We all know that eating fruits and vegetables is healthy, but sometimes we end up thinking of it as a chore and it can become unappealing. But it doesn’t have to be! Although it can be daunting to try and tackle cooking a food that you’ve never eaten before, such as kale or Japanese sweet potatoes, I’m hoping that some of the tricks I use every single day to load my plate up with plants will help you out.
- Add greens to your smoothies. Putting in a handful of spinach is the best way to incorporate more greens into your diet. Spinach has a very mild taste and if you’re loading up your smoothing with bananas and berries and other fruit, the spinach taste will be easily masked. You’ll have a tasty, nutrient powerhouse of a smoothie.
- Keep it simple. We don’t need to be making kale-seaweed salad with a spirulina-infused dressing to be eating more veggies. One of my favorite things to do is purchase the frozen bag of mixed vegetables and throw that over some cooked rice or sweet potatoes, making a big batch of baked sweet potatoes in the beginning of the week and then using it as the base for most of my meals. A big bowl filled with some salad greens, baked sweet potatoes, canned beans, and avocado is a healthy, cheap and delicious meal.
- Try something new. Sometimes it can be fun to try out a new recipe with an ingredient you’ve never used before. There are an unlimited amount of recipes for every kind of fruit or vegetable out there, so next time you’re stuck with a head of cauliflower and have no idea what to do with it, try and make some buffalo cauliflower wings.
Vegetable Thai Curry Recipe
One of my favorite comfort foods is Thai Curry! It’s SO versatile, you can literally throw in whatever vegetables you have, add some coconut milk and curry powder and BOOM- Thai curry. All of these ingredients can be found at the grocery store for cheap and are full of nutrition to keep you healthy during these winter months.
1 onion- diced
6 small carrots, diced (I used organic multicolor carrots)
4 small potatoes- diced
1 head of broccoli
1 small carton of mushrooms
2 small zucchini
1 block tofu
1 jar of green curry paste*
2 cans of coconut milk
2 Cups Dry Jasmine Rice
Sautee the onions carrots and potatoes in a little oil or water and continually stir until soft
Add mushrooms and stir
Add broccoli and zucchini- add water as needed
Add jar of curry paste (* I had green curry paste on hand, but this would also be great with red paste too)
Add 2 cans of coconut milk and as much water as needed
Let simmer
While simmering- cube the tofu and sautée in a pan
Add tofu to curry pot.
Cover and simmer for 30 minutes (*Option: Add some chopped up kale and purple cabbage for some extra greens and veggies)
Cook Jasmine rice (Rinse rice well before cooking)
Written by Taylor Brower.
