Even if you don’t have a lot of time or money

Eat me.

You know that I’m passionate about eating veggies–I even entered a spinach eating contest once (although I don’t recommend doing this if you actually want to continue eating spinach afterwards).

You know you need to eat your veggies, but if you’re like most Americans, you’re probably not eating enough of them.

Maybe you’ve cut produce from your grocery list because it’s expensive. Maybe you don’t have access to a grocery store that sells fresh produce. Maybe you don’t think you have enough time to prepare veggies or you’ve never really liked how they taste.

But if you’re skimping on veggies, for whatever reason, you’re doing your body a huge disservice. Vegetables are low in fat and calories and are packed with antioxidants and vitamins.

Ok, the public service announcement portion of this post is over. Now, I’m going to give you some practical advice you can use to get more veggies in your life right now, no matter how busy and/or broke you are. (And, as always, I’d love to hear your suggestions about how you get vegetables into your diet.)

The good news: You don't have to do this to get your daily servings of veggies.

1.Pick veggies you like. If you don’t really like Swiss chard, but buy it because you think you should, it’s just going to wilt in your fridge.

2. Crudites are your friends. I always keep a bag of baby carrots in the fridge so I can quickly add veggies to any meal. Any vegetable that you like to eat cold will do–bell peppers, celery, cherry tomatoes. Add hummus for flavor and protein.

3. Cook tomatoes. Once I learned to cook tomatoes, I realized I had a vegetable base that I could add to pasta, omelets, fish, or just about anything. I just halve a bunch of grape or cherry tomatoes (or chop up some large tomatoes) and saute them with a little bit of olive oil, chopped garlic, salt and pepper. Sometimes I add mushrooms, onions or basil to the mix.

4. Roast veggies. Put a bunch of sliced veggies–I like to use asparagus, bell peppers, mushrooms, onions, tomatoes, zucchini and yellow squash–in a baking pan with a little olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper (does this sound familiar?) and roast them in the oven until they’re semi-soft. Then, I have a ton of veggies to serve as side dishes or put on sandwiches.

5. Take shortcuts where you can afford to. And don’t feel bad about it. Although the taste of frozen and canned veggies doesn’t even compare to fresh, these shortcuts are still nutritionally excellent options and can save you time and money. Canned or frozen veggies are also a good option if you don’t have access to fresh veggies.

I buy frozen broccoli florets and kale because I don’t like to spend time preparing them fresh, except for special meals or occasions. But I can easily throw frozen kale or broccoli into soups and pasta dishes to make them more nutritious.

6. See a pot of boiling water as an opportunity. To steam veggies, that is. Any time you cook something that requires boiling water, whether it’s mac’n cheese or rice, throw a steamer on top to cook veggies simultaneously. You can even use some frozen veggies, baby carrots or bagged spinach if you don’t have have time to prep fresh ones. Just add a little olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper, or spices of your choice. This way, there’s no excuse not to eat veggies.

7. Mix veggies into the main dish. People who turn their nose up at a side salad or cooked carrots love my pasta primavera dishes. For these dishes, I mix in cooked veggies with pasta and other flavorful ingredients, like olives, garlic, canned marinated artichokes, tuna, broth or spices. You don’t have to make a fancy dish to do this–throwing cooked spinach, kale or broccoli into mac’n cheese has the same effect.