally have with chips. I love crinkle-cut carrots with salsa, sliced cucumbers with onion dip and celery with hummus. Even cheese dip can be taken up a nutritional notch if you are having it with broccoli and cauliflower instead of chips! What are your favorite ways to get in your veggie servings each day?

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