Veggies — BLOG — The Sassy Nation

Easy Hacks to Eat More Fruit and Veggies

Welcome to day FIVE, feel alive! That's our theme for today's blog post, these vegetables, this life! Look. Feel. Be alive! Especially when it comes to your vegetables. Don't let them overcook and die in your pan sad and limp. The only thing worse than a mushy, lifeless vegetable that's basically devoid of nutrients is that it's sitting up there on your plate wasting your time and money.

That's why today's tip of the day should actually be a national PSA:

And listen, if you're the type who doesn't like vegetables (or fruit for that matter) let me just say, first of all, it's not that I don't believe you, but I call BS. There is something, one, possibly two vegetables that you secretly love. Okay, maybe not love but you like them. And if you don't like-like them, you will at least deal with them if they happen to be on your plate. This much I know for sure. So, that's the second half of the PSA: Start with fruits and veggies that you already jam with and build your repertoire around that.

Let me tell you something... broccoli, for the longest time was my Ji-zam! Broccoli with cheese, broccoli with garlic, broccoli salad, hot, cold, raw. It didn't matter. All broccoli errythang! Second to that, my other loves were spinach and different types of lettuce and field greens. Then the heavens smiled on my life the day I met some kale. Obligatory *body roll & wall slide*! Now don't get me wrong, I had zero qualms with other veggies like green beans, asparagus and collards. But in terms of weekly produce I typically stuck to my basics. So here are a few tips on how to (once you find your go-tos) incorporate them into your life, morning, noon and night.

Morning

Fruit is probably the easiest of the easy things to add to your diet, especially in the morning. Just add some berries, peaches or apples in your hot cereal or yogurt, on your pancakes, with your waffles and shazam, your morning just went from zero to 100. Shove some spinach in between that bagel with egg and cheese. Don't want to pay extra? Bring your own stashed in a snack baggie. Give it about a minute and it'll wilt from the heat just fine.

Noon

You probably don't want salad for lunch everyday, and we understand that. Although a hearty salad is the actual equivalent of all the veggies you need for one day (did ya know that?). Add some fruit to that and you'll really be in the mix. It's okay though, have your sandwich, have your pasta, it's cool. Toss a couple of veggies in there while you're at it. They count.

Night

Go heavy on the veggies at dinner and make them a priority when planning out your meals. At some point vegetables became a random afterthought on people's plates. We're not saying to forget about meat--instead, think about what veggies will enhance the flavor of your protein and bring a beautiful pop of color to your plate. And whatever you do, remember the tip of the day: crisp veggies cooked lightly are the way to slay.

There really isn't much work to be done to up your intake of the good stuff. The secret is that it's just a matter of keeping the the question "what fruit or vegetable can I add to what I'm about to order/eat?" at the forefront of your mind and choosing that option everyday.

Final thoughts and a little mind screw for the day...

So, look at the pic. below. Here's a real deal snapshot of the recommended amount of fruit and vegetables that a person with an average caloric intake of 2000 should have. Now keep in mind each picture represents one day of all the fruit and vegetables that you need. One day. Now let that sink in. What you're looking at represents 9 days total, okay? Now be honest, based on this, how hard do really you think it would be to meet your daily allowance goals. Easy AF, right? Right. Let's do this.