I’m not saying I hate vegetables, but I do hate salads. Nothing tastes worse to me than gnawing on raw veggies for a meal. But because vegetables are so important to one’s diet, here are some ways to add variety and color to your college diet.
Omelettes
Photo by Clarisse Callahan
Omelettes are the perfect way to add in those veggies that you know you despise alone. After a quick sautée, vegetables provide a unique blend of textures, spiciness, and a blast of color to your breakfast. Add mushrooms, spinach, peppers, or collard greens to your eggs and if that doesn’t seem to taste any better, just add some bacon and cheese as well.
Bites or Boats
Photo by Sarah Wu
Whether you are a pizza addict or nacho lover, turn those carbs into veggies substituting zucchini as the perfect way to crush those cravings. Once you peel and carve the zucchini into a boat shape, your favorite toppings can be layered on and baked to make the perfect dinner.
Try nacho zucchini boats topped with ground beef, mushrooms, onions, peppers, and mounds of cheese. Or make spaghetti squash boats if zucchini isn’t your thing.
Risotto
Photo by Vedika Luthra
An authentic, Italian-style risotto can turn the tables. Risotto in itself is a pleasurable treat but with the addition of chicken and loaded with veggies, the risotto is transformed. With the help of chicken broth, garlic, and butter, vegetables such as peas, mushrooms, beets, carrots, broccoli, and cauliflower will go down easily.
Soup
Photo by Piril Dobrucali
The easiest way to use just about any vegetable is in a hearty soup like minestrone or gazpacho. With the help of pan-fried bacon and garlic, literally any vegetable can be thrown into this simple soup. Some veggies to try include spinach, beans, carrots, tomatoes, collards, swiss chard, cabbage, celery, onion, zucchini, and potatoes. To make this soup even better, add pasta.
Noodles
Photo by Natsuko Mazany
Get rid of those carbs and use vegetables instead to make a lighter and healthier noodle. Though this may not sound too appealing to some individuals, adding sauce and other toppings such as meat or cheese can really turn the tables around. These noodles can be made out of sweet potato or zucchini and if you’re really lazy, try spaghetti squash.
Chips
Photo by Rafi Letzer
Want something to snack on? Try veggie chips. Not only are these snacks nutritious, but they also last long and can be spiced up with any kind of seasonings. The most common veggie chips are made out of kale, carrots, green bean, sweet potato, zucchini, and radish. With the help of olive oil, paprika, breadcrumbs, cheese, herbs or spices, the vegetables are transformed.
Bread
Photo by Lavanya Narayanan
Take your banana bread game to the next level by adding zucchini. With the banana overload, you won’t even taste the difference. Use other healthy ingredients like greek yogurt, honey, applesauce, and coconut oil to make the perfect treat. To make the bread even sweeter, add chocolate, coconut shavings, dried fruit, and chopped nuts.
Smoothies
Photo by of Rachel Piorko
For a sweet and healthy treat, add spinach or kale to a fruity smoothie to mix in some more vitamins and minerals. With the help of yogurt, orange juice, or milk, fruits and veggies can be blended perfectly so you don’t even have to taste the leafy greens. Try mixing orange juice, chia seeds, frozen strawberries and blueberries, spinach and kale.
Muffins
Photo courtesy of Sarah Stettin
Sweet chocolate and rich avocado make the perfect match for the ultimate muffin. Eating this treat fills you with good fats which are an important source of omega 3s and reduce total cholesterol in the body. Avocado helps this delicious chocolate muffin feel lighter, taste more intense, and makes it super smooth. Try avocado truffles, pudding, and brownies as well.