I honestly think we don’t give enough time to vegetables, we see ads for cereals, breakfast bars and ‘quick’ food, but in my basics section you’ll see the easiest way to get veggies in your system! Other than that you can just bulk your meals out or increase your veggie intake in several other ways.

More veggies for all!

I hope you don’t think I’m spoon feeding you the information, I’m trying to just give everything in simple terms, as some people really do struggle with the basics. If that’s not you then good, but stick around for the great recipes anyway!
Hopefully.. I’m hoping you’ll take away some new methods for getting low-calorie high fibre and nutrient dense foodies (IE.Veggies) into your diet.

Basics

There’s nothing wrong with just eating a good ol’ veggie, steamed, boiled or just raw. You can have them to start your day or just to keep you going throughout the afternoon. Remember, a sweet potato doesn’t have to be a side-dish..why not make it a main course! Here are some of my suggestions on how to get the basics into your diet.

Carrots:
Steamed,seasoned with salt and pepper,
Sliced lengthways,Steamed,
Sliced lengthways and oven or pan-fried, chipped’
Sliced circular, and oven or pan- fried, crisped
Boiled, steamed, seasoned and added to salads and main meals,

Sweetcorn:
Boiled, steamed, seasoned and added to salads and main meals,
Served with other mixed veggies and seasoning,

Sweet potato:
Steamed, in the skin,seasoned with salt and pepper,
Steamed, in the skin, mashed and seasoned,
Sliced lengthways, and oven or pan-fried, chipped’
Sliced circular, and oven or pan- fried, crisped

Courgette:
sliced lengthways and grilled season with salt and pepper,
sliced lengthways and grilled, marinated in sauce of your liking,
sliced in circular rings, pan-fried and served in a tomato sauce,
sliced in circular rings, crisped (see, snacks and fun stuff)

Broccoli:
Steamed and dressed with sesame seeds and some soy sauce, 
Steamed with some butter and salt and pepper.

Obviously, the list is endless, these are just some super healthy foods with some super easy ideas. Just because they’re basic vegetables doesn’t mean they have to be boring! Why not assemble them in some sauces or dips, cook them in a pesto base or create a red pepper side dish to accompany your sweet potatoes.

Sauces & dips

Bulk, Bulk, Bulk. Whether it’s a sauce or a dish, you can sneak vegetables into bulk out your meal..instead of starchy carbs and heavy sides you can bulk your main meal, or sauce into a bigger and healthier portion. It’s my top tip. If you have a meal, anything at all find a suitable vegetable for it and bulk it out.

Obviously you have your classic bulk sauces;
tomato sauces, such as bolognese, lasagne, Curry. All of these sauces can have the basic can of tomatoes added to them for the extra dose of veggies and these should always be in your cupboard!

Then you have your classic bulk dishes;
Omelettes, Stir-frys, stews, Paella chilli, bolognese, lasagne and curry again…

And then.. you have your dips!
Classics like guacamole are made purely from vegetables and ones with healthy fats too! Then there’s salsa, that’s made from tomato’s, onions and chillis. What about red pepper or black bean dips too?Or even a creamy cauliflower dip?

The ultimate vegetable bulker; The CURRY
Curries were originally made from left-over vegetables and spices and cooked until tender,just to survive on, they’re a survival food. They’ve been around for 100’s of years and are a staple of the world’s diet, when you’re cupboards are empty it’s normally the thing you grab for.

Anyone can make a curry, you just need a can of tomatoes and a few spices. You don’t need meat but also  just because you’re adding vegetables for bulk, doesn’t mean you need to skip the meat either.

Some vegetables you can add into a curry;  Onions, Tomatoes, Celery, Carrot, Aubergine, Broccoli, Butternut squash, Courgette,Mushrooms, Peppers, Peas, Potatoes, Sweet corn, Spinach, Cabbage.

Crazy fun stuff 

Small snacks on vegetables, not just boiled or steamed, these are exciting and fun ways to introduce veggies to your diets, or even your child’s. Why not impress a guest with a vegetarian take on a classic?

Mediterranean Cucumber Roll Ups. Vegetables and cheese rolled in a cucumber slither. A low carb sushi idea!

25 vegetarian crisp ideas

Grilled vegetable & pork quesadias

Stuffed peppers

Cauliflower cous-cous

Juices;

Juices and smoothies – from A Balanced belly

Vegetable fritters;

Made very simply, you can use several different vegetables to make these!

• Cauli-Fritters
• Courgette,
• Carrott,
• Mushroom
• Corn
• Sweet potato
• Broccoli tots

Veggies for breakfast – A weekly breakfast routine.

Main meals

Just adding vegetables for main meals, like vegetarians do..but of course you can add meat if you so wish. Vegetables are humble, sweet little nuggets of health, why not take advantage of how healthy they are and use them up!

Vegetable stew – can be made vegan if you excl the feta!

Pulled Jackfruit – It includes fruit as a meat substitute!

The classic, Vegan chilli – Vegan and full of veggies!

Veggie squash bean burgers – from GingeyBites

A Sweet potato curry with wild rice – From Cookstyle

Smokey Baked beans with Aubergine – From SneakyVeg

 

Pizzas:

Sweet Potato Pizza Crust – From PurelyAmy

Rainbow pizza – From Cookstyle

Cauliflower pizza Base – Purely Amy

Make sure to eat up your veggies!

*Links are from bloggers from all over the net, non-bias!