Are you getting enough vegetables in your diet?

Do you or your kids turn up their noses to anything besides carrots and peas? Here are a few ideas to ramp up your family’s vegetable intake!

• Sautee veggies like green onions, mushrooms, colourful peppers, yellow squash and scramble them up with eggs. Add some spinach or arugula along with a little rosemary and with or without shredded cheese. Serve with tomato salsa.
• Whenever you need to make something that contains a tomato base sauce (such as pasta sauce, chili & certain curries), use a blended combination of real tomatoes, red & yellow peppers, red onions, garlic and carrots. It’s a healthier variation of canned tomatoes, with an extra kick of flavor. It works especially well for dishes that require a sweeter undertone. All you do is place as many tomatoes you need in hot water until their skins loosen. Remove their skins and place them in a blender with the other vegetables mentioned above.
• Grate carrots, fennel, red cabbage, even broccoli into wraps and spread the wrap with hummus instead of mayo.
• Cut up and put any vegetable you want into a pot of soup.
• Puree avocado, cilantro, fresh lime juice and garlic and substitute for salad dressings.
• Make a creamy cauliflower sauce by boiling cauliflower florets and then blending them together with almond milk (or cow’s milk), Dijon mustard, lemon juice, garlic, onions and salt and pepper to make a creamy pasta sauce. Just toss the pasta with the cauliflower sauce, a few tablespoons of the reserved pasta water, caramelized onions and chicken.
• Sneak vegetables and fresh herbs into smoothies. Experiment for the flavours you most enjoy!
• Whenever you are baking, puree your wet ingredients with kale, spinach or broccoli. These make a beautiful green color – easier disguised if it’s chocolate!
• Dehydrate vegetables like kale, brussels sprouts and fennel by baking on lowest oven temperature until dry and crispy. Enjoy instead of chips for a change!

Connect with Lisa George, Registered Holistic Nutritionist – and take that first step towards a healthier lifestyle. The first consultation is complimentary. Contact 613-256-0506 or e-mail lisac.george@gmail.com