How to sneak more vegetables into your meals? We have the answer!

The topic discussed for generations - vegetables! Finally, each of us has heard since childhood to “eat the meat and leave the potatoes.” Now, as we personally take care of our diet, we are fully aware of the value of vegetables in our meals. While we enjoy eating fruit, vegetables can be a different story. How and why should you sneak in even more vegetables into your meals? Read today’s post! 

Vegetables are a huge dose of nutrients, vitamins, and minerals. Moreover, they are light, have incredibly few calories, and you can prepare literally anything from them. This is evidenced by all the vegan (i.e., plant-based) substitutes available in every large supermarket. “Meat” made from peas, lentil pasta, cashew cheese… There’s a whole lot of it! But we won’t encourage you to adopt this lifestyle; instead, we’ll show you a few simple tricks that will allow you to get a decent dose of vitamins and minerals straight from nature without tears and grinding your teeth!

Delicious, refreshing, filling, and most importantly - healthy! This is probably the most enjoyable way to sneak in vegetables! ;) They can replace a quick breakfast, a refreshing post-workout drink, or a tasty snack.

Example: To an orange, banana, half a lemon, and a bit of ginger, add a large handful of spinach. Spinach will give the smoothie an energizing color while providing you with valuable beta-carotene, lutein, vitamin C, iron, potassium, magnesium, and folic acid. Worth it? ;) 

2. Cream soups

There’s probably nothing simpler! Perfect for a quick hunger fix, lunch, or dinner. Additionally, you can conjure up delicious combinations that will surprise you and your loved ones.

Example: Always have a can of beans on hand (dry beans will also work, but remember to soak them a day before and cook them) and a few favorite vegetables. The beans will boost the protein, while the soup will gain an extraordinary flavor from the other vegetables. Add red bell pepper, carrot, parsley, and onion. Prepare your favorite spices and a generous handful of fresh cilantro or parsley. Just cook everything and blend it well into a cream. It will be delicious and so healthy!

3. Cakes, muffins, a lot of sweets!

That's right, from vegetables! Tomato gingerbread, carrot cake, zucchini muffins, or bean brownies are just a few selected delicacies that you can prepare in your kitchen using vegetables. There are plenty of recipes, and you will surely find your favorite one. Remember, it's not the case that after adding carrots, the cake becomes healthy, #fit, and can be eaten without restrictions. Use healthier substitutes in your baked goods, such as spelt flour instead of wheat flour or erythritol or xylitol instead of sugar. This way, you'll reduce calories and boost nutritional values. 

4. Sandwich spreads and dips

For a movie night or a quick breakfast sandwich, all kinds of vegetable spreads work perfectly. You can find many ready-made options in stores with good ingredients, but you can also quickly prepare them yourself at home. The tastiest ones are made using legumes - like hummus, which is a chickpea spread, bean lard, or lentil pâté. Spread the paste on good sourdough bread, eat it in a wrap, enjoy it with grissini, or (for the whole thing!) with vegetable sticks as the perfect snack.

5. Fries, little fries

Not just from potatoes and sweet potatoes. Have you ever tried fries made from carrots, parsley, or celery? I guarantee you'll love them! Bake them with a small amount of oil and your favorite spices. Remember to salt the fries always after taking them out of the oven - they will be crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. Add your favorite dip, and you're done!

6. Pesto not just from basil

Pesto doesn't have to mean a bunch of basil, a lot of oil, and calorie-rich (but delicious) parmesan. Prepare pesto from broccoli, avocado, or radish leaves. It's a great idea for a super simple meal packed with an insane amount of vitamins! Did you know that radish leaves have anti-inflammatory effects on our body, show strong anti-cancer properties, detoxify the body, aid digestion, speed up metabolism, and boost immunity? Therefore, instead of treating them as waste and throwing them in the trash, blend them with oil, pine nuts, salt, and garlic, and then eat with your favorite pasta. It will be delicious and super healthy! 

As you can see, there is strength in vegetables! So don't give them up when composing your daily meals. If you're not a fan of them in their original, raw form, use our tips. We are sure you will be pleasantly surprised!