According to the USDA, we should all be eating half of our plate worth of fruits and vegetables. However, based on recent statistics, that does not seem to be the case. I have seen a lot of creative ideas online for how others have been incorporating produce into their meals, and wanted to share some of my favorites ways for how to eat more fruits and vegetables.
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Grilled Fruits & Vegetables
Grilled vegetables are a popular way to consume vegetables in the summer. They are so good, whether placed directly on the grill, on tin foil, or on a grill basket. If you are going to be barbecuing anyway, you might as well throw on a few vegetables (or even fruit).
One of our favorites is grilled figs! You can cut them in half and add some honey and crushed nuts to them once the natural sugars start to seep out. Or, for a healthier approach, you can grill them and eat them plain, while enjoying their natural sugars.
Cauliflower Rice
Cauliflower rice is a bit of a hot topic right now, and not for the reasons you would think! USA Rice has taken issue with the term ‘cauliflower rice’, as it may be misleading to consumers, as it is not actually rice. Nonetheless, this has provided another way for consumers to include cauliflower into their diets.
Cauliflower rice is a lot easier to make than you might think. It consists of breaking down cauliflower into rice-sized pieces and cooking it so that once it is incorporated into your dish, it appears as though it is rice. See below for an easy step-by-step guide from The Minimalist Baker.
You can also buy it frozen and heat it up and have it ready to eat in just a few minutes!
Fruit Salsa
Traditionally, when you think of salsa, you think of vegetables. However, people get creative! Mango and peach salsa have been on the rise, and now watermelon salsa is becoming more popular.
One of our family favorites that my aunt always makes is: avocado, tomato and mango salsa. Some other options include:
Fruit-Based Popsicles
If you have kids, this is a great way to get them involved! If not, it is a great way for you to increase your own produce intake! When you make your own popsicles, you have the option to include the ingredients that you like, and more importantly, those that are healthy. Not only is the produce portion important, but so is the liquid portion.
Here are a few sources to help get you started:
With my kids, we just add water to frozen fruit and they love them and think it is like sweet sugar candy!
Spiralizer: Vegetable Noodles
This trend has been increasing in recent years. However, the spiralizers they are making these days are not just for soft vegetables, such as zucchini. They can be used for everything from carrots to potatoes. This allows you to still make noodle dishes, but just substitute the noodle portion for a fruit or vegetable item.
I tested out different types of spiralizers to see which one worked the best and you can find my review here.
Some other guides to help you start spiralizing can be found at:
Nut Milk
This particular trend has been inspiring to me because I cannot get myself to drink regular milk. If you are not going to drink regular milk and do not want to buy pre-made milk alternatives, you can always make your own nut milks at home. I have seen everything from almond milk to cashew milk being made easily at home, using water, a blender and a filter.
Some helpful guides for making your own nut milk can be found at:
- Nut Milk 101: Use This One Basic Recipe to Make Every Type of Milk
- How to Make Almond Milk at Home
- Make Your Own Almond Milk – Just Avoid These 6 Common Mistakes
You can also try making your own nut butters, which might just be easier and is one of the greatest things I have started doing recently. You can click here to see my recipe for homemade cashew butter, which will be similar for any other type of nut butter you are looking to make.
Smoothie Bowls
If you do not want to eat an individual piece of fruit, just take a bunch and blend them together! Or, pour your blended fruit into a bowl and place chopped fruit and additional toppings on top to create a smoothie bowl.
Two great resources to get you started on smoothie bowls can be found at:
- 11 Breakfast Smoothie Bowls that Will Make You Feel Amazing
- No Fail Plan: How to Make a Delicious Smoothie Bowl
Using Coconut as a Cooking Alternative
Coconut seems to be everywhere lately! It is used as a substitute when baking, for everything from butter to flour, to make the recipes a bit “cleaner”. This substitution method is popular with the Paleo diet. If you are into coconut, or eating vegan or gluten free, this might be something for you to try!
- 15 Recipes That’ll Show You How to Bake with Coconut Oil
- 3 Reasons You Should Try Baking With Coconut Oil
Special Ordering when Eating Out
Special ordering is my preferred method of eating out. When you are eating at home, you have control over what you are eating, how it is made, and what ingredients go into it. However, your control is limited when eating out. In these cases, I am that annoying picky customer when ordering, but I somehow always end up enjoying my meal more than others because I am only eating what I want to be eating. You are not only able to control what ingredients are included in your meal, but also the sauce(s) in which the food is cooked.
My most commonly used example is eating out at Mexican restaurants. When ordering burritos, instead of getting rice, cheese and refried beans, I get lettuce, avocado and whole beans in my burritos and I can promise you that my body feels a lot better after eating the healthier version of the burrito!
I wish you luck on trying to incorporate more produce into your meals. When learning more about these different alternatives, they made me want to experiment more in my kitchen as well!
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