Eat your veggies.  Low in calories, high in vitamins, minerals, anti-oxidants, fiber, yadda yadda yadda.

Confession

I’ve not always been a veggie person.  In fact, my love for veggies has recently only developed the last year or two.  Before that I was eating them because hey were covered in cheese I knew they were good for me. Once I decided to move beyond choking down steamed broccoli, a whole new world opened up and now I can truthfully say love veggies.

The not so secret to great veggies dishes is to use in season and as fresh as possible veggies.  And butter.

10 Ways to Eat More Veggies

1. Steamed – It’s quick and easy but not necessarily my favorite.

2. Roasted – You can roast almost any veggie.  Toss veggies with olive oil, coconut oil, or (my favorite) butter.  Sprinkle with sea salt and roast.  The time and heat varies by type veggie and the result you after after.  If you want a softer sweeter veggies then lower heat and longer roasting times work best.  If you want your veggies more al dente and caramelized then try higher heat and faster roasting times.

3. Grilled – Love the taste of smokey charred veggies.  One of my favorite salads is a grilled beet salad.

4. Sauteed – Oil, onions, garlic and sea salt work well with almost any dark green veggies.  My I Can’t Believe They are Collards is one of my very favorite sauteed veggie recipes.  I LOVE it.

5. Sauces and Dips – Tomatoe based sauces with pureed or chopped veggies?  Curries loaded with veggies?  Sundried tomato artichoke or skinny jeans spinach dip?  Yes, yes, yes, and YES!  Dip raw veggies in the dips and you get a double whammy.  Did I just say “double whammy”.  I really have become my mother.  

6. In place of pasta – 1 cup (And who wants to eat just one cup?  Not me!) of whole wheat penne pasta is about 280 calories compared to one cup of squash coming in around 30 calories a cup.  Not only is the calorie count lower, but fresh veggies are more nutritious than processed pasta any day.

7. In place of rice – Works great in Mexican or Asian “bowls”.  Grill bell peppers, onions, and squash. Then topped it with chicken, avocado, salsa, and some sour cream.  Sooo good and soo good for you.  Like the pasta, a cup of brown rice is around 200 calories compared to the squash.

8. Smoothies – Throw a handful of green something in your smoothie.  Green smoothies are NOT my thing but if it’s yours GO FOR IT!!!!

9. Casseroles – Another easy way to up your veggies intakes.  I’m a fan of egg based casseroles to up the protein.  (Would that technically be a quiche?)

10. Soups and Salads – Yeah, a total no brainer but an easy way to up your veggie intake.    Don’t be afraid to try new things when making salads.  Get creative and have fun.  You never know when you might come up with some amazing combination!

What about you?  Do you like your veggies?  Any ideas or advice you can add to the list?

Hugs and High Fives,
Jenn

Check out our family’s adventures at New School Nomads as we plan to take a year long road trip through the United States!

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The post 31 Days to a Better Body: Day 15 – Veggies (and 10 ways to eat them) appeared first on Girl Heroes.