10 Simple Ways to Eat More Vegetables
Earlier this year, I wrote a blog highlighting the statistic that the vast majority of Australian adults fall well short of the recommended 5-6 serves of vegetables each day.
Most of us know we should be eating more vegetables. The tricky part is turning that knowledge into a habit that actually sticks.
Rather than trying to overhaul your entire eating habits overnight, I often find that the most sustainable approach is to pick one small change, master it, then build from there.
Start With a Vegetable Starter
One of my favourite places to begin is the vegetable starter. Before your main meal, have a small side salad, some vegetable sticks, or a cup of homemade vegetable soup.
It sounds simple, and it is, but this small shift does two things. First, it gets a serve of vegetables into your day before you have even reached the main event. Second, there is emerging evidence that eating vegetables before a carbohydrate heavy meal can help blunt the blood glucose spike that follows.
Think of it as putting a gentle brake on digestion, and giving your body a bit more time to process the carbohydrates that come next.
If soup or salad before dinner feels like a big ask at first, start with just one or two nights a week and build from there.
I will often just have a small bowl of rocket (the bitters help with digestion) with some shaved parmesan and a simple dressing of olive oil, apple cider vinegar and honey. Some night's I'll add some other vegetables, like avocado or capsicum.
Nine More Ways to Sneak In Extra Serves
Once the starter habit feels natural, here are some other strategies worth trying, one at a time:
Add Vegetables To Breakfast: Add some spinach or kale in smoothies. Include some mushrooms, tomatoes and avocado with eggs. Bake a vegetable frittata. Add some rated zucchini in pancake batter or oats.
Batch Roast a Vegetable Tray Weekly: Roasting a large tray of mixed vegetables once a week means they are ready to add to any meal. Add to breakfast, bowls, wraps, salads, or just eat as a snack.
Use Dips: Pair raw or lightly steamed vegetables with hummus, tzatziki, guacamole, or even nut butter for an easy snack.
Frozen Vegetables: These can be great for convenience as minimal preparation is required. Keep some frozen spinach, peas, corn, broccoli or other vegetables on hand. They are nutritionally comparable to fresh vegetables as they are harvested and frozen at their peak.
Add To Sauces & Bases: Blitz extra vegetables such as carrots, zucchini, celery, or spinach into pasta sauces, curries, and soups.
Choose One New Vegetable: Each week, choose one new vegetable to explore and add to your meals. Great for supporting gut microbiome diversity.
If Going Low/er Carb: Choose options like cauliflower rice, zucchini noodles, lettuce wraps, or sweet potato toast to replace more starchy carbohydrates like rice, pasta and bread.
Grow Something: A single pot of cherry tomatoes or herbs on a balcony helps to connect us to food and encourages us to eat what we have grown.
Eat The Rainbow: Pick one meal a week and challenge yourself to include as many different coloured vegetables in one meal as possible. You might even choose to make vegetables the hero of the plate and build your meal around the vegetables with protein playing a supporting role. Some ideas include stuffed capsicums, portobello mushroom burgers, or a miso glazed cauliflower steak.
You do not need to do all ten of these at once. Choose the one that feels most doable this week, get comfortable with it, then layer in another suggestion in another week or two. This will also give your gut microbiome time to adjust to an increase in vegetables in your diet.
Small, consistent changes are what add up to a genuinely different way of eating over time.
Would you like some gut health support?
If you would like a personalised plan for your digestion, consider booking in a consultation with me at Uprise Health, in person in Richmond or via Telehealth (Australia wide).
Additional testing (blood tests, gut microbiome testing) may be recommended to dig a bit deeper to find the root cause of any symptoms you might be experiencing.
Together, we will create a personalised plan to support your health goals. This incorporates dietary and lifestyle recommendations, and practitioner-only supplements where indicated.
Reach out today to book your appointment.
Katie practices at: Uprise Health, 136 Lennox Street, Richmond, 3121, Victoria.
Appointments: Face-to-face and online (Australia wide)
Contact: admin@katiehopcraft.com.au
If you have any questions or need personalised guidance, feel free to reach out.
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