Simple ways to sneak more vegetables into your day

Sometimes getting all the vegetables recommended daily is a struggle. Turning to V8 or other juice blends is just a source of empty calories without the benefit of the fiber and work your body has to do working on whole foods. Here are some ways I incorporate veggies into my meals to get all the nutrients and fiber and immune boosting benefits they offer:

Spinach - you get a giant bag from Costco and then it goes bad before you use it up, right? Take a little time to saute it all up -

Heat a little olive oil in a pan and add some garlic, chop the spinach and add it to the warm pan, cooking and stirring until wilted - now you can bag it and freeze it or add it into other meals you are prepping.

Ways I use cooked spinach include:

• add to eggs when scrambling, or as an omelette filling
• mix into spicy black beans http://harddogfitness.blogspot.com/2011/11/black-beans-and-spinach.html
  
• puree and add to meat before making turkey burgers, it keeps them moist and yummy
• add to brown rice or quinoa when reheating
• make a batch of Saag http://harddogfitness.blogspot.com/2011/11/saag-indian-spinach.html
• have a salad and include spinach in the greens

Use Salsas and Pico de Gallo as a topper on things like burgers, salads, rice, baked potatoes

Store bought ones are good, just watch the ingredients, make sure you get fresh salsa with little or no added sugar and real ingredients.

Here are some recipes I have made, this Pico de Gallo was my go-to topper for everything for a long time!

http://harddogfitness.blogspot.com/2011/01/pico-de-gallo.html

http://harddogfitness.blogspot.com/2011/07/2-summery-salsas.html

Chop up your favorite vegetables and keep them in containers in the fridge for fast and easy additions to meals - I keep chopped zucchini, chopped onions, chopped broccoli in containers ready to throw into stir fries or saute up with grains and meat anytime.

Stir Fry is a great way to get a bunch of veggies in - you can buy pre-cut bags of mixed stirfry veggies, or buy all your favorites and pre-chop them to have on hand!

One of my favorite go=to snacks is baggies of chopped cucumber and celery and carrot chunks. crunchy and re-hydrating and cool, easy finger food.

Pre-bake sweet potatoes or yams for a quick addition to any meal. I cook them in batches and store them in the fridge in a big baggie, so all I have to do is weigh out the amount i need for a meal and reheat for a minute in the microwave. Yummy with just a little pepper ;)

Bags of pre-cut vegetables are a little more expensive, but you can't beat the convenience. Anytime you want a crunchy, flavorful snack, instead of chips grab your bag of mixed broccoli, carrots, cauliflower (whatever your favorites are) Walden farms makes some great no-calorie dressing that taste great as dips.

Well, I hope this helps! Eat your veggies - the metabolism and immune boosting benefits can't be beat!