June 17, 2019 | Abby Caviness
You may have heard once in your life, “An apple a day keeps the doctor away.” But what about “eat your vegetables”? According to Medical News Today, all vegetables contain healthy vitamins, minerals, and fiber, which are key to improving your health and wellbeing.1 However, some find it difficult to incorporate veggies into their diet because they often do not like their taste. In honor of National Eat Your Vegetables Day, USHEALTH Group® is here to provide a few tips and healthy vegetable recipes to help you get your fill!*
Tips and Tricks
According to My Southern Health,
National Eat Your Vegetables Day is meant to encourage people to eat more
vegetables, try an unfamiliar vegetable, or reintroduce a long-lost favorite.2
Though it can be hard to make yourself—and especially your kids—eat vegetables
sometimes, My Southern Health provides a few tips for easing the process:2
Practice what you preach
It is not always fair to make your
kids eat vegetables when you are not eating them yourself, so make sure you
join in on all the fun. Plus, children are often more open to vegetables when
they see their parents eating them on a regular basis. This way, both you and
your kids will be getting the benefits of eating vegetables.
Try repetition
It may take several attempts to get
a child to try a new vegetable, so do not give up trying! The taste buds of
young children take longer to develop and mature over time, so what they did
not like before might taste good to them now. The same goes for adults, if you
tried and hated a vegetable as a kid, try it again to see if your taste buds
have changed—you may love it now!
Make it fun
All the colors and shapes that
vegetables come in make them easy to turn into games, despite the old “do not
play with your food” mentality. Keeping a lighthearted and playful tone at the
table, rather than the strict “eat your vegetables or else” approach, will be
more effective for your kids. In addition, it may help you as well!
Disguise them
If you continue to struggle with getting vegetables into your family’s diet, there is always the trusty “hidden treasure” approach. Since vegetables come in versatile colors, it can be fairly easy to hide them in your family’s favorite dishes. For example, swap half of your mashed potatoes with mashed cauliflower, or blend edamame or peas with guacamole. Your kids will not know the difference!
Healthy Vegetable
Recipes
If you are trying to start eating vegetables and you start
by eating them raw, you are missing out! There are plenty of recipes out there
to make sure you are not making yourself miserable and you enjoy what you are
eating. Here are five recipes to get you started:
Roasted broccoli with parmesan cheese
Any vegetable is better when
sprinkled with a little cheese, but this roasted broccoli with parmesan takes
the cake. Add some garlic and salt and you have the perfect side dish to any
meal!
Cauliflower fried rice
This cauliflower fried rice recipe
is perfect if your kids love traditional fried rice, because it tastes so
similar they will not even notice the difference! As a bonus for you, this
recipe is also incredibly easy to make!
Barbeque chicken pizza with hidden zucchini
When you consider how undetected
the zucchini is in this recipe, you will wonder why this dish is not in a
museum somewhere. It truly is a work of art—the art of deception, that is.
After making this dish, you will wonder how vegetables could be so good!
Hidden veggie mac & cheese
You know what they say—the secret
is in the sauce! This dish is as simple as blending pureed vegetables in with
your cheese to add some extra flavor and a health kick. If you have kids who
already love macaroni and cheese, they will for sure love this recipe!
Angel hair pasta primavera
Though this recipe is a little less
sneaky with the vegetables, it is packed with so much amazing flavor, you will
be coming back for seconds! With a myriad of roasted vegetables—like tomatoes,
broccoli and artichoke hearts—this recipe provides all the vitamins and
nutrients you need.
Takeaway
Because vegetables are packed with so many vitamins and
minerals, it is important to make sure you are getting enough throughout your
week. If you find the right recipes, vegetables can be delicious, easy to
prepare, and enjoyable for even the kids. So, start making healthy choices
today and start living good health.
*This material is provided by USHEALTH Group for informational/educational purposes only and should not replace medical/clinical advice or direction from your health care provider.
- Leonard, Jayne, “What are the most
healthful vegetables?” MedicalNewsToday.com, last modified October 11, 2018, https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/323319.php - My Southern Health, “June 17: National Eat Your
Veggies Day,” MySouthernHealth.com, published June 15, 2018, http://www.mysouthernhealth.com/national-eat-your-veggies-day-2018/