Help me eat my veg

[Mixxy]

Does anyone have any tips on trying to get more veg into a daily diet. I prepare my own meals only 4 times a week so I need some help with snacks/dinner options. ANYTHING to get me to my recommended daily amount. Im clueless. Does lentil soup count as a serving of vegtables?
It's very hard when all I crave is bread and butter pudding with custard.

[Orenishii]

Veggies with houmous is good! Or tender stem broccoli, carrots, pak choi, sugar snaps etc lightly stir fried in sesame seed oil is really nice as a side dish!

Or! Making vegetable soups can get a ton of veggies in you.

I'm not a fan of lentils as a nutritious vegetable - it's very starchy and starchy things definitely made my heartburn worse. I just always ate leafy greens, or green vegetables with pretty much every meal which meant either including spinach or kale as standard, or making a little portion of stir fry vegetables on the side. I also don't really subscribe to this five a day business - it seems to arbitrary a figure they just plucked out of the air!

[ThreeWheelsGood]

Eat a bunch of fruit with breakfast to get a head start - I have cereal and yoghurt with prunes and chopped banana. Pulses like lentils count, yes - take a look at NHS website. Add veg to your usual dishes eg extra pepper, mushroom, broccoli in pasta or on pizza.

[milkyjo]

I am struggling to get the goodness in too! I am making fruit smoothies with bananas, tinned fruit and juice, they are delicious! Without this I was eating only one piece of fruit and one portion of veg, which usually got left on the plate! I used to be sooo healthy! I also made carrot and corriander soup which was good and froze a load of portions. I don't know why but I'm ok if stuff is blended! Lentils are also very good for you as they provide protein and vitamins too. Does anyone know if tinned spinach provides any goodness or does it have to be the fresh stuff?

[BonaDea]

Soup is good - would probably go for tomato based or a vegetable broth option.

FRUIT - tasty, lovely snack. Get whatever you fancy, but I've been eating pots of mango, pineapple, kiwi. Zingy and lovely.

[Ellypoo]

I believe tinned spinach still counts.

Also, a glass of fruit juice counts as one; I like to snack in grapes & satsumas/clementines at this time of year. Soup is a great one - tomato based, or carrot & butternut squash is one of my favourite!
I've been doing weightwatchers for years, so I bulk out all of my meals with tons of veggies now! Mushrooms chopped up really small with mince in a chilli or bolognaise, along with grated carrot, courgettes and peppers work well. Stir fried veg is a great, quick way too.

Also, I like bananas & custard - banana counts as 1 & may satisfy your cravings?!

1/2 a tin of baked beans also counts as 1 - beans on toast or a jacket with beans is also a good meal.

[mummy2benji]

Yes always have a glass of fruit juice a day as it is a quick and easy way of getting 1 portion in! Another cunning way is to eat dinners made with tomatoey sauces, as the tomatoes count as 1 a day too and are full of vitamins. When you do cook, bung a tin of chopped tomatoes into sauces for an extra veg hit. Veg soup is a couple of portions and lentil soup would also count. I keep stocked up on bananas and apples and have a banana mid-morning to keep me going till lunch and an apple with lunch or as a snack later in the afternoon. I've been lucky this pregnancy as baby girl has made me crave tomatoes, pineapple and veg so it has been pretty easy, but I craved cake and curry with ds (saag - lots of spinach!) so it required more thought and planning. x

[Flisspaps]

Just eat what you feel like eating. If that's custard, it's ok. The baby will take what it needs first, you get what's left. If your diet is really crap and you're struggling, take a decent pregnancy multivitamin - eating anything at all can be a bloody struggle, never mind trying to eat something you don't want!

[mamij]

Throw in a handful of frozen vegetables like sweetcorn or peas into pasta sauces.

I like the hummus idea with chopped vegetables.

Have grapes/apples/pears/plums handy as a snack. You can also buy bags of chopped carrot sticks to munch on.

Blueberries and raspberries in your breakfast cereals/porridge.

[Littlemissimpatient]

I like broccoli in pasta. Hate it otherwise. Also good to add peas etc to.
Could you mix a tin of sweet corn into rice. Add spinach to mash potato.

[Zara1984]

I have been making smoothies (banana, yoghurt, some milk, bit of frozen or tinned fruit), and my lunch everyday for ages was:

• pasta shapes
• half tin tuna
• 1 small grated carrot
• handful of broccoli/sweet peas/mangetout
• bit of olive oil & salt and pepper!

As it gets colder, soup is a great way to get veg. Make a big batch, freeze portions and eat! To bulk it up to satisfy ravenous pregnancy hunger, I often add half a cup of hot cooked rice to my soup

[Zara1984]

Also dried fruit is good - I had as a snack on my desk some prunes, sultanas and almonds. You can get all this quite cheaply from Lidl in large amounts

[Tattoopixie]

I've also been really struggling to eat enough fruit and veg but now Satsumas are in season I can't get enough of them! I also really like Innocent smoothies and find them an easy way to get some of my 5 a day. I also add green or yellow pepper to pasta or have tortilla wraps filled with salad and fried onions