I love to farmers markets or shop what’s in season (and often on sale). The USDA has a seasonal produce guide with some great recipe ideas and ways to try and cook new veggies.
Top Veggie tips:
**Incorporate them into your meals:** Add veggies to your favorite dishes, such as stir-fries, high protein pasta, sauces omelets or sneak them into smoothies!
**Snack on vegetables:** Keep pre-cut veggies like carrots, cucumber, or bell peppers readily available for snacking. I like making veggie prep easy with a veggie tray and several to go hummus, guac, peanut butter or home made Greek yogurt and ranch to dip them in!
**Experiment with cooking methods:** Try roasting, grilling, or steaming vegetables to bring out different flavors and textures. My favorite is air frying!
**Make salads interesting:** Create diverse salads with a variety of vegetables, nuts, seeds, and low calorie dressings for added flavor. Sometimes I’ll tell clients to think of their favorite restaurant salad (mine is Panera Fuji apple chicken) and try to recreate it in a healthier way. Save time and start with bag a bagged salad kit you can spruce up by adding some extra spinach or dark leafy greens to boost your nutrients!
**Set goals:** Challenge yourself to eat a certain number of vegetable servings each day. Five is the ideal number ofs serving for fruits a veggies. Curious what is a service size? Check out our food list here.
**Get creative:** branch out and try a new recipes or cuisines. Mediterranean recipes are extremely heart healthy and great for weight loss goals.
**Grow your own:** If possible, start a small garden or grow herbs and vegetables in pots. Bonus if you get the kids involved in growing, prepping and learning about them!
**Educate yourself:** Learn about the health benefits of vegetables to motivate yourself to eat more of them.