If you’re like me, your favourite foods include breads, meats, cheeses, and potatoes. I’ve struggled all my life to find a place in my heart for vegetables. Now that I am a “health food nut” I eat a lot more vegetables, because I know it’s good for my body and my mind. That doesn’t mean I love vegetables, it just means I’ve learned how to eat them in a way that pleases my taste buds.

Here are some easy, tasty ways that I get those pesky vegetables into my diet.

1. Soups. Making your own soup is an adventure in goodness. If you’ve never made your own soup before, I highly recommend it. You can very rarely fail at making soup so there’s really very little at stake After a few batches you really start to get the hang of it and start making your own soups out of the creativity of your mind, which is really quite exhilarating.  Of course, they are also an excellent way to eat vegetables that you might otherwise consider inedible such as spinach.
2. Stews. Similar to soups but I consider this a whole other category simply because they give you a different feeling. There are lots of great stew recipes out there, many that can be made in your crock pot, and who doesn’t love coming home to a fully cooked meal?
3. Quiche. If you love eggs, why not use them as camouflage for some veggies. My favourite right now is broccoli and ham quiche. A little milk, garlic and cheddar cheese and you’ll forget you are even eating vegetables.
4. Raw with dips. Now vegetable dips often get a bad rap, but I have always figured it’s better to eat raw vegetables with dip, than never eat raw vegetables. Do your best to find a dip that is less processed, maybe something like sour cream, or cottage cheese with some seasonings. After eating them for a while you might actually acquire a taste for vegetables and be able to eat a few without dip.
5. Steamed with butter. We all know that boiling your vegetables to death is ridding them of all their natural goodness. The preferred way to eat cooked vegetables is to lightly steam them. I actually prefer the taste of steamed vegetables like broccoli, carrots (which take quite a while), asparagus and cauliflower. Toss the steamed veggies with a little bit of natural butter and sea salt, I think you’ll like it.
6. Stir fry. If you like stir fry, this is a good alternative. I have occasionally succeeded at doing this without using some sort of processed sauce. It can be tasty if you can manage it. If you have a good natural stir fry recipe, please post a comment.
7. Casserole. This is an excellent place to hide some vegetables. A casserole is going to taste awesome no matter what, so adding some vegetables is easy to do and no one will notice. Just use something small, like peas or corn, or chop other vegetables small.
8. Pasta. Pasta sauce covers a multitude vegetables. Dice ‘em small and use ground chicken as your meat with a gluten free noodle or vegetable noodle and you’ve got a healthy meal.

I welcome further ideas of how to eat vegetables painlessly I hope this list helps you get your vegetables today!