How often have you heard this line “fill half of your plate with vegetables” to boost weight loss efforts? Vegetables, barring a few exceptions, are extremely low in calories and considered one of the most-filling foods. They nourish the body with vitamins, antioxidants, fiber, protein, minerals, necessary to synthesize essential hormones and enzymes that boost weight loss. Though healthy foods should be taken in limited amount, fresh vegetables are an exception, which you can eat as much as you can and rarely get into a calorie surplus! Come to think of it, who has ever gained weight by eating platefuls of “bhindi masala!” Health experts, in fact, recommend getting 2 to 3 servings of vegetables each day. However, if you absolutely detest eating veggies day in and day out, here are 9 interesting ways to eat more vegetables for weight loss.
Why you Should Eat Vegetables Every Day:
- Rich in vitamins.
- Rich in fiber.
- Antioxidants.
- Source of trace minerals – potassium, magnesium, calcium, iron, manganese, copper, etc.
- Low in calories.
- Boosts Weight loss.
9 Interesting Ways to Eat More Vegetables for Weight Loss:
1. Replace White Rice with Cauliflower Rice: White rice is a staple food for most Indians and consumed on a daily basis in a majority of households all over the world, so it’s hard to imagine life without white rice. White rice is a refined food, ripped off most of its fiber content during the refining and polishing process and what you get is a large chunk of carbs that can get your weight up. Have you ever thought about replacing rice with “riced” cauliflower? You would stock up on cauliflower if we told you that it has just 25 calories per 100 gm. So, just grate the cauliflower florets into rice-like consistency and make whatever you want out of it – from pulao to biryani, the options are endless.
2. Eat Salad with Every Meal: To curb appetite and to prevent overeating, eat a bowl of salad (without store-bought salad dressing) before each meal. You would be getting a good dose of antioxidants, fiber, and nutrients in just a bowl of salad.
3. Add them to Soup: An easy and quick way to include a whole lot of veggies in a single serving – add them to a soup! You can cut down calories in subsequent meals through this way too. Green peas, cabbage, beans, carrots, corn, all of them can be added with ginger and garlic to make yummy soups!
4. Make Lasagna out of Fresh Veggies: This can even be your cheat meal! Add zucchini, mushrooms, capsicum, spinach, and loads of other veggies for a delicious treat.
5. Make noodles out of Zucchini: Invest a spiralizer and make thin noodles out of zucchini, carrot, and even sweet potato. If spiralizer is not available, you can cut these veggies into julienne strips as well.
6. Green Juice: Make yummy, nutrient-rich green juice by adding spinach and cucumbers along with these fruits (complete recipe here). Do you know Alia Bhat loves drinking beetroot juice to add glow to her skin, find out more of vegetable juice recipes here.
7. Add them to Omelette: Eggs and vegetables make the healthiest combo – you can add onions, capsicum, spinach, and even tomatoes to omelette to add more flavour and nutrients.
8. Make Vegetable Upma: Carrots, beans, green peas, potatoes, beans all can take the taste of bland upma to another level.
9. Vegetable Chips: No, we are not talking about packaged potato chips! You can make homemade crispies and chips with sweet potato, turnips, and even beetroots! Just remember to bake them, not deep frying them.
Find more interesting and creative ways to eat vegetables to lose weight on the Rati Beauty app.
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