Everyone knows that vegetables are one of the most important food groups to include in your everyday diet, but sometimes it’s hard to eat the recommended serving for a healthy body and a nutritious lifestyle – even if you do like them. But the fact of the matter is, we need to eat them, and we need to eat more than just some carrots dipped in hummus at snack time. Whether you’ve been holding a personal grudge against veggies for years, or you’re trying to sneak more greens onto your kid’s dinner plate, here is the ultimate guide to incorporating more vegetables into every meal.

Your Guide to Incorporating More Vegetables into Every Meal

Breakfast

Stay away from the sugary cereals and syrupy waffles because breakfast time isn’t an excuse to avoid vegetables. In fact, vegetables are an easy, delicious and nutritious add-in to almost any balanced breakfast. Scramble some eggs or make an omelet filled with spinach, mushrooms, tomatoes, red onions and bell peppers. If anything, these veggies add to the decadence of your meal. If you’re still opposed to the idea of vegetables in your eggs, try adding minced broccoli to your scrambled eggs or spinach to your breakfast smoothie. Neither one affects the taste or texture of the meal. If you can, try to purchase organize produce and products.

Lunch

It can be easy to skip over vegetables in everyday lunches, especially when packing a school lunch. Sometimes it can easier to just stick to the same old peanut butter and jelly sandwich with chips you’ve been packing for the past decade. But consider switching the regular PB&J to a turkey sandwich loaded with spinach, onions, tomatoes, and sprouts. And, if you’re feeling really audacious, replace the bread with a lettuce wrap for some added greens.

Dinner

Dinner might be one of the easiest meals to add more veggies to your plate. But don’t just add more spinach to your salad, get creative! Instead of topping your protein with a calorie-packed sauce, try sautéing some vegetables like peppers, onions, and tomatoes to top off your meat or fish. Compared to sauces, they are equally rich in flavor and infinitely more rich in nutrition. Maybe try your hand at zoodles, which are noodles made from zucchini with a spiralizer, or riced cauliflower as a replacement in any noodle or rice dish. Zoodles are surprisingly easy to make and riced cauliflower can be found at almost any grocery store. Once you try them out, you’ll be hooked!

Having a healthy diet and feeding your body the nutrients it needs is a part of allowing yourself to reach your optimum potential. So make sure you are feeding your body, mind, and soul exactly what it needs!