Creative Ways to Sneak More Vegetables into Your Diet!

There are lots of ways to integrate vegetables into your meals. If you have children, the key is to be creative and find out what you and your family likes best. Hopefully they already like vegetables but if you are running out of ways to slip vegetables under the noses of your little ones, try these ideas:

• Add cooked chopped carrots and red onion into seasoned ground beef for tacos.

• Use root vegetables to flavor red sauces. Vegetable like carrots, celery, parsnips and onion work well.

• Don’t forget about bok choy when making a stir fry. It’s full of fiber and lots of other good stuff.

• Radishes are tasty in salads. You can slice them or for a milder taste, grate them.

• Grab some parsnips and cauliflower when making soups. Parsnips have a crisp texture that is welcome in any soup and cauliflower will help thicken a soup.

• Cooked carrots are great in tomato soup.

• Keep an assortment of frozen vegetables on hand to quickly add as a side dish for one of those quick dinners.

• Kids really go for vegetables covered with melted cheese. Try making a vegetable gratin. Mix half-cooked brocolli, cauliflower, and carrots with a homemade cheese sauce.

• Plan a big salad for dinner’s main course at least once a week. They are lots of fun to make and oh so easy! Add cucumber, tomato, carrots, red onion, olives, red cabbage, sunflower seeds, shredded raw beets, and whatever else your tastebuds desire.

• Mustard greens, chopped celery and onions mixed with short grain rice, cumin, vegetable broth and a dash of cayenne pepper makes a simple dish that gives a healthy dose of vitamins and minerals. Almonds and cranberries are also a tasty variation.

• Put tomato slices on grilled cheese sandwiches.