Get sneaky with your greens! ??

What is your relationship to vegetables?

I can remember sitting at the dinner table in a standoff with my parents. I was not allowed to leave the table without finishing my dinner, and I was not about to eat the mound of vegetables on my plate. It grew dark, and my resolve was strong. I continued to sit (and thinking back, I don’t know how I did it without a phone to keep me company!) and refused to give in.

Now that I’m an adult, I know the importance of eating my vegetables and am not ashamed to admit I cherry pick my favorites and bypass some of the more nutritious and not as tasty options. Thankfully, I also supplement my diet with my Shaklee Vitalizer vitamins, but there are quite a few health benefits from fresh vegetables that can not be replaced.

There is a middle ground! You can eat your vegetables, share them with your family, and actually enjoy doing so! Let’s look at 5 ways to eat your vegetables and actually enjoy it!

1. Drink your veggies! This is an easy one as making a smoothie with raw spinach, fruits, proteins, and natural sweeteners allows you to create a nutritious snack or meal! All the benefits of raw foods and a tasty way to ingest them! Even if you only have one of these a day, it is a superb way to put healthy foods in your diet daily! Turn to Google, or ask one of our AXIS coaches for their favorite recipes to try!
2. Experiment with stir fry dishes. I love this type of dish as it is a great way to easily combine vegetables and proteins for a quick, nutritious dish. I like how many vegetables can be combined with a healthy sauce to mask some of the more tangy flavors of the dark green vegetables I throw in the dish. Mind that your sauce isn’t too salty, and experiment with different flavors to create this 30 minutes or less dish.
3. Don’t discount the element of disguise! There are many websites dedicated to the recipes that take family favorite dishes and “hide” vegetables in them! Many parents are like mine and had an obstinate child like me refusing to eat their greens. Creative parents simply said, “game on” and created dishes where vegetables are indistinguishable and their flavors undetectable. Think macaroni and cheese with broccoli hidden in the sauce. Egg omlettes with spinach and peppers. Either using a strong flavor to overpower the other flavors, or a blender to chop and hide the pieces, these recipes are genius and fun to make!
4. Saucy sauce! My mom utilized this technique and I became an instant fan! I LOVED Italian salad dressing, and she would either steam the vegetables and coat them in my favorite dressing or provide the dressing on the side for me to dunk and eat them. This is similar to the disguise technique, but I knew I was eating broccoli and was ok with it as long as I had my dressing. Carrots and broccoli in a healthy, maybe homemade dressing is a-ok!
5. Experiment with super foods and unique dishes. Vegetables like bok choi are super healthy, packed with vitamins and available locally, and are almost flavorless when prepared with a sauce in a recipe. Thanks to the boon of organic and healthy aisles in grocery stores, strange and new vegetables are a fun way to get cooking and discover new recipes! You never know, you may find your new favorite veggie while experimenting!

    

   Be bold and willing to try one or all of these suggestions and let me know in the comments how they worked for you! By attempting to increase your vegetable game, your health and fitness will thank you for it!