Just because September, also National Fruits and Veggies Month, is winding down doesn’t mean that eating fruits and vegetables as part of a balanced diet becomes less important! September is also National Cholesterol Education Awareness Month and National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month. A well-balanced diet, one that includes half a plate of fruits or vegetables at mealtime, helps with keeping cholesterol and weight levels low.
Part of building a healthy habit to eat more fruits and vegetables is not confining oneself to a literal half plate, and to trying new things! These selected recipes, curated by Stefanie Arblaster, RDN, an outpatient clinical dietitian at Meadville Medical Center’s Mind-Body Wellness Center, offer ways to incorporate vegetables into foods you likely already cook and enjoy on a regular basis!
Selected Recipes
Cauliflower puree takes a bit of prep time but is an easy way to enhance your meals with this hearty and vitamin-rich cruciferous vegetable!
- Wash, chop, and steam the cauliflower until soft, then puree it in a blender or food processor.
- Stir into a cheese sauce, add to mashed potatoes, or add it into a soup to make it thicker.
Either buy frozen or prepared zucchini spirals at the store, or make them yourself with a vegetable spiralizer.
- Then cook your regular pasta how you normally would- with alfredo, marinara, pesto, etc.
- Make ½ the serving the zucchini noodles and the other ½ regular pasta for added nutrients.
- You can also try the chickpea pasta that has 8g fiber and 14g plant-based protein!
- Very finely chop veggies of your choice — mushrooms, onions, carrots, zucchini — and sauté them in one tablespoon of olive oil so they become soft.
- Next, mix these vegetables with lean ground meat.
- Add an egg and any seasonings you would like (parmesan, Italian seasoning, red chili flakes, etc.)
- Shape them into meatballs and cook them as you normally would. You could even mix these in with your zucchini spirals/pasta meal!
Variation: You could use this same technique with other foods like meatloaf or homemade chicken nuggets.
This smoothie recipe sneaks in at least 1 serving of vegetables and tastes like a peanut butter and banana smoothie!
Add the following ingredients into a blender:
- 1 banana
- ½ cup frozen mango
- 1-2 tbsp. peanut butter
- 1-2 cups of spinach
Combine with your milk of choice: almond, soy, 1 or 2%, whichever you’d like to use!
Variation: You could also add a couple tablespoons of Hershey’s cocoa powder to make a peanut butter chocolate smoothie!
Ingredients:
- 1 cup white flour
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 3 tablespoons of melted & cooled butter
- ½ cup pure maple syrup
- 1 large egg, beaten
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup finely grated carrot
- 1 cup finely grated zucchini
- ½ cup raisins or chocolate chips (optional)
How to make:
- Preheat oven to 350F and spray a mini muffin pan with nonstick spray.
- Combine the flour, cinnamon, salt, and baking soda in a mixing bowl and whisk until thoroughly combined. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, stir together the butter, maple syrup, egg, and vanilla extract.
- Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and stir together until just barely combined.
- Add the zucchini, carrot, and raisins/chocolate chips (optional) and stir gently until just distributed.
- Fill each cup in the mini muffin pan approximately ¾ of the way full.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out of the center all clear.
- Let cool and store in an airtight container at room temp. for several days.
These muffins keep for up to a week in the fridge or several months in the freezer!
Cauliflower puree takes a bit of prep time but is an easy way to enhance your meals with this hearty and vitamin-rich cruciferous vegetable!
- Wash, chop, and steam the cauliflower until soft, then puree it in a blender or food processor.
- Stir into a cheese sauce, add to mashed potatoes, or add it into a soup to make it thicker.
Either buy frozen or prepared zucchini spirals at the store, or make them yourself with a vegetable spiralizer.
- Then cook your regular pasta how you normally would- with alfredo, marinara, pesto, etc.
- Make ½ the serving the zucchini noodles and the other ½ regular pasta for added nutrients.
- You can also try the chickpea pasta that has 8g fiber and 14g plant-based protein!
- Very finely chop veggies of your choice — mushrooms, onions, carrots, zucchini — and sauté them in one tablespoon of olive oil so they become soft.
- Next, mix these vegetables with lean ground meat.
- Add an egg and any seasonings you would like (parmesan, Italian seasoning, red chili flakes, etc.)
- Shape them into meatballs and cook them as you normally would. You could even mix these in with your zucchini spirals/pasta meal!
Variation: You could use this same technique with other foods like meatloaf or homemade chicken nuggets.
This smoothie recipe sneaks in at least 1 serving of vegetables and tastes like a peanut butter and banana smoothie!
Add the following ingredients into a blender:
- 1 banana
- ½ cup frozen mango
- 1-2 tbsp. peanut butter
- 1-2 cups of spinach
Combine with your milk of choice: almond, soy, 1 or 2%, whichever you’d like to use!
Variation: You could also add a couple tablespoons of Hershey’s cocoa powder to make a peanut butter chocolate smoothie!
Ingredients:
- 1 cup white flour
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 3 tablespoons of melted & cooled butter
- ½ cup pure maple syrup
- 1 large egg, beaten
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup finely grated carrot
- 1 cup finely grated zucchini
- ½ cup raisins or chocolate chips (optional)
How to make:
- Preheat oven to 350F and spray a mini muffin pan with nonstick spray.
- Combine the flour, cinnamon, salt, and baking soda in a mixing bowl and whisk until thoroughly combined. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, stir together the butter, maple syrup, egg, and vanilla extract.
- Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and stir together until just barely combined.
- Add the zucchini, carrot, and raisins/chocolate chips (optional) and stir gently until just distributed.
- Fill each cup in the mini muffin pan approximately ¾ of the way full.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out of the center all clear.
- Let cool and store in an airtight container at room temp. for several days.
These muffins keep for up to a week in the fridge or several months in the freezer!
