Add More Veggies to Your Family Meals
By Nicole Nichols, for SparkPeople
"Eat your vegetables." We've heard it all of our lives, but if only it were so simple! Our bodies crave fruits and vegetables more than just about any other food because we tend to get far fewer of them than we need.
With just a little thought and a tiny bit of effort in snack preparation, you can make these nutritious foods more convenient and accessible for the whole family:
Snack on raw vegetables or fruits instead of chips or pretzels. Keep sugar snap peas, raisins or carrot sticks in the car, your office, or your child's backpack.
Use chunky salsa instead of thick, creamy snack dips.
Take a trip to the grocery salad bar, and let each family member create-their-own healthy meal. Use lots of dark green leaves and other vegetables instead of piling on all of the extras like eggs, bacon and cheese. Top it off with a small container of low-fat or fat-free dressing.
Add frozen veggies to any pasta dish. It's an easy way to get in another serving of the good stuff.
When cooking vegetables, make 2-3 times more than you need and immediately store the extra away for tomorrow. It'll save you time later on.
Add your own beans and vegetables (tomatoes, spinach, peppers, cabbage) to canned and quick-serve soups.
If you must have pizza, load on extra veggies instead of fatty meats and extra cheese.
How do you get your family to eat more veggies? Share your tips in the comments!
Related links:
The No-Excuse Appeal of Fruits and Veggies
Family Eating: Getting Kids to Eat Their Veggies
Give Kids More Veggies and They'll Eat More
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