5 ways to add more plants to your plate
5 Ways to Add More Plants To Your Plate

5 Ways to Add More Plants To Your Plate 

 Do you find the kids are getting bored of their meals? Are you struggling to get more vegetables on their plates? Do you find it’s harder to try something new and still be sure you’ve got enough vegetables, vitamins and minerals? Do you find the family is getting sick of eating the same thing over and over again?

If you are nodding your head right now, you are in the right place to finding out easy ways to add more plants your plate.

Sometimes the kids look at their plates and say “Mama? Carrots, again?” And that’s normally my signal that I need to start mixing it up a bit. After years of practice and too many hours in the kitchen, I am pretty confident to say that our plates are always full of plants and happiness.

Here are my top 5 tips to add more plants to your plate

 

Baked goods

This is an easy favorite of mine (especially for breakfast). Adding veggies and fruits to muffins, cookies, and pancakes is such an easy way to make you feel like you are eating a treat instead of a raw veggie and it gets the kids excited about what they are munching! Also a great way to include grains and seeds into their diets. Some great plant examples to add into your baked goods are apples, spinach, carrots, and zucchini. 

Mama Tip

The key to a healthy plate is more than just sneaking veggies into your kids meals. I find that when my children help me with the preparation, and understand that their muffin has zucchini or carrots inside, a lesson is learned. Veggies should not just be hidden inside things. They should be loud, proud, and celebrated!

Make it fun!

Make your plants – FUN! This is so ideal for kids! Cutting your veggies into shapes makes the kids LOVE it. Hearts, stars, dinosaurs, their favorite cartoon characters (depending on your knife skills) will make the kids excited about seeing their plates and more prone to eating them up! For parents, make your vegetables into noodles or rice (I LOVE ZUCCHINI NOODLES), or make it into pasta! Who doesn’t love pasta, eh?  (Also it makes for a fun and unique pasta themed date night – Who doesn’t love GREEN pasta?) 

Smoothies are one of the easiest ways to jam-pack so many delicious vegetables into one nutritious drink, adding the perfect amount of sweet fruits and wholesome fruits will make for a refreshing liquid and healthy meal. I also like to do this with as many sauces as I can and  try to sneak seeds in, as well for some more nutrients into things like pastas sauces, marinades and more.  

Be sure to check out some of these smoothies and sauce recipes that are full of nutrition below.

Homemade Vegetable Packed Pasta Sauce: Two Ways! 

Vegan Cheese Sauce Loaded With Vegetables

WonderMamas Smoothie Recipes

Get creative

Trying something new normally always gets everyone excited. Even when you just cook it. Finding new recipes and favorites will make mealtime fun. Try to make one new meal a week to keep the menu rotating and fresh. I like to do this on Sundays and it always ensures our meals never get boring! Your palate needs to be entertained. Get creative with eggplants, mushrooms, squash and anything else you find at the market, make a unique plant inspired taco night with all of the fixings! Take the norm and make it unusual by adding new spices and toppings. (Exploring my blog here for a new recipe to help you).

Ask the family what they want

Sounds easy enough but it does help! Make a meal-time voting checklist for the week and see what the family is craving! If they all want eggplant but hate carrots… stop making carrots (sneak them into those muffins & smoothies) and start making eggplant boats. This way everyone is getting what they need and everyone is spending their kitchen time wisely. Giving everyone a say during  meal-time will not only inspire everyone to get creative in the kitchen but it also makes meal-time more meaningful and motivates everyone to enjoy their entire plant-filled plate of nourishing healthy food.  

Bonus tip: JUICING!

We all know I love juicing and it’s such an easy way to get so many plants and fruits throughout the day by sipping on your favorite one continuously. If you’ve got a juicer, use it. You won’t regret it. (Here is my current favourite juice recipe.) 

 

Let me know in the comments below if any of these tips have helped you add more plants to your plate!

Are you looking for more recipes and vegan meal plans? Want a curated shopping list and meal calendar for the whole family?

The hard-work has been done, so you too can enjoy all that’s good in life!

Learn more here about the WonderMamas Meal Plan Membership.

5 ways to add more plants to your plate

Vegan Grocery Guide
Easy Vegan Grocery Guide + Free Shopping List!

Easy Vegan Grocery Guide

We have created the ultimate easy vegan grocery guide to support you on your plant-based journey!
This easy vegan grocery guide is an excellent place to start.
Beginning on a whole food plant-based vegan journey is so much easier than most think. We simply stick to eating whole foods, including minimally refined and non-processed foods, and steer clear of animal-based products including meat, dairy, and eggs.
Before you get scared away by thinking about how challenging this lifestyle might be, let’s lay out a few of the amazing benefits that come from switching over to the plant side.

 

Click the photo below to snag your FREE Vegan Guide!

 

Vegan Grocery Guide

Benefits of Eating Whole-Food Plant-Based

There’s no surprise here, a plant-based whole foods lifestyle can seriously boost your health. Countless scientific studies show the effects of a veganism whole foods diet, controlling and even reversing many chronic illnesses. Veganism can reduce your risk for numerous diseases on the rise, such as Type 2 Diabetes, Cancer, and Heart Disease. 
Even if you’re not currently suffering from any major illness; veganism and the whole-foods lifestyle is often attributed to an increase in energy, overall fitness levels, and anti-inflammatory health benefits. 
My personal favorite benefit of eating plant-based besides how amazing I feel is the environmental impact I am making with my family. I love viewing animals as friends, not as food or nourishment, and finding new better sustainable ways to lessen my carbon footprint in every aspect of my family’s life. 
Switching to a whole foods plant-based lifestyle may seem daunting, but it is actually simple when you have the right tools for the transition. That is why you need to keep this easy grocery guide in your back pocket for whenever you need guidance! (bookmark this one friend!) 
Here is a free downloadable grocery list so you can get everything you need to sustain a vegan, whole foods, plant-based meals on your next trip to the grocery store. I’ve got you covered! 

Our Favorite Family Meal Prep Recipes!

Now you may be wondering… What can my family and I eat when switching to a vegan lifestyle?

Now that you have your vegan grocery guide, let’s chat recipes.

There are so many delicious ways to make all of your family’s favorite foods, vegan. I do not feel like I am missing out on anything food-wise because I have created practically a book of easy, delicious recipes that my family loves. 

Here’s a sample of what we eat in a day to give you an idea: 

Breakfast: My Super Simple Vegan Breakfast Squares

Who doesn’t love chocolate cake for breakfast? My boys call these breakfast squares “chocolate cake” and request these almost every day. Little do they know, they have secret nutrients hidden inside, such as flaxseed. 

Lunch: Vegan Green Goddess Buddha Salad Bowl

My lunch staple usually revolves around some sort of bowl or salad. I have been obsessed with Green Goddess Dressing, so I finally created my own and WOW… I would eat this every single day if I could! 

Dinner: Garam Masala Coco Carrot and Rice

The new highly requested dinner this past couple of weeks is the Garam Masala Coco Carrot and Rice. I whipped this up a few weeks ago after not going to the grocery store for about 13 days (a new record for me) and having also a little too many carrots left. This is a delicious, kid-approved way to sneak in those extra veggies.

Dessert: No-Bake Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies

And last, but certainly not least, if you have a little sweet tooth at the end of the night, these no-bake cookies are the cure. They’re super simple to make and a surefire way to satisfy everyone’s craving in the family. 

If you want to skip the vegan recipe research and make simple kid-approved meals for your whole family easily, join me in the Wonder Mamas Family Meal Plan Program for weekly meal plans! These meal plans will help you save time, money, and above all, save you from the stress of the never-ending question “What’s for dinner, mom?

 

Benefits of Family Meal Planning

I believe that meal planning is the key to living a sustainable, healthy, vegan lifestyle. Without it, I’d always be stressed about what we will eat next and what’s in my pantry. I started meal planning to save myself from the seemingly million trips to the grocery store every week, and now I want to share my vegan family style recipes with all mamas. 

Some benefits of meal planning:
  • Save time: Don’t waste time going to the grocery store before every meal – know what you need the first time with a full weekly grocery list. 
  • Save money: How many times have you gone to the store for a few veggies and walked out with another week’s worth of random foods? By planning in advance, you can get what you NEED and skip out on the extra fluff that happens to catch your eye. 
  • Reduce stress: Stop worrying about what the next meal is and start knowing what every meal provides! Save your brain the mental energy by planning in advance, so you can get back to enjoying in fact your day-to-day family life, instead! 

If you have yet to download Our FIVE page Vegan Grocery List please do so below!

Vegan Grocery Guide

Tips and Tricks For Meal Planning

 

My top tips and tricks…
  • Plan your meals first… and then make your grocery list. 
  • Don’t forget about snack time! Plan in a possible snack for the kids (and yourself!) that you can make ahead of time and store in the fridge. 
  • Ask your family for input. I love letting my kids pick out one or two meals weekly, so they feel included and excited to eat their choice. 
  • Keep it simple. Don’t make it complicated by trying to make four-course vegan meals every night, five-ingredient meals go a long way with the same satisfaction. 
  • Meal Prep When Needed. If you have time to cook every meal, that’s great! If you don’t meal prep in advance however as much as possible eventually, you won’t be able to avoid those hunger-induced temptations. 

 

Vegan Grocery Guide