Winter is all about comfort food. The cold weather makes most people want to curl up with something rich and delicious and ride out the storm. Its very important to eat your vegetables in winter because you are more prone to illness during the colder months. The Hazelview team has a list of 10 ways to get your vegetables this winter.
Start With Soups
A hot bowl of soup can be incredibly comforting on a cold winter night. This basic vegetable soup recipe is easy to make. All you need is vegetable (or chicken) stock, lots of veggies and a little salt and pepper. You can use any vegetables you have on hand. Prefer broccoli instead of cauliflower? No problem. This recipe is so easy to follow, it’s hard to make a mistake.
Sneak Veggies Into Hearty Meals
A great way to get some extra veggies into your everyday life is to sneak them into a hearty meal. This Veggie Bolognese Pasta is satisfying and substantial. The meaty sauce is secretly full of veggies like carrots, cauliflower, zucchini, mushrooms and tomatoes (technically a fruit, but let’s count it here). We promise you won’t miss the meat.
Roast Them For A Sweet Treat
Roasting veggies brings out their delicious sweet flavour as their natural sugars caramelize. When you come in from out of the cold, hot roasted root veggies can be deeply satisfying on their own or as a side dish. Leftover roasted veggies taste delicious cold the next day.
Sip On Them In Smoothies
Green smoothies are a great way to get some extra veggies in. This Veggie Cocktail, is a healthy take on a Bloody Mary, complete with a classic celery stalk garnish. This version of the cocktail is packed with 2 cups of kale! That’s a lot of greens in a delicious package.
Hide Them In Pancakes
Having trouble getting your kids to eat their veggies? Hide some spinach in your next batch of pancakes! Hulk Pancakes are delicious, healthy and vibrantly green. Kids will love their fun name and bright colour, and won’t be able to detect their healthy secret.
Embrace Stew
Hearty beef stew with veggies is perhaps the perfect winter meal. The stew’s flavour is so rich and meaty you’d never guess this recipe packs in so many vegetables. Make a big pot of it, keep it in your fridge, and heat up a bowl to warm you up whenever the craving strikes.
Turn them into pasta
Spiralized vegetables offer an amazing new way to eat your veggies. Zucchini Noodles are the most common and a great option if you are looking for grain-free pasta or a way to pack more vegetables into your diet. They are easy to make, all you need is a vegetable spiralizer or mandoline. Add your favourite sauce with even more veggies and you’re on your way to getting your five a day.
Turn Them Into Wings
If you love the taste of buffalo wings, but are trying to eat more vegetables, consider whipping up a batch of cauliflower wings. This video will walk you through the process of preparing your cauliflower and buffalo sauce. Serve them with some blue cheese dressing, carrots and celery sticks.
Bake With Them
Is there anything cozier than baking? Vegetables aren’t just for savoury recipes. This winter, bake a warm loaf of Zucchini Bread to share with friends and family. Grated zucchini keeps the sweet loaf moist and delicious. It’s basically a spice cake with the added benefits of vegetables!
We hope these ideas will help you sneak extra veggies into your meals this winter. To learn more about Hazelview’s rental communities across Canada, please visit our website.