Eat More Vegetables - 7 Ways to Get More Veggies Into Your Diet

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Are you a vegetable lover or do you just suffer through the occasional salad and side of green beans?

I'm going to assume that most of you listening eat plenty of salad and include a green or other brightly colored vegetable into your daily meal plan at least once. If not, you need the 7 tips to get more veggies into your daily diet.

Here are the 7 easy ways:

1. Having a cup of soup, the microwave kind? Grab a bag of frozen mixed veggies or even just peas and put a 1/4 cup.

2. Making pasta for dinner? With tomato sauce you've got a good start. Why not add some chopped spinach, chard, or kale? Even mushrooms and peppers and onions count. Try for the most colorful pasta sauce ever by adding green, yellow squash, red onion, 3 color peppers and a dark leafy green.

3. Breakfast? Whole grain toast with sliced tomatoes and balsamic vinegar is heaven when tomatoes are in season. All sorts of left over veggies can be found in my egg beaters or frittata on a weekend. And yes I have a favorite smoothie that includes left over sweet potato, orange pieces, and yogurt.

4. Salads seem like a natural as they start with some form of leafy vegetable. But we often get into a rut with our ingredients. When was the last time you chopped up raw cauliflower or broccoli into your salad? Raw bok choy-which is loaded with calcium is crunchy and this helps use a head up before it goes soft. Celery may not seem nutritious but in Chinese medicine it's one of the top medicinal foods for treating high blood pressure. It has a relaxing effect on muscle.

5. Snacking-let's start with super nutritious celery. Some almond or peanut butter spread in that little groove is a fave for many years, dipping it in low fat dressing is acceptable as long as you portion out a reasonable amount. What about plain old celery with a sprinkle of salt? All raw vegetables-and we are encouraged to eat more raw foods right?-with the exception of a few like asparagus and eggplant, are satisfying because they fill us up and you almost can't eat too much. Going back to the other half of that sweet potato I mentioned, heat it in the microwave, spoon in some plain yogurt a wee bit of maple syrup and cinnamon and I'm telling you it's so yummy. Often I just eat it with a drizzle of fine olive oil, salt and pepper.

6. Dinner or whenever you eat your main meal of the day. How about 2 vegetables rather than one vege one starch? You'll be amazed at the things that resolve when we limit starches-even those that are not white. Bloating, weight gain around the middle, carb cravings and more can be resolved to name a few. How about a big pile of sautéed vegetables with the fish on top? Saute broccoli rabe with garlic, olive oil and chicken stock, add a chicken breast and top with rich tomato sauce. How about eating your steak or pork roast with grilled mushrooms, peppers, onions and a big salad. It's really just a mind shift and a wee bit of prep and planning ahead so you have these things in the house.

7. Awareness. Well I might be cheating a bit here because it's not really a tip but it's an important concept. You have to want to get more nutrition into your meal plans to do so. Asking yourself daily-how can I add some vegetables to my day, will go a long way to creating change.

So love your vegetables and let them work their magic to keep you in good health.

Ants on a log anyone?