Easy ways to eat more raw veggies

Here are some ways I have worked more raw veggies into my daily routine that made it easy to eat them more often:

• Veggie smoothies – I make these in my blender so as to still get all of the fiber (as opposed to juicing). I use spinach, kale, avocado and 4-5 cups of water as a base. Then I add different fruit combinations such as strawberries or a berry medley, mango, pineapple/coconut, kiwi fruit and green apples, etc. I add some stevia and blend really well. They taste great and I love them. My husband slurps them down too and that’s saying a lot. The fruit and stevia sweeten the drink up and you would be surprised how good it tastes. There are literally tons of recipes for these if you do a Google search, not to mention books on Amazon.

• Veggie snack plates – There are easy. Just get a bag of those baby carrots, some celery, cucumbers and some broccoli. Chop up the celery, cucumbers and broccoli. Arrange them on a plate and put some reduced fat cream cheese in the center. Have them in the fridge or put them out on the counter at snack time. Chomp on these when you get those mid afternoon and evening hunger pangs.

• Salads – if you make a great tasting salad (that is creative and tasty), make enough to last you (and anyone else that you are feeding) for 2 days of lunch and dinner. Then you can eat salad as part of lunch and dinner as the first course. You get your raw veggies in and you help curb your appetite to be able to eat smaller portions of the rest of the meal.

• Snack packs to take to work or on the go – baby carrots and other chopped veggies (celery, cucumber, etc.) and fruits – make a bunch of packs at once in ziplock bags so they are easy to grab and take with you when you are rushing to get to work or whatever. Or you can use a jar and put some humus or dip in the bottom of the jar and put some chopped veggies in.

• Juicing – once a week I will usually do a big batch of juice. It is so rich in nutrients and very alkalizing for the body. The mean green juice recipe is usually what I use.

I found the more veggies I work into my diet, the less I eat other not-so-heathy things and the better I feel.