by Kristy Kim

We know just how difficult it can be as a college student to make sure we are eating enough vegetables, especially when they have a reputation of being “gross” and “not tasty.” However, we hope to change your mind by the end of this article by showing you some easy ways to add veggies into your daily meals without compromising the flavor. (Some of these tricks will have you eating veggies without you even knowing!)

For all you smoothie lovers out there, here is an easy hack. You can add almost anything to a smoothie and cover it up with fruits, such as strawberries or bananas. I learned to add cauliflower to my smoothies because you do not even notice its taste in the smoothie, and it adds more nutrients to my drink. I make my smoothie per usual with the same ingredients, and the only thing different is adding in cauliflower. I like to add frozen cauliflower because it makes the drink thicker and more frappuccino-like, but feel free to add them raw or steamed. 

As a pasta enthusiast, this hack makes me feel better about my weekly pasta divulges. When using tomato sauce, you can combine a lot of steamed carrots, bell peppers, spinach and cauliflower into a blender with the tomato sauce, and it makes the sauce taste even better than before! The color does not change either and stills has the same rich, red creaminess. That way, I can eat my pasta in peace, knowing that I have tons of veggies packed in without even seeing them. 

This next hack is something we have tried recently and absolutely love. For all you sweet lovers, this dessert is a must try. We have tried an avocado chocolate pudding dessert, and it did not disappoint! By simply adding avocado, coconut milk and cocoa powder together into a mixer, you get a creamy consistency that melts into your mouth. This recipe makes me feel much less guilty for any sweet cravings throughout the day, and I feel more energized and happy knowing that this dessert contains healthy fats and no dairy.

Lastly, we can always mix our veggies together and combine them together in our everyday meals. As mentioned previously, cauliflower is our best friend. We can add cauliflower into almost any dish and feel good about ourselves. We can chop up cauliflower finely and make cauliflower fried rice. We can use half regular rice and half cauliflower rice and incorporate it into a fried rice dish. Another possibility is to make mashed cauliflower potatoes. Half cauliflower and half potatoes, and you won’t even know the difference. We can also have noodles and half zoodles or spaghetti squash into our pasta dishes or stir frys.

The possibilities are endless, and just because we want to incorporate more veggies, doesn’t mean we have to strictly cut out all carbs. We can have them together, and it will be more enjoyable for everyone. These are just some of our favorite ways that make eating more veggies an everyday thing, rather than something to replace ‘unhealthy’ foods. You don’t have to choose between eating healthy or unhealthy, but mix them together and have a healthy relationship with the everyday foods you eat!