Boost your day with some veggies!

Here are 5 tips to increase your vegetable intake! If you already know how vital it is to eat enough vegetables, but don't know how to do it yet.

Many people struggle to eat enough fruit and vegetables. The WHO recommends eating at least 400g a day, either raw or in some prepared form, but the average intake is unfortunately well below this. This is an essential food category for your health, as they are a great source of valuable nutrients such as 

• fibres such as cellulose, beta-glucan, inulin
• vitamins, e.g. vitamin C, beta-carotene, a precursor of vitamin A, folic acid
• minerals, e.g. potassium, magnesium

The most common reason for not eating enough vegetables is that many people think they don't like them. Often it's simply that they've tried one way of preparing a particular ingredient and just didn't like it. That is why you should never stop experimenting and using new tricks in the kitchen. Try new spices, for example, and feel free to open up to Eastern cuisine, which tends to focus on different vegetables and spices.

So, how do we start?

1. Add some veggies to your breakfast!

If you like eggs for breakfast, make an omelette with sun-dried tomatoes and paprika, but if you add green peas and parsley, you've got a new dish right away! Pack leafy greens in your sandwich, like arugula, lettuce, or some baby spinach. And if you're more into sweet breakfasts, try this zucchini oatmeal. The neutral taste of zucchini blends well with all the ingredients, strange as it may sound, it's a great addition to oatmeal.

2. Don't skip the soup!

Take advantage of the two-course option at lunchtime, which has two benefits in addition to higher vegetable intake: 1. it fills you up, 2. it hydrates you.

3. Replace popcorn and high-fat snacks.

Snack on fresh veggies to watch a movie or just for the afternoon. Slice cucumbers, carrots, celery stalks, add a simple hummus or eggplant cream cheese and you're ready to dunk!

4. Make bolognese, pasta salads with lentil pasta or any vegetable-based pasta.

 And if you're more experienced and have a vegetable spiralizer, you can make "spaghetti" from raw courgettes, carrots, beetroot.

5. Layer, and fill with vegetables.

Try your lasagne recipe with aubergines or courgettes. Fill a small squash or sweet potato with Mexican rice and cook it like that.