Advnaced Guide to Eating More Veggies

So here are my top tips to increase your vegetable intake:

1. Eat the rainbow

   • Aim to eat veggies from all the color groups to get the maximum benefit from their phytonutrients which are important in supporting a healthy body. We eat with our eyes first, the more engaged you are visually, the more enjoyable the food will be.
   • Easiest way is it to have a big salad for lunch or dinner and include as many colors as possible. That way you will get 3 of your daily recommend servings in 1 meal.

2. Try new veggies

   • Choose a vegetable from each of the following categories that you are not too keen on and include it in your week. Search the best way to enjoy these types of vegetables and get creative.
     • salad: spinach, rocket, endive, lamb lettuce
     • cruciferous: broccoli, brussels sprouts
     • starchy: sweet potato, parsnips
   • Unless you only buy organic, it’s best to rotate vegetables to ensure that there won’t be a build-up of the same types of pesticides in your body.

3. Add sea vegetables

   • This is a tough one for me I must admit, even though I enjoy the flavor. I only have Nori (the easiest type to come by in Kuwait) at home when I make sushi or miso soup, and not often enough. I just haven’t gotten used to including them in my diet.
   • Other than sushi or miso soup, nori works well just shredded over a salad with Asian flavors or create a veggie-filled wrap. You can also get it in snack packs like this onefrom Natureland.

4. Herbs are vegetables too!

   • Think taboule! Made with lots of parsley and mint, it’s packed with nutritional benefits.
   • Add fresh chopped herbs to whatever you are having – fresh basil on top of your pizza, fresh oregano over your pasta, and fresh coriander over your favorite curry.

5. Increase ratio of veggies in meals 

   • Think of the dishes you love that include some vegetables, and then double or triple it. Here are some examples:
     •  if you enjoy pasta with vegetables then increase the ratio so that you have more vegetables than pasta. Even better switch out some of the noddles for zoodles(zucchini noodles).
     • Same thing goes with curry, add more veggies and less meat or chicken. And instead of plain rice, mix in some cauliflower rice, All  you need to do is steam some cauliflower and then pulse it in a food processor until it turns into rice.
     • How about pizza? Make the base using sweet potatoand then top it with all your favorite veggies!

6. Eat locally and in season

   • Locally grown vegetables means they are fresher and don’t require after-harvest pesticides and waxes to help them survive the trip.
   • Vegetables that are in season taste much better.

7. Fermented vegetables are awesome

   • Fermented vegetables such as pickled cucumbers and carrots, or sauerkraut made from cabbage or beetroot, or even kimchi if you can get hold of it, are a rich in good bacteria that enhances their digestibility and and increases vitamin levels.
   • The sourness of fermented vegetables add an interesting flavor and nutritional boost to many dishes. Try them mixed into a salad, in a sandwich, or simply mixed into some guacamole.

1. Wash and peel non-organic vegetables where possible and remove the outer leaves of lettuce and cabbage.
2. Scrub all vegetables that you don’t peel under running water using a vegetable brush.
3. Soak vegetables like broccoli, lettuce, and spinach in water mixed with vinegar for 15-20 minutes, Rinse after draining.

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