This copy is for your personal non-commercial use only. To order presentation-ready copies of Toronto Star content for distribution to colleagues, clients or customers, or inquire about permissions/licensing, please go to: www.TorontoStarReprints.com

Q: I am trying to make sure that I am having a vegetable with every meal or snack but, I am not very creative and end up getting bored of the same old combinations and then just give up. What are some ways to keep vegetables interesting for each meal, day after day?

A; We all know that one of the easiest ways to improve overall health is to eat more vegetables and fruits. The challenge for some people, however, is in making it something that is enjoyable and interesting from one day to the next. As a way to get past the boring, old “just eat a salad with every meal” type of advice, I’ve created a list of 20 unique, interesting ways to get more plants onto your plate. Here they are;

1- Use cabbage as a side dish with your sandwich. My personal favourite is to have Kimchi (a fermented Korean cabbage dish with hot pepper) as a side. It is packed with nutrition and is a great source of probiotics. It is an acquired taste for sure, but, I’ve grown to love it. If it’s not for you, go with sauerkraut or vinegar and oil coleslaw.

2- When you make a homemade pizza, top it with baby spinach or arugula when it comes out of the oven.

3- Use leftover pasta to create a pasta salad. Along with your favourite protein and dressing, add a variety of chopped peppers, celery, carrots, onions and grape tomatoes.

4- Add broccoli florets to macaroni and cheese.

5- Toss Brussels sprouts in olive oil and your favourite seasonings before air-frying for 10 minutes. You could also prepare them in the oven on a baking sheet.

6- Double up your mixed salad at dinner to eat in a whole wheat tortilla with leftover meat, tuna, salmon or egg salad at lunch the next day.

7- When heating soup (even canned or store bought soup in a jar), add frozen chopped spinach, kale or frozen mixed vegetables.

8- For an afternoon snack, fix a plate of whole grain crackers and cheese or hummus with olives, pickled green beans and baby carrots.

9- Parboil a bunch of asparagus as a side dish seasoned with Italian spices and grated Parmesan cheese. Leftovers are delicious eaten cold the next day drizzled with balsamic/ fig reduction as a side dish.

10- When making a sandwich, add a leaf of Romaine lettuce and tomato slices.

11- Add diced onions and finely chopped peppers to turkey burger patties or when browning meat for tacos.

12- When preparing steamed rice, add frozen mixed vegetables like corn, carrots and peas along with a teaspoon of coconut oil, salt and pepper.

13- Add cauliflower rice, frozen spinach or kale to a protein smoothie along with a banana and/or frozen berries.

14- Add your favourite vegetables to eggs to create delicious omelettes. Onions, peppers, zucchini, spinach and tomatoes work well. Top with crumbled feta cheese. One of my clients told me that she scrambles egg whites for breakfast and adds frozen mixed vegetables (corn, carrots and peas) to her eggs before drizzling with Honey Dijon salad dressing.

15- Stir fry onions and lean ground beef. Add stewed tomatoes, oregano, garlic and salt and pepper and continue cooking for several minutes before adding a bag of shredded cabbage and carrots (coleslaw mix that you find in grocery stores). Continue cooking until all vegetables are soft. The result is sometimes called “unstuffed” cabbage rolls.

16- Top whole grain toast with mashed avocado, Spanish onions, tomato slices and Sriracha hot sauce for amazing “avocado toast.”

17- Add a variety of vegetables to Italian rice salad. Cook a batch of Arborio rice and then let it cool. To the rice, add cooked peas, cooked diced carrots, a bit of olive oil and seasoning. For variety, you can also add pickled vegetables or vegetables in oil. For added protein, mix in tuna or diced chicken and diced cheese. For a Greek version, add feta cheese, black olives, cucumbers and grape tomatoes.

18- Marinate Portobello mushroom caps in vinaigrette and then grill alongside your meat on the barbecue.

19- Use up leftover rotisserie chicken by chopping and stir frying with multi-coloured peppers and onions the next day for fajitas or a stir fry.

20- Use “veggie noodles” in place of regular pasta with your favourite sauce. Add protein from turkey, lean beef or vegetarian meatballs and you’ll have a nutrient dense meal that is low in carbohydrates and high in essential nutrients. You can use a spiralizer to create long, skinny “spaghetti” from zucchini or other vegetables. Alternatively, most grocery stores now carry vegetable noodles that they’ve prepared for purchase.

Finally, have a supply of vegetables like baby carrots, grape tomatoes and sugar snap peas that are quick and easy to “grab and go” from the fridge when you are in a pinch.

Copyright owned or licensed by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or distribution of this content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Toronto Star Newspapers Limited and/or its licensors. To order copies of Toronto Star articles, please go to: www.TorontoStarReprints.com