Easy Tips to Eat More Veggies Every Day

By Savy Makalena – CEO/Founder Gimme A Break Caring for Caregivers 05/25/2021

Most of us don’t get enough vegetables, yet we know, we need to eat healthier but, with Caregiving duties we can’t always spend a lot of time in the kitchen.

As a Caregiver, I struggled to find time to cook healthy options. I found time to heat stuff up and fry spam but, not time to prep! And certainly not any time to prepare healthy meals or snacks! More often than not I was eating something quick, whatever was leftover or takeout. And some nights it was chips, cookies or popcorn for snacks or dinner.

What’s a Caregiver to do? Let’s start with adding veggies to our day! What Caregivers need to do is make the veggies convenient and easy, like fast food! Caregivers need “Easy Ways to Eat More Veggies Every Day” so, here are some tips from one Caregiver to another! Enjoy!

Cut down on prep time

• Buy veggies that are ready to eat, like cherry tomatoes and baby carrots! More and more Grocers are preparing veggies for people on the go!
• My Grocer has pre-cut and washed carrot and celery sticks, perfect for vege cups [see recipe at bottom of page]

Making time for the prep will save you the “stress in the moment”.

• Set aside a day of the week, do the shopping, then wash and bag the veggies! This means washing, trimming, chopping, and even roasting or freezing — anything that makes it easier to grab veggies on the go.
• Be realistic, plan on making 3 bags to go and 3 cups to grab. On the 4^th or 5^th day, you may want to treat yourself for being healthy and get takeout. This will allow for flexibility! There’s nothing worse than veggies that go bad in the fridge and you don’t need anymore negatives in Caregiving!

Put your vegetables where you can see them! 

• Move your veggies [like veggie cups & bags] to the top or eye level shelf of your refrigerator! Let them be the first thing you see! Stop hiding veggies in a drawer!
• There are veggies like broccoli and cauliflower that are prepped and bagged for cooking in the microwave, they are already washed and cut and can be eaten right out of the bag like chips!  
• Bag veggies in plastic sandwich bags for quick grab n go! Don’t forget to pick up single serving portions of guacamole, ranch, peanut/almond butter or hummus and put one in each bag!

There’s nothing wrong with frozen and canned.

• If you want convenience without paying extra, opt for frozen and canned vegetables. Despite what you may have heard, frozen and canned vegetables are just as nutritious as fresh vegetables. Frozen vegetables are picked at peak ripeness and flash frozen. Canned vegetables often have added sodium, which may be a concern for you, but many companies are offering low-sodium varieties.
• Frozen and canned vegetables are great because they last a long time, they’re inexpensive, they require almost no preparation and work in a variety of dishes. My favorite frozen options are peas, corn and broccoli. Canned winners in our house include tomatoes and artichoke hearts. I also like the frozen stir-fry mixes, they are super convenient with lots of variety!
• You can also, easily add frozen or canned veggies to any meal or recipe which adds some vitamins, minerals and fiber to any meal.

Make them look tasty!

• Put a chip bag and a bag of veggies side by side and which one looks tastier? And if making better choices looks like a lot of work, we’re not having it, right? There are ways to appeal to your eyes and make veggies and easy choice!
• Here are a couple of suggestions:
  • Veggies Cups – Pour any dip into the bottom of colorful cups, then simply add veggies. If you can get the cups with the rounded lids, even better [I call them the slurpy cup lids] if not, just wrap the tops with plastic wrap! If you can’t find colorful cups with lids, use colorful labels or stickers! Remember your competing with a bag of chips!! LOL
  • Caprese Cups – Line up cherry tomatoes, mozzarella pearls [or any cheese] on a bamboo skewer and drizzle with balsamic and a little olive oil and place into colorful plastic cups. Sprinkle, fresh or dried basil.
  • Bonus cup for mornings – put fruit on a bamboo skewer and drop in a cup with yogurt, sponge cake pieces [or any leftover cake/muffins] then drizzle with agave or honey.
  • Use your imagination – Have fun a be creative! When you open the refrigerator door, it’s a whole new ballgame! Who wants a dry old bag of chips when you can have this! Your Caree will love them too!

Liquify your options!

• Finally, it works for some and not for others but there are lots of liquid veggie choices out there now. Smoothies and juices are available almost anywhere! In a cup, a can, or a carton you can drink your veggies!

The whole point here is to make veggies easy and accessible! Also, make it fun and colorful so it’s eye catching! Your health is a #1 PRIORITY! Without your health, you become the Caree! Start by making time to prep then, you make it easier and more colorful to make good health choices!