Mixing Healthy Vegetables for Healthier Snacks
I will give you some tips in order make a healthy foods for snacking, lunch or dinner. You don’t have to avoid or stop eating your favourite, I only make it more healthy by add some vegetables on it. Do not think that this will be very annoying that you must cook twice, after the main menu then you prepare the vegetables. This is quite simple because instead of cooking a separate side dish of vegetables, you can look for ways to add vegetables to other foods, mixing it in. Just about every dish can be served with some fruit or vegetable added. Here are some examples:
• Chicken breast: Top with quickly saut?�ed mushrooms and tomatoes.
• Macaroni and cheese: Mix in green peas or chopped bell peppers.
• Meatloaf: Add shredded carrots or chopped tomatoes.
• Bean burrito: Add chopped bell peppers or broccoli and canned corn, top with tomato salsa.
• Spaghetti: Add chopped bell peppers, broccoli, spinach, mushrooms, or any other veggie to the sauce.
• Baked dishes and casseroles: Top with shredded zucchini or carrots for added texture.
• Peanut butter and jelly sandwich: Add sliced bananas.
• Scrambled eggs: Add diced vegetables or spinach.
• Macaroni, potato, chicken, or tuna salad: Defrost and mix in a package of frozen mixed vegetables, or add fresh diced celery and carrots.
• Rice or other grain side dish: Add diced vegetables or mushrooms, mix in a can of diced tomatoes, or for a sweeter alternative add raisins and canned mandarin orange slices or chunks of sweet potato or butternut squash (available frozen and precut).
• Soups and chili: Homemade soups and chili are easy to make, and can be a flavorful way to introduce new kinds of vegetables. Nutritious green vegetables like kale mellow in flavor in soups, and the spices in chili add zest to zucchini, squash, peppers, okra, and cauliflower.
• Oatmeal or other hot cereal:Add raisins or dried apricots, blueberries, canned fruit, unsweetened applesauce, banana slices, apple chunks, or sliced strawberries.
• Sandwiches: Always add vegetables to meat or cheese sandwiches; if lettuce and tomato gets boring, try sliced cucumbers, bell peppers, carrots, spinach,cabbage, mushrooms, zucchini, or red onion.
• Frozen yogurt, ice cream, and other desserts: If you serve desserts, always look for a way to add fruit to something kids will want to eat anyway: pineapple chunks, strawberries, blueberries, peaches, and mangoes are great toppings for frozen desserts or cakes. Or better yet, skip the ice cream and make a fruit smoothie with frozen fruit pieces blended with orange juice or milk.
Spice It Up
You don’t have to drown vegetables and fruits in sugar, salt, or fat to make them palatable. A better alternative is to be creative with flavorings and make liberal use of spices. Try sprinkling cinnamon and nutmeg on sweet potatoes, butternut squash,or sliced warm fruit. Add garlic or lemon juice to vegetables, and use curry powder, chili powder, or cumin to make saut?�ed vegetables and meats more flavorful. Simple additions, like chopped nuts, raisins, chives, herbs, or cheese can dress up a bland vegetable dish.
Borrowing from different cultures is also one of the best ways to invigorate a bland or monotonous menu. The same vegetables are completely transformed when steeped in an Indian or Thai curry, saut?�ed in a Chinese sauce, mixed into a Mexican dish, added to a Mediterranean salad, or simmered in a West African stew. With multicultural recipes easily available in bookstores and on the Internet, we have the world at our fingertips. Whatever your cultural background, borrowing ideas from other people and places will increase the variety of your meals and also expose your child to a wider scope of tastes.
