Growing up, I would do everything possible to avoid eating my vegetables. I’d sneak my handfuls of corn to the family dog and stuff broccoli into my pockets to flush it down the toilet later. If it was my job to peel the carrots, I’d always be sure to take a few extra layers off so I’d have less to eat.
I grew up hating veggies, but I’m an adult now and adults are supposed to eat their veggies without complaining, right?
I feel like I’ve tried everything out there to sneak, trick, and hack myself into eating more veggies. These are the 30 best ways to eat more vegetables that I’ve tried and tested. If they worked for me, they can work for you too.
Bethany is an expert at this and has been eating vegan since 2018!
Now, who am I to be writing to you today?
My name is Richmond and I’ve been a personal finance blogger for a few years now at PF Geeks.
About six months ago, Bethany helped me launch my new site, Meal Prepify, where I help people learn how to meal prep, meal plan, and find cheap and healthy recipes that work for them!
I’m definitely not vegan or vegetarian, but for the last year, my wife and I have been trying to eat more vegetarian meals to be healthier! We’ve compiled our favorites into this list of 40 vegetarian meal prep ideas that you can use to get started!
Today I want to give you 25+ ways to help you eat more vegetables and stick to your lifestyle changes this year!
28 Ways To Eat More Vegetables Even If You Hate Them
1. Add greens to your morning breakfast smoothie
One of the easiest ways to eat more vegetables is to add some greens to your smoothies! You can add a handful or two of spinach and you won’t even be able to taste the difference.
2. Buy cheaper veggies
Vegetables can definitely be a bit pricey. If costs are your limiting factor, then maybe consider buying some cheaper vegetables.
The best bang for your buck are
- Carrots
- Cucumbers
- Canned green beans
- Celery
- Romaine lettuce.
3. Use veggie noodles instead of regular pasta
If you love making pasta, then an easy swap is substituting veggie noodles for regular noodles. The only difference you’ll notice is the texture and it’s totally worth the health benefits.
4. Make a lifestyle change to your diet
Some people do best with small changes that add up over time while others need a more radical approach. If that’s you, then you should consider starting a vegan or whole30 diet.
5. Bake kale chips to snack on
One of our favorite ways to eat more veggies is to make kale chips! All you have to do is spread out a bunch of kale onto a sheet pan, drizzle in olive oil, salt, pepper, and garlic and bake for 30-35 minutes at 325 degrees.
6. Learn how to make vegetables actually taste good
I used to struggle with eating vegetables because I just had no idea how to make them taste good! Eating vegetables was like eating dirt until I actually tried roasting vegetables.
7. Make lettuce wraps with your favorite sandwich or burrito
A quick substitute you can make to sneak in some more veggies is turning your sandwiches, tacos, or burritos into a veggie wrap! If you still want your carbs, then you can just add lettuce to what you’re already eating.
8. Add chopped veggies to your breakfast
Eating veggies with breakfast has always been my biggest challenge. Mixing them in with eggs in the morning is the only thing that works for me. You can make an egg-veggie-potato hash or mix them into an omelet.
9. Sneak zucchini in your muffins
If you love muffins, adding some grated zucchini can be an easy way to sneak some more veggies into your diet. You’ll hardly even notice the difference in taste!
10. Add a side dish to your meal with a bagged slaw or bagged salad
One of the biggest challenges with trying to eat more vegetables is having them readily available to eat. My wife and I love using the store-bought bagged salad that we can whip together for a quick side to our dinner.
11. Add some vegetables to your favorite soup
Soups are an easy way to “hide” the vegetables you’re trying to eat. Add some carrots, peas, bell peppers, or celery and you’ll hardly even notice that you’re eating more vegetables.
12. Start juicing
An easy way to eat more vegetables is to turn them into liquid form! Putting fruit and veggies into a juicer extracts most of the vitamins and nutrients and discards the pulp, leaving you a super-focused shot of vegetables for you to knockback.
13. Load up your sandwich
If you’re a sandwich person, you can easily stuff some lettuce, tomato, cucumber, or even some sprouts onto your sandwich!
14. Meatless Mondays
One of the easiest ways to eat more vegetables is to cut out all meat just one day a week! If you’re a carnivore like me this might be difficult, but it’s good for your wallet, digestive system, and the environment. Set aside one day a week to go vegetarian!
15. Snack on veggies while you cook
My wife and I always try to snack on some sliced veggies while we’re cooking dinner, especially if we don’t have any as part of our meal. It’s an easy way for us to sneak some in and it helps us eat less!
16. Double your veggie portions
Want to eat more vegetables? Simply double your portion size and eat less of your entree!
17. Turn them into boats!
One of our go-to meals is taco meat stuffed inside bell peppers with some melted cheese on top. Super easy to make and it’s an easy swap instead of tortillas.
18. Make them visible
Most fridges have a drawer at the bottom where people keep their veggies. The only problem is you never see them, look there, and they end up going bad a week later! Move your vegetables where you can see them so you’re more likely to choose them first when you open the fridge.
19. Buy pre-cut vegetables
If you’re short on time, try buying some pre-cut vegetables or chop them all up ahead of time on the weekend so you can munch on them throughout the week. The more convenient you can make it, the more veggies you’ll eat.
20. Dunk them in ranch! Or your favorite dressing or hummus
Don’t like the taste of veggies? Dunk them in your favorite dip like hummus, ranch, or blue cheese!
21. Jazz up your salads
Salads are one of the best ways to get a variety of veggies into one meal. You can load up a salad with all kinds of toppings to mix in some veggies that you don’t normally eat. I recommend adding in some kale and sliced up beets since the dressing will help cover up the flavor!
Salads are easy to meal prep since you can prep all of the veggies on the weekend and just add dressing to each portion when it’s time to eat!
22. Bag them into portions
It can be tough to get your vegetables in at work unless you plan ahead. My wife and I always try to cut and put our veggies into individual containers so we can take a week’s worth and store them in the office fridge. Makes for quick snacks that are healthy!
23. Eat a handful before each meal
The best way to eat more vegetables is to find a way to make it a habit. We simply try to eat a small handful of veggies before each meal. Typically we go for something easy to snack on that takes zero prep: cucumbers, baby carrots, or bell peppers.
24. Create caramelized veggies
One of the most delicious ways to eat your veggies is by caramelizing them! Load up a pan of bell peppers, onions, and brussel sprouts and they’ll simmer down into a plate of sweet and savory vegetables.
25. Make a “green smoothie”
If you don’t want to be snacking on veggies all day, then maybe you should make a green smoothie that you can drink in one sitting. My go-to is a green apple, green pear, spinach, and water. It definitely doesn’t taste good, but it’s an easy way to load up on the greens.
26. Load them up on Pizza
If you like making homemade pizzas or even if you buy a pre-made one, make sure to add a bunch of veggies on top! You can add bell peppers, roasted red peppers, mushrooms, and spinach.
27. Stir-fries
Stir-fries are one of the best ways to incorporate veggies as part of your meal prepping. You can add snap peas, peppers, bell peppers, onions, broccoli, and cauliflower to any kind of stir fry!
28. Midnight movie snack
If you’re a late-night snacker, then try to find a way to sneak some veggies in before pulling out the goldfish and ice cream.
Eating more vegetables is hard. Find what works for you!
At the end of the day, you’ve got to do what works for you! We all need to be eating more vegetables and sometimes you honestly just have to suck it up and do things you don’t like doing.
My hope is that these 28 small ideas can help you transform your diet and live a healthier lifestyle!
