Tips On How To Eat More Veggies

Maybe you were one of those kids, the type that just would not eat certain kinds of vegetables; or maybe any of your vegetables at the dinner table.  Creative methods perhaps were required to have you consume your beans or peas or whatever vegetable was on your plate. 

Well, then, North Dakota State University Extension expert Julie Garden Robinson provides several tips and strategies to employ to help the adults, kids too, eat the recommended daily serving of four to five cups of vegetables and fruit. 

Variety Is The Spice Of Life

“One thing you can do is try different food preparation methods,” Garden-Robinson said.  “Vegetables can be made in a variety of ways from roasting them, to microwaving, to grilling.” 

And beyond how to prepare vegetables as part of delectable dishes, consider what appliances to prepare veggies in. 

“You might want to use a multifunction pressure cooker or an air fryer.” 

Garden-Robinson added, let's not forget the reliable slow cooker. 

“Those have been around for many decades and they also are a good way to make soups, stews with a lot of colorful produce that we have available.” 

Make Eating Health Easy

Snacking on vegetables is always a healthy idea. Some tips to have produce handy for snacking include; 

“You might want to check out having some carrot sticks or celery or something like that. Prepackage them so they're ready to go,” Garden-Robinson said.  “We're more likely to grab and go fruits and vegetables if we don't have to pause and peel and do all those sorts of things. And if you really like a dip, it's not a bad thing. Have some hummus which is made from chickpea.” 

Now, one area that consumers lack regarding vegetable consumption, eating enough dark green and dark gold vegetables. 

“Maybe put a little concentration on that area. Consider tracking your vegetables and fruits for a couple days and see, oh, I'm not eating any vegetables or I'm only eating three a day.” 

Fresh Is Good, But Not The Only Way To Get Your Fruits And Veggies

She added when shopping for veggies, the produce department isn’t the only location where healthy options exist. 

“[The] Freezer aisle is certainly an excellent place," Garden-Robinson said.  “Frozen vegetables and fruits are harvested at their peak quality and quickly frozen, so they have that good nutritional value.” 

When going out to eat at a restaurant. 

“Consider getting the side of vegetables.” 

Increasing salad consumption works to increase your daily recommended servings of vegetables and fruit. Keep in mind, though. 

“It's easy to overwhelm your salad with dressing, so ask for the salad dressing to be served on the side. And some people even like to dip the tines of their fork in their salad dressing and then into their lettuce leaf.” 

If you have a story idea for the PNW Ag Network, call (509) 547-1618, or e-mail glenn.vaagen@townsquaremedia.com