Eating healthy in college is hard. Without supervision, pizza, ramen, and other tasty carbs become our go-to meals. Thankfully, there are many ways to incorporate vegetables into your diet. Here are 9 healthy swaps to get your recommended daily servings of vegetables.
1. Ranch → Broccoli & feta hummus
Photo by Becky Hughes
You won’t even be able to tell you’re eating broccoli with this rich, creamy hummus. For a challenge, try to eat raw vegetables alongside this delicious dipping sauce.
2. Banana bread → Zucchini bread
Photo by Natsuko Mazany
Yes, you can have veggies for dessert. Unknowingly consume more vegetables with this bread that’ll just melt in your mouth.
3. Rice → Cauliflower rice
Photo by Kristine Mahan
Make the staple of your meal a vegetable. With the right seasoning and add-ons, this dish can last an entire week.
4. French fries → Carrot fries
Photos by Nick Schmidt
Double the crunch, double the nutrients, half the calories. Plus, carrots may or may not give you better vision.
5. Potato chips → Swiss chard chips
Photo by Kristine Mahan
If you love to snack, here’s a way to snack healthy. Like reaching into a bag of chips, they’ll be gone before you know it.
6. Jamba Juice → Green smoothie
Photo by Harper Garfinkle
We all have our moments when we fall back on Jamba Juice to meet our daily fruit intake. Give your wallet a break and make your own delicious green smoothie to get your veggies in and enjoy a refreshing, cool drink.
7. Angel-hair spaghetti → Zucchini pasta
Photo by Mujahid Zaman
Since you’ll be drenching this in sauce anyways, you’ll barely be able to tell you’re eating vegetables instead of carbohydrates.
8. Fudge brownies → Sweet potato brownies
Photo by Lily Lou
Sounds bizarre, but sweet potatoes actually give brownies an extra creamy texture. Even if you feel you don’t need to eat more vegetables, you should definitely try this recipe.
9. Burritos → Lettuce wraps
Photo by Angela Pizzimenti
Burritos are known to be a heavy mess of carbs and proteins. Lighten up the dish by wrapping your contents with lettuce instead. To really challenge yourself, wrap veggies in the lettuce. With a great dipping sauce (like the broccoli hummus above), you’ll be scarfing these down.
We all have days when we feel bad about what we eat but can’t bring ourselves to eat an entire bowl of salad. Hopefully, with these simple substitutions, you can incorporate essential vitamins and minerals into your diet. And, if you end up liking any of these recipes, you can eat them guilt-free!