In our last blog post, we shared some simple ideas to save time when preparing fruits and vegetables. Now that you have plenty of fruits and vegetables on hand and lots of tips for how to prepare them, how do you get your family to eat more fruits and veggies? Use these tips when preparing the ingredients for foods your family normally eats. You will save time and your family will still be eating their favorite recipes. Then try some of these ideas to add additional fruits and vegetables:
- Puree or mash cooked vegetables and add up to 1 cup to sauces and soups.
- Try using your microwave to steam vegetables quickly as a side dish to serve with meals. Wash your vegetables then cut them into pieces that are all about the same size. This allows them to cook evenly. Place the pieces in a microwave safe dish and add 1-2 tablespoons of water (more if you have a large amount). Place in the microwave with a lid on top to keep the steam in. Microwave on high or until the vegetables are tender.
- Leafy greens take only 2-3 minutes
- Broccoli takes 4-5 minutes
- Potatoes or butternut squash takes about 6-8 minutes
- It is easy to add extra frozen veggies to your favorite stir-fry, like Stir Fried Vegetables with Meat, or a soup, like Minestrone Soup. This way you can get extra servings out of the recipe and add extra flavor.
- If a recipe already has vegetables in it, check your refrigerator for any additional vegetables you could add - even if the recipe doesn’t call for them.
- Add drained and rinsed canned beans to leftover rice for a hearty side dish. Add chopped cooked vegetables and spices for more flavor and color to appeal to everyone in your family.
- Make breakfast more exciting by adding fresh fruit to cereal, dried fruits to oatmeal and chopped fresh or frozen vegetables to scrambled eggs and omelets. Try this Vegetable Omelet recipe.
- Try serving scrambled eggs in a taco shell or whole-wheat tortilla with fresh tomatoes, peppers, avocados and onion.
- You can make this kid-pleasing fruity breakfast side dish of Rise and Shine Cobbler with items that are typically in your pantry!
- Frozen fruits, like grapes and strawberries, make fun “ice cubes” for water or sparkling water as an alternative to soda or juice.
- Canned soups can be a great start for a nutritious meal. Check out our previous blog post about Creative Ways to Use Canned Soups.
Try these ideas and see what other creative ways you and your family can come up with to get more fruits and vegetables into your meals every day!
