Here are 21 simple ways to eat more vegetables on a budget!
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Let’s talk about vegetables.
It’s the food group we all love to hate but can’t live without.
Personally, I’m not one of those people who loves vegetables (my favorite food group is BREAD), but I also know that if I eat bread all the time, I’m gonna feel miserable.
I want to fuel my body with what it needs to live well and function properly, so I eat vegetables.
How To Make Yourself Eat More Vegetables
I think the key to eating more vegetables is finding the ways that YOU enjoy them, and focusing on those.
Don’t love brussels sprouts? Don’t eat them.
But you like salad? More of that, then.
Do you love roasted veggies but hate them raw? Stop trying to make yourself eat more salads.
My kids love this salad but don’t love veggies in many other ways (except in lentil soup and hamburger soup). So that’s how we mostly eat veggies at our house. It keeps things simple and budget-friendly.
And also, just make a habit of it. Like brushing your teeth.
Our bodies need vegetables! So… I’m gonna find a way to eat vegetables.
Just do it.
And that’s my motivational speech for today.
How to Eat More Vegetables Everyday
Okay, but for real.
Here are a few ways we found that help us eat more vegetables on a budget. And I hope they give you some ideas too!
In addition to the ideas in this video, here are 21 ways to add more veggies to your diet:
21 Simple Ways to Eat More Vegetables
Here are 21 simple ways to eat more vegetables on a budget! Get recipes, tips, and strategies for picky eaters too.
This easy frittata is gluten-free, dairy-free, and helps you use up all those veggies! No food waste!
Our go-to salad is a combination of the vegetables we love best and the ones that cost the least amount of money. We eat this mulitple times a week - even the kids!
An easy, one-bowl Baked Oatmeal laced with sneaky veggies (summer squash) for picky eaters and extra breakfast goodness. Naturally-sweetened, gluten-free, dairy-free, oil-free, NO weird ingredients, with an egg-free/vegan variation!
Burrito Bowls are an easy way to make a veggie-heavy dinner - especially if you have picky eaters. With a variety of favorite crowd-pleasing taco toppings, you can load your bowl with as many veggies as you like. Check the post for more ideas!
If you accidentally buy too much of any kind of greens (kale, spinach, collards, even spring mix!), here's how you can freeze it and use it in future recipes. Yay for no food waste!
Here's how I use up a bunch of summer veggies in one recipe. It's delicious, easy to make, and I can serve it on pasta, with bread, some chicken, or just eat it as-is. This is usually a make-ahead recipe for me to use in lunches throughout the week.
I love normal breakfast food - pancakes, waffles, eggs, and toast. But I also love starting my day with some mild, breakfast-friendly veggies. Here's how I add veggies to breakfast on the regular.
Veggies that taste like fruit? Yes, please. Here's how we make smoothies on a budget.
Zoodles can seem trendy and extra, but they're a great way to eat more veggies with other favorite meals (spaghetti, chili, pasta salad). Here's how we make them work on a budget.
An easy, one-bowl Baked Oatmeal loaded with shredded zucchini (sneaky veggies!) and warm zucchini bread spices. Naturally-sweetened, gluten-free, dairy-free, oil-free, NO weird ingredients, with an egg-free/vegan variation!
Sometimes all you need is the right dressing. These are our favorite salad dressings (we ALWAYS have the Greek one on hand because it's my kids' favorite) that help us eat and enjoy more veggies.
This spring mix salad is perfect for the cooler seasons and is one of my favorites to serve guests and family. Dress it up with chicken or salmon to make it a full meal!
FACT: Kids eat more veggies if they can dip them in ranch dip. Also true for grownups. I bring this ranch dip to almost every gathering because it is so well-loved (and better than storebought). Also - super easy.
This was the salad that converted my brothers and dad into salad eaters. It's so good, my brother requested it be served for his engagement party.
If you're struggling to buy enough veggies on your budget, here are some unconventional ideas that worked really well for us over the years.
Simple, Versatile Greek Salad with Quinoa - with frugal tips! So easy to add extra veggies and goodness. Do what feels good.
If you’re a frugal cook, you need a Hamburger Vegetable Soup recipe. Easy to adapt to any eating-style: vegetarian, paleo, Whole30, gluten-free, dairy-free. And it’s loaded with inexpensive but flavorful ingredients. Instant Pot, Slow Cooker, Stovetop, and Freezer instructions included!
This fast, easy dinner costs around $4 and feeds 4-6 people. It’s flavorful, filling, a little spicy, and you probably have most of the ingredients in your cupboards! We frequently add extra veggies to this.
Cowboy caviar, also called cowboy salad, is a hearty, zesty bean dip loaded with veggies and dressed in a vinaigrette. Here’s our favorite, easy, real food recipe. Veggie-loaded and delicious.
Juicing is EXPENSIVE. But sometimes it's the easiest way to eat more veggies. Here's how we did it on a budget.
This quick, frugal dinner is loaded with the good stuff – vegetables, pasta, chicken – and you can use 1 chicken breast to feed up to 6 people!
How to Eat 5 Servings of Vegetables a Day
For most of us, we almost can’t eat too many veggies. Some people do better with more cooked veggies than raw, but there are all kinds of ways to slip 5-10 servings of veggies in a day.
I’ve found in general, 2 rules/goals help me eat more veggies:
1. Fill half my plate with veggies at least twice a day
Whether it’s at breakfast or I wait until lunch and dinner later in the day, I try to fill half my plate with veggies for two-thirds of my meals.
2. For snacks eat fruit, veggies, nuts, or raisins
This is the Snack Rule I use for my kids, but it’s a good idea for me to follow it too. Keeping this ranch dip handy helps veggies for snacks easier.
Every few months, I do the #tenvegchallenge on Instagram to help me increase my veggie intake and remember how much I should be eating.
How Can I Eat More Vegetables When I Hate Them?
Vegetables are the food group we all love to hate, and eating more when we don’t even like them, to begin with, is hard.
I’m gonna repeat what I said earlier:
I think the key to eating more vegetables is finding the ways that YOU enjoy them, and focusing on those.
Don’t love brussels sprouts? Don’t eat them.
You like salad? More of that, then.
Do you love roasted veggies but hate them raw? Stop trying to make yourself eat more salads.
My kids love salad but don’t love veggies in many other ways (except in lentil soup and hamburger soup). So that’s how we mostly eat veggies at our house. It keeps things simple and budget-friendly.
And also, just make a habit of it. Like brushing your teeth.
Our bodies need vegetables! So… I’m gonna find a way to eat vegetables.
Eat More Vegetables
I asked my friends on Instagram what their biggest struggles were when it came to eating more vegetables, and here were some of the top answers:
“They don’t leave me feeling satisfied.”
“Prepping them ahead of time (kids needing me at meal time).”
“They go bad before we eat them all.”
“Finding affordable vegetables that can be eaten raw and aren’t choking hazards.”
“Cost; and my kids only like 5 kinds.”
“Veggies for lunch and breakfast.”
“They go bad quickly”
“Picky kids.”
“Actually wanting to eat them is the hardest part.”
“Kids complaining.”
I hope this post has answered most of those struggles so far, but I’d also like to refer you to a few other resources:
- Picky Eating Resources on Cheapskate Cook
- Preventing Food Waste (foods you didn’t know you could freeze!)
- Eat Boring Food to Save Money
Simple Ways to Eat More Vegetables
Eating vegetables doesn’t have to be complicated.
Just find the few things that work for you in the season you’re in.
When my kids were younger, they hated soup, and raw veggies were a choking hazard. We ate lots of green smoothies, roasted green beans, and steamed broccoli. That’s what worked for us. Now that they’re older, we eat a lot of soups and salads, but they don’t really like smoothies.
Seasons and tastes will change.
Your budget will change.
Find what works for you and rock it!
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