Vegetables are all superfoods in my opinion, and one thing I’ll ask almost all my clients to do is to eat more of them! Here are my top ten tips to squeeze more vegetables into your daily diet.
- Smoothies are the easiest way to get 3 portions (or more!) for fruit and vegetables in at breakfast. When doing my 10 a day challenge I found it much more difficult on the days where my breakfast was lacking in portions. Berries, banana, avocado, frozen kale, spinach and broccoli are my favourite smoothie additions.
- Frozen fruit and veggies save a lot of time and cleaning up! They’re usually just as nutritious – if not more because they’re frozen soon after picking whilst supermarket vegetables could have been picked several days ago.
- Preparation is key! Batch-cooking and chopping makes it so much easier – when I was short on time I probably would have given up my 10 a day challenge if I hadn’t had fruit and veg already prepared and ready to eat.
- Have a plan – and stick to it. I often tell my clients to set themselves up for success by spending a little time at the weekend planning their meals for the week and shopping.
- Get fancy and have a veggie starter! Nothing major – a small bowl of soup or a bitter leaf salad will help you add in some extra veggies and as a bonus will kick-start your digestion.
- Take it slow. If you’re not used to eating a lot of vegetables increase your portions gradually. They’re full of fabulous fibre, but this can make some people feel a little bloated or gassy if not used to it.
- Variety is key! We all know the food rut – I definitely fall into it now and then. Ideally, we want a wide range of antioxidants, polyphenols and phytochemicals from plants so try to mix it up a bit and your body will thank you for it.
- Use herbs and spices to add flavour. If you’re catering for a fussy eater in the family this can help to hide some veggies or make them a little more appealing.
- Get sneaky – another one for the fussy eaters. Grate courgette or finely chop mushrooms into sauces and add frozen veggies into smoothies – believe me, if they’re frozen you’ll hardly taste them. This works a charm on my husband!
- Go plant-based. I eat meat and fish each week – they’re highly nutritious. However, most of my breakfasts, lunches and several of my dinners are vegetarian which automatically boosts my daily intake of fruit and vegetables.
I really hope you’ve found these tips useful and that you enjoy upping your vegetable intake! Please do get in touch with me if you’d like any advice or have any questions at laura@lmnutrition.co.uk