Did you know that it is recommended that you consume two to three cups of vegetables a day? And that is cooked vegetables too so don’t think you can get away with one fluffy cup of baby spinach as a serving of veggies, oh no! If you want to count leafy greens as your daily veggies, you need double the quantity. Now, we all know that vegetables are good for us (the reduce the risk of heart disease, lower blood pressure and are full of beneficial vitamins and minerals), but it can be hard to eat that many veggies every day.
Luckily, there are many ways to sneak vegetables into your food throughout the day, even into your desserts! Take a look at these ways to add healthy vegetables to your daily sweets. We promise you won’t even notice that they are there!
Sub Butter for Avocado
Avocados are really such an amazing veggie. Not only can they help lower cholesterol and triglycerides, but they are full of potassium and fiber. They are one of the best veggies in season. In addition to the health benefits of avocados, they also act in the same manner as butter when used in baking. Remove the butter from your recipes and put avocado in its place in the same quantity. Cookies, cakes, or muffins, the avocado will work in them all. Thanks to the subtle flavor, you won’t even know that you are eating an avocado!
Black Bean Desserts
You can use black beans in a wide variety of desserts, especially those with chocolate. The dark color of black beans blend in perfectly with dark chocolate meaning your dessert will be full of vegetables without you ever knowing! Black beans have fiber, protein, potassium and B vitamins that are all needed for a healthy diet. Give black bean brownies a try (they are the best), black bean cookies or even black bean chocolates.
Smoothie Pops
When the weather gets hot, you may want to cool down with a tasty popsicle. Skip those sugar loaded, fake flavored pops you can get at the grocery store and make your own. Blend up some spinach, yogurt, fruit and a touch of sweetener (honey or syrup work great!) and freeze in popsicle molds. Next time you need a cold sweet treat, you can satisfy your need for sugar while also eating your veggies. Spinach, kale, and avocado all work great in smoothie pops.
Veggie Cookies
Sweet potatoes and zucchini are two perfect vegetables to slip into cookies without having to change much to the recipe. When using sweet potato in cookies, use it in place of half of the butter (if your recipe asks for one cup of butter, use 1/2 cup cooked sweet potatoes and 1/2 cup of butter). If you want to use zucchini, grate it, squeeze out the water and use it in place of one egg (take out one egg and add 1/2 cup zucchini). Now, any cookie recipe you have can be a veggie cookie! That was easy…
Veggie Classics
There are a bunch of desserts that already are loaded with veggies that you should opt for when trying to up your vegetable intake. Carrot cake cupcakes, pumpkin pie, rhubarb pie, and zucchini bread are all examples of desserts full of healthy vegetables. Don’t shy away from these powerhouse options!
Now that you are well versed in how to sneak veggies into your dessert, the next question is where to begin? Why not try them all? They are healthy and the best veggies in season! Who knew that consuming more vegetables could also mean eating more dessert!
Find nearby restaurants with meals you love with HowUdish, the app that helps you find dishes suited to your tastes & nutritional lifestyle. Download the HowUdish App now!
