6 Easy Ways to Eat More Vegetables and Improve Your Health

By: Paxton Ruzicka

Published: April 25, 2023

I started on my vegan journey over 3 years ago. While I encourage eating more vegetables, this article is not about why you should go vegan. Instead, it’s to inspire you to eat more vegetables and fruits in order to take advantage of the many benefits including living a healthy and energy rich life.

Today the market is saturated with energy drinks and health gimmicks but according to the Reducetarian Foundation, eating a nutrient rich diet is the optimal way to fuel your body and gain energy.

The Power of Plants

You don’t have to be tricked into some crazy diet or wildly expensive ingredients either. Why? Because plants. Plants, meaning fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and legumes are sufficient powerhouse ingredients. They provide us with everything we need to live happy and healthy lives.

Not to mention, plants can be purchased very inexpensively when you think about all the benefits, nutrients, and vitamins they provide. It’s suggested we get a variety of 30 different plant ingredients per week for optimal health.

Plant Medicine

Plants have been proven to heal ailments and reduce the risk of several types of cancer, noted in this article by the Rogel Cancer Center. This is because whole plant-based foods naturally contain anti-cancer compounds.

Authors from Food and Living Vegan, Dr Shireen Kassam and Dr Laura Freeman, say that a healthy plant-based diet can even increase your chances of survival after a negative diagnosis. Aside from curing diseases (no big deal), a plant rich diet will provide you with loads of energy, naturally.

Foods such as walnuts can naturally boost your mood, while oats, lentils, and apples boost your energy. Berries can even boost your brainpower. Go plants!

Ugh, but carbs?

It’s no surprise that fruits and vegetables are carbohydrates. Sweet potatoes, peas, apples, bananas, oranges, blueberries are all majority carbs. And yes that’s a good thing! Because carbohydrates are what give your body energy.

It drives me nuts when people tell me they are cutting out carbs! Contrary to popular belief, your body needs carbs. Carbs can be incredibly healthy. But it certainly depends on the type. I am not talking about big Mac’s and potato chips here.

But instead nutrient-dense, fiber-rich foods are going to be beneficial whereas highly processed and sugary refined grains are not, says Heathline.

Hawaii.edu says carbs play an important role in your body. Well actually 5. These critical functions include energy production and storage, assisting lipid metabolism, sparing the breakdown of protein, and building macromolecules. Read more about that here.

Grains are also important as part of a healthy and energy rich life. Quinoa, oats, and buckwheat being at the top of that list. Additionally, Healthline reports, these grains can manage blood sugar and improve overall heart health. They are also known to be a fantastic source of protein.

Now that you are aware of the power of plants, how can you start incorporating more into your diet?

1. ) Create meals around plant proteins

To start, create your meals around plant-based proteins. I am not talking about the imitation meats either. Plant-based proteins include tofu, quinoa, broccoli (surprising, I know), lentils, and chickpeas. There are also plenty of others, but these would be a great main part of a dish.

2. ) Try your favorite dishes, plant based

To eat more vegetables, you certainly do not have to start a recipe from scratch. I know it can be intimidating. Instead, try making your favorite dinners plant based. Instead of ground beef in your taco salad, try chickpeas, like in this recipe by She Likes Food.

Running on Real Food has a recipe to replace your meatball with lentils. You could even take tofu for a spin. I hated tofu when I first started making it, but that’s the polar opposite now. I just had to figure out how to cook it. Pro tip: freeze it and thaw it before using it! The texture is so much better!

This Spicy Crispy Tofu recipe by Eat With Clarity has my mouth watering!

3. ) Use meat as a condiment

Try to cut down on your meat consumption. Aside from the awful addition of hormones and antibiotics, meat is one of the hardest substances for the body to digest.

Geelong Medical Group states that meat causes bloating and discomfort ultimately resulting in an overabundance of toxins in the body.

One of my favorite authors and podcasters, Darin Olien, says use meat as you would a condiment. Meaning as a topping, used sparingly. If you can create a dish that is 75% plant-inspired, you are going to see improvements in your overall health and energy.

4 . ) Drink more smoothies

One of the easiest ways to add more fruits and veggies into your diet is with a smoothie. I want to be clear; I am not talking about a juice. Dietitian Debbie explains juice lack fiber, protein, and cause a lot of food waste. And because you are not consuming the entire fruit, you won’t be full for long.

Smoothies are loaded with vitamins and nutrients. An easy way to eat more vegetables is to mask the flavor of vegetables with a smoothie. Add them right in and I guarantee you won’t even taste them!

To mix it up a bit, my boyfriend and I will throw smoothies into bowls and add additional toppings like coconut flakes, chocolate chunks, hemp seeds, chia seeds, and whatever else we can find in the pantry. Such a yummy treat!

5. ) Avoid processed foods

As I mentioned above, plant-based foods have a lot of anti-cancer properties, the same thing cannot be said about processed foods. Quite the opposite. Preserved meats have been found to have cancer-causing properties. That includes any meat that has been smoked, salted, or cured such as beef jerky, ham, pepperoni, hot dogs, deli meats, and sausage, reported by MD Anderson Cancer Center.

Meats are not the only thing that can be highly processed. Let’s use the grocery store for example. The majority of the food is not in the fresh section, instead these foods have been altered to include ingredients that will keep them shelf stable.

Frozen and microwave ready-made meals, cereal bars, instant noodles, bread, etc. are all highly processed foods loaded with ingredients.

I love my fair share of potato chips, I am not saying cut them out entirely. But they should not be a staple in your everyday diet.

If you want to live a healthier life, its best to avoid processed foods whenever possible and strive to eat more vegetables and whole foods in their original form.

6. ) Plan ahead

Another tip to eat more vegetables would be to plan your meals in advance. That doesn’t have to mean meal-prepping either. Instead, plan the meals for the week and grocery shop accordingly. That way when life gets busy, you can easily make a healthy meal because you already have the ingredients.

If you want to read more about living a happier and healthier life, check out this article with my top tips and habits that’ll have you feeling good mentally and physically.

Tell me what you do in the comments to eat more vegetables!

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