10 ways to sneak more veggies into your diet

Prepare a variety

I make sure I have veggies in two meals (lunch and dinner) as well as at least one snack a day. I switch it up between fresh spinach, asparagus, peppers, mushrooms, onions and always keep a mixed bag of frozen veggies in the freezer for quick stir-fries. – posted by Robin Baldwin

Add them to dessert

I’m a vegan so I really don’t need to work on getting more veggies into my diet. That said, my husband is a “meat ‘n’ potatoes” guy! I add grated veggies like carrots and zucchini to his meatloaf and burgers. I also add shredded carrot, zucchini, spinach, mushrooms and what ever else I can find in the fridge into his spaghetti, chili etc. I also have an awesome zucchini chocolate cake recipe that he loves! Omit the chocolate and add pineapple, cinnamon & nutmeg and you get an awesome spice cake! – posted by Kat Derksen

Make a veggie soup

As I have IBS [Irritable Bowel Syndrome], getting fibre-filled fruit and veg. into my diet is difficult. But butternut squash soup, which is basically pureed, is perfect and very delicious! – posted by Amanda Carson

Keep fruits and veggies handy

Always have cut-up carrot and celery sticks in the fridge. We don’t usually eat dessert but we do enjoy an apple sliced ready to dip into peanut butter. Always keep a bag of frozen fruit in the freezer for a smoothie treat. – posted by Cathy Coates

Hide them in pasta sauce

When making pasta sauce, throw in chunks of carrots, zucchini, green and red peppers. [Add] celery and spinach in the last half-hour of cooking. Even if they don’t eat the veggies, the sauce is chockfull of nutrients! You can even blend it to a pulp with the sauce. This is what I did for my son who hates veggies. – posted by Love to Eat

Sneak them in a snack

Snacking on the unusuals-beans, radishes (fresh from my garden!) snap peas, regular peas, truly anything that crunches instead of chips-has been working for me lately. Try to stay away from the carrots and the celery if only because they’re the usual “go-tos” and are familiar tastes. – posted by Deanna

Slip them in the dip

I add finely chopped carrots and spinach and\or cilantro to the rest of the ingredients for my hummus before processing it in my food processor. – posted by Karen MacDonald

Add extras to a salad

I like to use pre-packaged salad mixes, avoiding those with iceberg lettuce. I add whatever fresh vegetables I have on hand such as avocado, tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers. Another easy way to get a serving of veggies is by drinking a glass of vegetable juice every day. I especially enjoy the low-sodium V8. – posted by PJ

Juice it up!

Juicing is the best way to maximize your veggie intake. After you juice, you can save the dry pulp and add it to baking recipes like carrot loaf! – posted by Danielle

Blend them in cheese sauce

I rely on my blender to help me out in getting veggies into the foods I cook for my hubby. I’m sure if he had any idea that his hearty mac & cheese actually had cauliflower mixed into the cheese sauce he would complain. But this way I know we are both getting veggies we need and I don’t have to listen to him. I also like to add vegetable cocktail to a lot of the soups I make to bump up the veggie ratio. – posted by Tania Bugnet

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