More Fruits and Veggies

October 2, 2024 9:55 AM

How have you incorporated more fruits and vegetables into your diet? I have been adding baby spinach and blueberries to my post workout smoothie and throwing baby spinach into my omelettes. This is super easy and quick to do. Easy and quick stuff is what usually works for building habits into my life. What things are you doing to incorporate more fruits and vegetables into your diet?
posted by jasondigitized to Health & Fitness (29 answers total)

I snack on vegetables that don’t need any real prep-mini cucumbers, mini sweet peppers, baby carrots, and cherry/grape tomatoes. If I can grab them out of the fridge without having to peel/slice/etc., I am much more likely to eat them in place of convenience snacks with less nutrient density.
posted by little mouth at 9:59 AM on October 2 [12 favorites]

if you like to make soup or stew, they are a nearly limitless repository of veggies. zucks! bell peppers! mushrooms! carrots! just chop them all up and throw them in there.

a thing I like to do to try to get more dark green leafies, is to put a big pile of them in the bottom of a bowl and then ladle the hot soup on top. or just stuff them in the pot at the last minute to blanch lightly before serving.

I tend to do these things in the instantpot, so quick and easy is satisfied, and then you have a bucket of food for several meals.

I'm a big salad eater, so I try experimenting with new recipes. salads are not only good for veggies but also fruit (and dried fruit). (dm me if you want access to my recipe list)

you can buy prechopped brussel sprouts (saute and toss with a little pesto sauce) or carrots/whatever for dipping in hummus or what have you.
posted by supermedusa at 10:01 AM on October 2 [1 favorite]

Pasta and potato dishes are often improved with some frozen peas or green beans thrown in.
posted by brook horse at 10:07 AM on October 2 [5 favorites]

When I make rice, I'll add frozen vegetables a few minutes before the rice is done. There's no prep and I find that they don't change the flavor enough that it impacts my enjoyment of the meal. Also, with frozen veggies I don't have to worry about them going bad before I can convince myself to eat them.
posted by mcduff at 10:11 AM on October 2

Best answer: Fruit. I used to never eat berries because I considered them a pain in the ass, then I figured out a consistent way to prep berries and now I eat a TON of berries.

There are strong disagreements over what prep work "needs" to be done to a berry. I will say that for me, my process has been working well for me consistently for nearly 3 years. I have never once had a berry go moldy on me since adopting this process even with over a week, week and a half of fridge storage.

1) rinse your berries
2) soak your berries in a vinegar rinse for a few minutes, give the container a few swishes to agitate everything periodically
3) rinse your berries
4) store them in an aerated container like this that has either a basket or a false drip bottom as well as ventilation shafts in the side or lid
5) put bit of paper towel in the separated drip bottom and a bit of paper towel on top of the berries
6) store in the fridge somewhere in the middle (so they don't get too cold or freeze by the wall)
7) change out the paper towel bit if it becomes wet

Now I buy tons of berries in bulk (minimizing shopping trips, which I dislike), prep them for eating (another task I dislike) all in one go, and grab at my leisure as needed. (I even de-stem my strawberries in advance prep and they hold up just fine!)

I went from eating almost no fruit ever to now eating nearly a full cup of berries every day with breakfast. With yogurt, in my Cheerios or oatmeal, with a little bit of heavy cream if I'm feeling fat about it. It's been a great life upgrade for me. It's so nice to enjoy fruit now.
posted by phunniemee at 10:13 AM on October 2 [7 favorites]

I've been really liking the steam-in-bag frozen veggies as a quick vegetable dish. For 1-2 people one bag is the right amount, and there are some good ones that come pre-sauced (I like Birds Eye's teriyaki green beans) or you can add your own sauce/seasoning to plain ones. Right now I often don't have the energy to do more than stick something in the microwave, so having these in the freezer has been a life saver.
posted by radiogreentea at 10:16 AM on October 2

I've been making a weekly salad that holds up well in the fridge (like this or this; prepared as a double batch) and then just making that my go-to side dish or snack all week. Or eating it with tortilla chips.
posted by mosst at 10:26 AM on October 2 [1 favorite]

Frozen kale works well in smoothies, likewise frozen banana. On warm days you can make a cooling green smoothie of (1 cup) frozen pineapple, (1/4) lemon, (1 stalk) celery, (1 chunk) cucumber and (a bit) of kale. Add (1/2 cup) water and 4 ice cubes. Blend. Really cool and refreshing.
posted by SPrintF at 10:40 AM on October 2

Having simply cooked vegetables in the fridge helps me. Right now there's a container of cabbage cooked with olive oil, salt, and pepper. That's neutral enough that I can add a handful to what ever else I'm cooking or eating.
posted by umwelt at 11:30 AM on October 2

Get into eating sheet pan meals - these are popular because they are easy - NYTime cooking has a lot of options, but if you don't have access to that there are plenty elsewhere online.

Figure out what easy vegetables you like - I really enjoy the taste of broccoli, and you can cook it less than 10min - easy side. I also really enjoy cabbage sautéed with just salt and pepper - again, an easy side. I always make sure I have some vegetable in the fridge that's easy to prepare.

For fruits - always have a mix of fruits that can easily be transported (to work, on a hike, etc.) like citrus, as well as fruits that are more for home consumption. Banana-peanut butter sandwiches travel well.
posted by coffeecat at 11:39 AM on October 2 [2 favorites]

I had a health coach who challenged me to eat 7 salads a week - I like salads but I thought 'no way' ---

Reader, it worked. One caveat - after 2 weeks, I went thru a 2 day patch of being burned out on salads but health coach just said 'too bad, ya gotta eat your veggies'.

Some of my salads are a little funny (fritos totally count as croutons!) but they all have bases of leafy greens and other veggies. The main reason it works for me? I'm much more likely to prep & eat salad versus cooking vegetables. Fruits had been much easier for me to integrate into my life pre-health-coach (I do a post-workout smoothie with frozen strawberries + Vega brand 30g protein per serving, plus I eat an apple for breakfast and another with lunch) but vegetables were my final frontier.

Now I love not worrying about figuring out what to eat for dinner each night.

Also, maybe this is just my imagination but I swear that Aldi salad/greens packs stay fresh way longer than other grocery stores. They have a lovely variety of butter lettuce, spring mix, garden salad, and italian salad greens. They have a lot more but I only do the vegan ones. The only 'salad packs' I buy there are the Asian and the Thai N' Cashews.

I also love mixing fresh green herbs like basil and chives in with the greens.

YMMV but no matter what, I hope you find some great tricks that work for you.

just in case this is helpful - I do single frozen meals for work lunches, typically ones that have decent veggie amounts like Amy's brand, Purple Carrot, Saffron Road, and Gardein brand. Having something hot to eat when away from home makes me less likely to hit up the vending machine, etc.
posted by leemleem at 11:40 AM on October 2

Apples as a snack (chomped in their entirety, zero prep). There's a bowl in the living room, I buy 3 kilos more whenever it runs low.

And following the Polish habit of surówka: side salad with every meal. One raw veggie, at most two, maybe a quick dressing or a sprinkle of salt and pepper or maybe none. Eaten as part of the dish - two bites of the main, one of the raw veg as palate cleanser. This can be: Slice a tomato, put salt and pepper on it. Grate a couple carrots and maybe a quarter of an apple, sprinkle with lemon juice and a pinch of sugar. Handful of sauerkraut, sprinkle of olive oil. Sliced cucumber, salt and pepper, spoonful of sour cream. Mixed salad leaves and a vinaigrette. The kind of salad that can be put together in five minutes and doesn't need a dozen ingredients or varied textures because you're supposed to eat it as part of a meat and starch meal.
posted by I claim sanctuary at 11:49 AM on October 2 [4 favorites]

If you make bacon and eggs, what I do is throw spinach and kale and other greens into the bacon fat left over in the pan while I cook my eggs. It's so easy!

Also I throw vegetables into mac & cheese all the time.
posted by corb at 12:05 PM on October 2

If legumes count as vegetables, I've been successful at increasing my intake by seeing what recipes can have them added (or increase the proportions), plus making extra large meals that last all week in the fridge and/or freeze for later. Many ground beef-focused recipes can have lentils or black beans added, and many chicken-based recipes can have chickpeas or navy beans added without compromising the taste, for a much healthier meal.

I buy frozen spinach "nuggets" and they can be easily tossed into tons of things beside smoothies, like curries, taco filling, pasta etc with little to no impact on taste.

I always try to add some kind of veggie to the very low-effort meals, like baby bok choy or frozen broccoli in ramen, or frozen peas in kraft dinner. No extra effort, just toss them in the boiling water too.

Keeping a supply of frozen veggies on hand at all times is helpful so when you have a meal that's low on veggies, you can easily make them as a side. This can also include things like sweet potato fries or other veggie fries that are easy to add to more fast food-type meals. An air fryer will make it really fast and easy to cook them, but otherwise the oven works too.
posted by randomnity at 12:14 PM on October 2

Those salad in a bag things and then I add tomato and mushrooms for even more veggies.
posted by St. Peepsburg at 12:23 PM on October 2

Salad in a bag is great - try a few different kinds to find a veggie/dressing combo that you like and one of those in a big bowl can be a whole meal.
posted by 5_13_23_42_69_666 at 12:26 PM on October 2 [1 favorite]

Smoothie additions: cooked peeled beets, sliced into quarters, frozen. Canned pumpkin, plopped onto a silpat by the 1/8 cup and frozen. Steamed carrots, chopped into 1-inch chunks, frozen. I pitch these into a smoothie depending on what else is in it; I find the beets need a chocolate protein shake with a couple tablespoons of cocoa to cover the disgusting dirt flavor.

Those bags of salad are great; I usually get an additional bag of lettuce to fill them out because they can skimp on the greens. I’ve also started grabbing bags of chopped cabbage and shredded carrots, some cherry tomatoes, and mixing those together with some yummy mixins, dressing and a pound of shredded chicken (all store bought) to do lunch for the week.

My partner makes roasted veg once a week - usually Brussels sprouts, broccoli, and carrots/sweet potato. These are easy to heat up with a veggie-less meal or as the start for some eggs. Having them already cooked really helps!
posted by punchtothehead at 12:49 PM on October 2

When I decided to up my vegetable intake, I started making a big salad as my main meal several days a week. I like vegetables, so this doesn't at all feel like taking medicine, but I make sure to throw in things I really like -- kalamata olives, feta, tomatoes, avocado, usually a bit of shredded chicken -- to spruce up the more basic elements like greens, shredded carrots, and beets. Also broccoli sprouts for extra nutrition bonus points. When all is said and done, I'm probably getting 8 or 10 different veggies. With a piece of crusty sourdough? Yum! But I'm easy to please.
posted by gigondas at 2:53 PM on October 2 [2 favorites]

I got into juicing, decades ago. Initially I juiced all kinds of things, most commonly carrots (about a pound) in the afternoon; and fruits (2 apples, a peeled orange and a nub of ginger root) in the morning. I'd also do just green things, like bok choy. Eventually I cut out the fruit, hearing of how damaging the concentrated sugars could be; but I still juice the carrots every afternoon, now with an added stalk of celery or two, plus any raw broccoli stems I have left over after preparing the florets of that veg for steaming. Note that I cut the non-orange tops off the carrots, naturally; and their tips, since I heard any pollutants absorbed by the carrots are concentrated in the bottom tip, dunno if that's true or not, but it's my tradition, now. For extra zest, add a garlic segment.
posted by Rash at 3:19 PM on October 2

What are your go-to meals? One of the easiest ways to add veggies is to make small adjustments to things you already like - or find options that are similar.
posted by bunderful at 5:29 PM on October 2

Any tomato sauce can benefit from at least one grated carrot that’s been lightly browned in oil alongside your onions and garlic or other aromatics. By the time your tomato sauce has simmered and really cooked down you don’t taste the carrots much if at all but they add sweetness, a bit of body, and you get all the fiber and nutrients of the carrot too. I do about one small carrot per serving of sauce for a pasta meal, maybe double if I’m doing chili or a tomato based meat stew. You can grate it fairly coarse if you are doing a long simmer, go more fine if the cook time is shorter.

Frozen green peas are an excellent snack right out of the bag, just grab a handful whenever, especially when it’s hot.

A lot of things that are good sandwiches are also good salads. Like put a scoop of tuna salad on a pile of arugula, add a lemony vinaigrette and some cucumbers. Chef salads with chopped ham and/or turkey, sliced pickled peppers plus good tomato, oil and vinegar on crunchy romaine. Chopped salami and provolone on a bunch of butter lettuce with giardiniera and whatever needs using up in the crisper drawer and a creamy Italian dressing. Have a piece of toast with them. Basically if you are ever making a sandwich, ask yourself “can this be a salad?” And then put all the ingredients on a pile of greens.

Instead of swapping an indulgent snack for a vegetable based one, just also have the vegetable. So like, if you are having chips, just make a little plate with chips and also some cherry tomatoes or bell pepper slices. If it’s time for some tea and cake, also have apple wedges or crispy cucumbers. Just add the veggies on. Over time you can figure out what things work for you as easy to prep, easy to grab when scrounging for snacks, what goes with which other things. Then you might just have a few days where your snack is carrots and hummus instead of pretzels carrots and hummus. But just add the vegetables in, don’t swap out other things that bring you joy. You can adjust the portions as you get used to the habit.
posted by Mizu at 10:55 PM on October 2 [3 favorites]

Unsweetened dried fruit as a shelf-stable, zero-prep healthy snack (caution: eat in moderation to avoid digestive consequences). Mixed (unsalted, unroasted) nuts and raisins too.

I try to always have fruit in the fruit bowl, because "out of sight, out of mind" means I'm more likely to eat it if it's not hidden away in the fridge. Mostly for the same reason, I take out salad vegetables (bell peppers, cucumber, tomatoes) in the morning so that they're already out in plain sight when I go to make a sandwich for lunch.

An apple won't really take the edge off my hunger, but a banana will, so I try not to run out of bananas.
posted by ManyLeggedCreature at 2:56 AM on October 3

Best answer: If you're weird like me, apple slices feel more like a fun snack than chomping on one in its natural state. But you can actually prep more than one apple at at ime without fearing them browning. Add a teaspoon of salt to a bowl of water and immerse your slices for a few minutes. Rinse off and store them in a ziplock in the fridge and they'll last a few days. No saltiness either. It's a bit of a faff, but having apple slices ready to go can make it feel a bit more like a treat than just an apple in the fruit bowl. Do a psyop on yourself! YMMV.
posted by secretrobot at 3:23 AM on October 3 [5 favorites]

Buying and trying in-season fruits and veggies has been a great way for me to incorporate more, and more diverse, produce into my diet. Fall is a great season for local veggies. Pick something that looks interesting and roast it, and then you'll have leftovers for a few days. Try new fruits. I now know that I love persimmons and figs, which I had never really eaten regularly before. There are so many interesting and weird squashes. Why not try a new one each week? Then try all the different root vegetables. You might be surprised by what you like.

The important thing with this approach is that you are eating local, in-season stuff. It's especially good when you can buy it at a farmer's market or nice local grocery store. Check the origins.

Next, on the opposite end of the spectrum: I keep bags of frozen broccoli, spinach, kale, and mixed veggies around. It's super easy to cook them and add them to meals. I make maybe two cups of frozen veggies at dinner sometimes. I add a bit of butter sometimes, or mix it into whatever else I am eating.
posted by bluedaisy at 10:26 AM on October 3

Since you've marked something that involves some minimal prep work as a best-answer, here's what I've recently started doing for different reasons:

I brown-bag my lunch to work, and mostly have been using a container like this. On the weekends I make up two different bean-based salads, split them among smaller tupperware containers and have them on hand in the fridge. I also have a container of salad greens in there. I did it so that I could idiot-proof my morning lunch making:

* One big box from the bento gets stuffed with salad greens,
* The other big box from the bento gets stuffed with the contents of one of those tupperware of salad.
* crackers or some snack goes in one of the small containers.
* Cookies or grapes go in the other small container.

Granted, I did it to streamline lunch packing in the morning. But it's had the side benefit of getting me to eat way more vegetables, because - my lunch always involves some kind of salad. (I work in a health care field, and one of the nurses remarked that she was impressed at how healthy my lunches are - I guess I'm doing something right.) The only prep work is on the weekend and takes me no more than an hour to assemble both the salads; sometimes I have enough to carry over another couple days into the following week, and only need to make one salad.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 11:58 AM on October 3

I love pasta. I throw in whatever frozen veggies sound good. This week, I did a baked pasta that made enough for two weeks. 8 oz pasta. Jar of spaghetti sauce. Bag of frozen mix veg. Bag of frozen corn. Bag of frozen spinach. Bag of frozen cauliflower broccoli mix. Can of fire roasted tomatoes. Two cans white beans. Cook pasta and sauce it. Mix in the other stuff. Dump it into a large casserole dish and top with a bag of sharp cheddar. Bake until bubbly.

I like cottage cheese with peas, sunflower seeds and black pepper.
posted by kathrynm at 3:36 PM on October 3

I keep three packages each of six small boxes of raisins. They are my regular snack.
posted by NotLost at 1:20 PM on October 4

Mod note: [Lots of people are interested in the answers to this, so we've added it to the sidebar and Best Of blog!]
posted by taz (staff) at 4:31 AM on October 5

You’d be amazed at what fresh or (😬 canned) fruits, veggies, and nuts can be thrown into any green salad! If you can chop it into bite size pieces, you are seriously limited only by seasonal availability. This has worked for me to the point that, by varying greens, fruits, veggies, nuts, and dressings, I basically have a fresh green salad every night, plus, during hot weather, I make larger dinner salads by adding in a serving of protein to the larger salad. By making use of variety, after a few years, I still am not tired of green salad as frequently as I eat them.
posted by Silverstone at 9:18 AM on October 5