Love them or hate them, you cannot deny their importance.
Easily the most health-promoting food group on the planet, vegetables are powerhouses of fiber and antioxidants. So, what do self-confessed veggie haters (like most of us!) do? One thing's for sure, cheating veggie haters into eating generous portions of the leafy things works...everytime. Here are some tips for including vegetables in your daily diet without really tasting them...
Add vegetables to your favourite dishes
You love lasagna? Add layers of chopped spinach or boiled and stir fried broccoli or carrots along with flavoured zucchini slices. You love macaroni and cheese? Stir fry a few seasonal vegetables such as asparagus, broccoli, mushroom and tomatoes in olive oil. Add a dash of oregano or tomato puree to it, your healthy bowl of macaroni and cheese is ready. Fold them into quesadilla or omelettes.
Fold them into salads
Throw in all the vegetables you like (or tolerate) into your bowl of salad. There are many vegetables which will go well with salads - onions, radishes, grated carrots, thinly sliced cucumber, cauliflower florets or green beans. Perhaps a good way to include them is to slice them really thin...so they don't get in the way too much.
Have some fun mixing and matching
Some vegetables are best when combined with certain other vegetables. So add a bunch of them to a single dish - maybe grill some eggplant, zucchini, and tomatoes for a single dish topped with your favourite sauce?
Serve them raw with a tasty homemade dip
The flavour of raw veggies is milder and the texture is crisp. Serve them with onion dip (use home prepared onion broth and add low fat cream to it) or simple make a flavoured tomato puree (boil tomato puree, oregano, salt and pepper in one table spoon of olive oil).
Sneak them into your evening snack
Place them inside hot or cold sandwiches. Add grated or finally chopped vegetables such as fresh basil, sliced zucchini, shredded cabbage of different colours. Tomato and sprouts go well with wraps and pitas too.
Drink your veggies!
Prepare homemade versions of bottled or canned juice and add your own healthy twist of veggies to it. Blend some carrot along with mango or orange juice.
Grill them!
Grill some vegetables, and add a dash of your favourite flavouring or simply salt and pepper will also do. Just make sure to brush them slightly with olive oil or light dressing, before grilling. Large pieces of mushroom and zucchini or eggplant can be placed neatly on a stick and grilled.
If you are somebody who dislikes eating overcooked vegetables, simply change your cooking style. Try cooking vegetables in texture enhancing ways such as light microwave cooking or simple stir-fries in your favourite sauce.
