How to Sneak More Veggies into the Family’s Diet

You know your kids—and you—should be eating more vegetables. But it is so easy to grab some prepared food or focus on the meat. As a consequence, most of us don’t get enough veggies or enough variety in our daily diets. Here are some tips to beef up the veggie diet.

• Add veggies to the food you do prepare. We bake a lot of bread. We love to throw some grated carrots or zucchini in the dough. You’ll have to add a little flour to compensate for the moisture. Or check out this great wheat bread with carrots and zucchini. Grated carrots or zucchini also work in meatloaf and casseroles.
• Be adventuresome with salads. Everything from grated red beats to snapped green beans will enhance that tossed salad.
• Don’t forget soups and stews. Add a few extra veggies—a great way to add more veggies to the diet.
• The main course doesn’t have to be meat. There are plenty of scrumptious veggie dishes that will work for a main dish—especially if you like veggie dishes with eggs or cheese. Don’t overlook stir fry dishes.
• Add a veggie to your pasta dishes. A few peas or green beans buried in the alfredo never hurt anyone.
• Pureed veggies work to thicken stews, soups, and gravies. Potatoes are almost flavor neutral; carrots will sweeten the soup just a bit.