Balling my eyes out, pounding my fists on the floor and heart palpitations. This was the embarrassing scene of just one of my breakdowns. It was another day of feeling like shit. Feeling like I wanted to sleep the day away and cry a thousand more tears. I had many moments like this when I was constantly fatigued and not able to control my own moods. 

I felt like a prisoner in my body- just there to go along with whatever it decided to give to me. My doctor was no help either. While I was pleased she did do a little testing, when everything came back “normal” and all she could say was “some people are just tired”, I felt like I was trapped for life.

Not being one to take things lying down, I started doing some research. What were some causes of fatigue? Did any of them match the way I was feeling?

At first I didn’t figure out exactly the physiological cause of my fatigue, I did stumble across several foods in my journey that improved my energy levels immensely. I became obsessed with eating these foods as often as possible. I even bought a couple of them in huge bulk online!

The change was like night and day. When I regularly used these foods, I wasn’t so tired anymore. I could get through the day without a nap or a crash at 3PM. I could be around people without becoming snippy, irritable and just plain embarrassing myself with my moods. 

These 7 foods are such an obsession, I have to share them with you today. Because I don’t want you to be tired all the time either. I want you to actually enjoy and participate in your life. 

All of these foods are featured heavily in the recipes of my upcoming 28-Day Fatigue-Fighting Meal Plan for Moody Women, and can be incorporated easily into your life. Let’s dive in!

7 Foods I Became Obsessed With To Fight Fatigue

Chia Seeds

Chia seeds are basically flavourless and super easy to use. They originated in Mexico, where the Aztecs used them to boost both energy and endurance. Chia seeds are extremely high in fibre, providing about 11g per ounce! This is a huge help to your digestive system, which if under-functioning, can contribute to fatigue. Fibre helps to bind and excrete toxins through your bowels, allowing fatigue-inducing sludge to leave the body. This fibre can even help curb appetite, making them fantastic for weight loss- extra weight being another contributor to fatigue. 

If you’re inflamed and have hormonal imbalances, you’re more likely to be chronically tired. Chia seeds are highly anti-inflammatory and full of omega-3 fatty-acids, those hormone-helping, mood-balancing and energy-boosting fats.

Chia seeds also balance blood sugar. If you know anything about me, you know I L-O-V-E to talk about the connection between our blood sugar balance and physical symptoms. Insulin and blood sugar are involved in basically every aspect of our bodies and health, and keeping it under control is important. Have you ever felt ‘hangry’ between meals? What about some energy crashes around 10AM and 3PM? These are all indicators that your blood sugar balance isn’t working so well. Using chia seeds can help balance this important function, giving your more energy and potentially mellowing out our moods. 

Check out this easy Chia Pudding recipe to get started using these little nutrition powerhouses. 

Walnuts

Like chia seeds, walnuts have been used for thousands of years to support human nutrition. In fact, they’re one of the highest plant-based sources of omega-3s! Omega-3s have been researched time and again to show that they boost our mood. They will also reduce inflammation, improve memory, thought processing, circulation and blood sugar control. 

Walnuts are also high in many other nutrients including folate (needed for healthy hormones and iron levels- both important for lasting energy), biotin for healthy hair and blood sugar, as well as high levels of vitamin E (a potent antioxidant). 

When you crack a walnut out of the shell, the nut often has a thin, paper-like skin. Don’t take this off! Many of the nutrients are stored here. 

Salmon

Salmon is one of my favourite animal sources of nutrients. As long as you’re getting good quality salmon (conventional farmed salmon is not a good idea but wild or organic is), you’ll reap the benefits of this healthful fish. Salmon contains very high levels if vitamin B12, a nutrient required for energy production. 

Salmon, like chia and walnuts above, is high in omega-3s (noticing a pattern here?). Highly anti-inflammatory, mood-boosting and blood sugar-balancing, omega-3s are extremely effective in fighting fatigue.

Salmon is also supportive to your thyroid gland- the seat of your metabolism. With all the b12, selenium, iodine and vitamin D salmon contains, it could help us rescue our metabolisms. 

Check out this delicious de-bloating salmon recipe (using greens and avocados too!) to get started using these foods. 

Spinach

An indispensable leafy green veggie in my opinion, spinach has a lot to offer when it comes to fighting fatigue. Spinach (and other foods in the Amaranthaceae family) have been shown to protect the central nervous system and reduce inflammation. Both good news for our moods and levels of fatigue. 

With only 7 calories per cup, spinach contains large amounts of folate, vitamin C, iron and magnesium- all important nutrients for fighting fatigue. The anti-inflammatory properties, fibre and high levels of nutrients means spinach will assist our bodies to detoxify properly. When we have loads of toxins in our bodies, we become sluggish and fatigued. Gently assisting detoxification (like our liver and bowels) with foods like spinach could help us fight fatigue faster. 

Mushrooms

Perhaps this food is a surprise on the list. Mushrooms in my opinion aren’t given enough love. Sure, there’s “superfood” mushrooms out there like reishi and chaga which we can get in powder and capsule form. But even mushrooms from the grocery store have loads of fatigue-fighting and mood-mellowing nutrients. 

Specifically, mushrooms like crimini and shiitake are high in B vitamins. The entire B vitamin family is needed in the creation of energy in our bodies. B vitamins like B12, B5 and B6 are also important nutrients for supporting healthy moods and hormone balance. Specifically B5 supports our adrenal glands, two little glands that regulate our entire stress response, and are intricately involved in how tired or energized we feel. 

Shiitake mushrooms have also been shown in a study to support healthy weight by preventing body weight gain and fat deposition. We can thank the beta-glucan they contain for this benefit!

Mushrooms like shiitake and crimini are also highly anti-inflammatory and antioxidant, making them great immune system support. 

Sweet Potatoes

My favourite high-nutrient starch, sweet potatoes are both nutritious and delicious. There are many fatigue-fighting nutrients in sweet potatoes, including B6, potassium and vitamin C and A (beta-carotene). They are also lower on the glycemic index than other starches (like white potatoes), making them a better choice for blood sugar support. 

Sweet potatoes are also high in fibre, and this supports healthy bowels, detoxification and blood sugar balance. They’re even useful for weight loss, and coming to a healthy, sustainable weight goes a long way in fighting-fatigue. 

The extremely high amounts of vitamin A (in the form of beta-carotene) that sweet potatoes contain is anti-inflammatory, immune-supportive and hormone-balancing. 

Plus, they’re just SO delicious and comforting!

Avocados

Last on the list but no less nutrient-dense than the above foods, I’m totally obsessed with avocados. And I don’t even like them all that much! Well, you won’t find me eating plain chunks of avocado, I can tell you that. 

Avocados are very high in monounsaturated fatty-acids, a type of fat also found in olive oil which supports healthy weight, hormone balance and energy. Along with these fats comes loads of fibre- about 4.6g for a whole avocado! What an easy way to fight-fatigue, improve our digestive systems and balance hormones.

Like mushrooms, avocados are also high in B vitamins, all of which are used in energy production. Avocados are high in fat-soluble vitamins too like A, E and K- many of which are seriously lacking in our diets. 

If you’re experiencing hair loss or poor skin along with your fatigue, use avocados as much as possible to support all of these frustrating symptoms. 

Waking up, stepping on the scale. Shocked by the number, you remove jewelry and heavy clothing. It barely budges. Stripping down naked, you step on again. Still a scary number. How is it possible to gain 5lbs in a week? Depressed and exhausted by what you see, you would rather climb back into bed under the covers than get dressed and go about your day. What’s the point of leaving the bed anyways? You’re just going to be tired all day, and self-conscious that everyone is judging your ‘lumpy’ body. 

This is a familiar tale among the women in my 21-Day Happy Hormones Diet program that even I have felt from time to time. Why will my body not cooperate? How can I make it do what I want?

Firstly, don’t give up- there’s ALWAYS an answer, even if it takes some time to find it. 

Today, I want to help you find that answer- the relief of knowing that you’ve been searching for. 

Why Am I Exhausted and Gaining Weight Like Crazy?

The answer could be connected to what’s happening in your neck. Yes, that’s right- I’m talking about your thyroid gland. And before your close out this article because your thyroid test has come back “normal” I urge you to finish reading and take my Hormone Imbalance Quiz to see if those ‘normal’ tests are telling a lie. 

Under active thyroid, sometimes called hypothyroidism is a very common issue with women. Your thyroid gland has many very important functions in the body (which you can see below) and may become sluggish over time for various reasons, which are outlined below. 

Simply put, if your thyroid is under active, it may not be producing thyroid hormone (T4) and may not be able to convert T4 to the more metabolically active form of thyroid hormone, T3. Doctors will often test Thyroid Stimulating Hormone (TSH), but this is a hormone made in the brain to tell the thyroid to make more hormone rather than being an active thyroid hormone itself, so it’s often not the best measure of thyroid health. However, high TSH levels could indicate a sluggish thyroid as well.

NOTE: Research suggests that upwards of 90% or more of under active thyroid cases are Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis, an autoimmune thyroid condition that requires slightly different treatment than regular hypothyroidism. If you are unsure or would like more clarification, please don’t hesitate to contact me or ask your doctor.

The thyroid gland has many functions, such as regulating:

• Metabolic rate
• Heart and digestive function
• Muscle control
• Brain development
• Bone maintenance 
• Menstrual cycle length and blood flow
• Estrogen metabolism and sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG) production
• Progesterone production

Symptoms of Under Active Thyroid

• Weight gain that won’t shift no matter what you try
• Depression
• Hair loss (sometimes very dramatic)
• Dry or cracked skin and heels
• Low libido
• Constant fatigue- like you could sleep 12-14 hours a night and still be tired all day
• Weakness
• Cold intolerance and/or cold hands and feet
• Muscle cramps and aches
• Constipation
• infertility
• Irregular, heavy or painful menstrual cycles
• irritability
• Memory loss and/or brain fog
• Puffy face
• Hoarseness
• Lump in the throat or chronic sore throat
• Weak immune system- chronic colds, flus and other infections

To see if your thyroid gland may be under active, contributing to your symptoms, and learn why this might be happening and what to do about it, take my quiz. 

5 Foods to Shift the Scale and Energize 

#1 Sea Vegetables

Food is medicine. If only our traditional medical doctors would subscribe to this school of thought, we would all be better off. But instead of blaming others for our lack of answers or relief from suffering, it’s time to take back control of our own thyroid health with foods. As the thyroid gland requires small amounts iodine to function (T4 uses 4 iodines and T3 uses 3 iodines per molecule), sea vegetables can be beneficial. 

Unlike iodine supplements, which can be extremely high in dosage (and too much iodine actually depresses thyroid function), sea vegetables contain iodine in a natural form along with many other vitamins and minerals that promote good thyroid health. 

For example, just 1 tbsp of dried dulse (a type of seaweed) contains 500% of your daily recommended intake of iodine. Sea vegetables like dulse and other listed below also have loads of hormone-promoting vitamin C, blood sugar-balancing manganese, skin-clearing vitamin A and energy-boosting iron. 

Like the mineral iodine, iron is important for thyroid health. Low iron (Ferritin blood levels below 70) contribute to thyroid dysfunction, thyroid-related weight gain and hair loss, fatigue and mood disturbances like depression. 

Some examples of sea vegetables you can use in your diet include:

• Dulse 
• Kelp
• Nori
• Kombu
• Agar 
• Wakame
• Arame

How to Use Sea Vegetables

• Purchase a shaker of dulse and/or kelp flakes and sprinkle on your food in place of salt (sea vegetables have a naturally salty flavour)
• Rehydrate strips of arame and/or wakame and add to salads and soups (these are nearly tasteless)
• Add to cooked gluten-free whole grains like buckwheat, brown rice and/or quinoa
• Make a lunch wrap with nitrate-free deli turkey, sauerkraut, avocado wrapped in nori sheets instead of flour or lettuce-based wraps

#2 Sesame Seeds

A favourite seed very high in the mineral zinc, sesame seeds could be supportive to a healthy thyroid gland to shift the scale and energize you. As little as 1/4 cup contains 25% of your daily recommended intake of zinc. 

Zinc is required in a few steps to creating healthy thyroid hormones. First, zinc is required to produce T4, the less metabolically active form of thyroid hormone. Zinc is also necessary to convert inactive T4 into the highly metabolically active thyroid hormone, T3. Lastly, Zinc is needed for the health of your thyroid hormone receptors. You can have sufficient levels of T3, but if your thyroid hormone receptors aren’t working optimally, you can still experience thyroid symptoms like weight gain, fatigue and hair loss. 

Zinc to the rescue! 

How to Use Sesame Seeds

• Sprinkle a tsp or two on soups and salads
• Add a tbsp to smoothies
• Use tahini (sesame seed paste/butter) in place of almond or peanut butter
• Make a salad dressing with tahini, lemon juice or apple cider vinegar, spices and a bit of honey and drizzle on salads or dip proteins like chicken or fish
• Add sesame seeds or tahini to the batter of gluten-free baked goods like muffins

#3 Brazil Nuts

Brazil nuts are one of my favourite “therapeutic foods” to recommend to my private clients. A therapeutic food is simply a food high in one or several nutrients, which if taken consistently in high enough amounts, could help to alleviate symptoms. Brazil nuts are one of the highest sources of selenium, another healthy thyroid mineral, like zinc, iodine and iron. 

Two Brazil nuts contain about 100mcg of selenium, and most times about 100mcg to 200mcg of daily selenium is recommended for thyroid disorders. This means that simply eating 2 to 4 Brazil nuts daily as a “therapeutic food” could increase selenium levels in the body, assisting thyroid health. 

Selenium is required for the conversion of inactive T4 into the more active T3 thyroid hormone. Selenium deficiency could contribute to low levels of T3, creating those yucky symptoms of weight gain, fatigue, hair loss and menstrual irregularities. Having adequate selenium levels in the body also helps to lower antibody levels, which is fabulous for the autoimmune thyroid disorder of Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis (which makes up about 90%-97% of all thyroid disorders). 

How to Use Brazil Nuts

• Simply eat 2-4 raw Brazil nuts daily with a meal or as a snack
• Chop them and use them in a grain-free, nut/seed based granola
• Add chopped nuts to salads
• Throw a few Brazil nuts into smoothies or hot tonics/elixirs

#4 Apple Cider Vinegar

Raw, unpasteurized apple cider vinegar (like Bragg’s or Filsinger’s) has numerous health benefits, and supporting a healthy thyroid gland for weight management and good energy is one of them. 

Specifically, apple cider vinegar contains acids, enzymes and beneficial probtiocs- all necessary for thyroid function. 

Remember that T4 must be converted into T3 to be used effectively in the body? Well, about 20% of this conversion happens in your gut! So, if your gut health is in disarray (as it is in every women with thyroid dysfunction I’ve seen clinically), your thyroid will suffer. 

Using apple cider vinegar could help to increase stomach acid, which is great for disgusting food properly. Insufficient levels of stomach acid (aka hypochlorhydria) is a leading cause of leaky gut, and a leaky gut will reduce active thyroid hormone and increase inflammation- potentially contributing to hypothyroidism and autoimmune Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis. 

Apple cider vinegar also contains beneficial probiotics, and these healthy bacteria are very important for thyroid health. For example, gut bacteria assist the conversion of T4 to T3 in the gut. Specifically there is an enzyme involved in the gut conversion that actually comes from healthy gut bacteria. If this conversion is reduced, you may end up with “normal” thyroid labs despite having thyroid-related symptoms like unexplained weight gain, fatigue, hair loss and depression. 

How to Use Apple Cider Vinegar

• Put 1 tsp to 1 tbsp in a small glass of warm water and drink 15-30 minutes before meals to increase stomach acid and aid digestion
• Use ACV with lemon juice, cayenne and cinnamon in warm water as a stimulating morning tonic
• Use ACV instead of other vinegars or lemon juice in your homemade salad dressings
• Add 1 tsp to 1 tbsp ACV to smoothies

#5 Beet Kvass 

Beets are a serious superfood. They support the liver, build the blood and provide valuable vitamins and minerals. When you use beets to create the tonic Beet Kvass (see recipe below), it’s like putting those benefits on overdrive. 

Beet Kvass is a fermented beet drink. It contains loads of nutrients including iron, folate, manganese, magnesium, fibre and vitamin B6. 

Because it’s fermented, Beet Kvass also had loads of those beneficial bacteria or “probiotics” that I mentioned in the previous section. 

We know that iron and probiotics are both important for healthy thyroid function, and beets are a great way to get both (and more)!

Beets also help to detoxify the liver. Liver health is important for thyroid function in a few ways. For example, when you eat a meal with fats, your liver and gall bladder create and secrete things like bile acids to help break it down. Bile acids need to be converted into secondary bile acids in the body to function as they should, and probiotic gut bacteria are how it’s done. 

When bile acids are converted properly by probiotics, activity of enzymes that convert T4 to T3 are increased. 

How to Use Beet Kvass

• Drink 1/2 to 1 cup daily as a beverage
• Use as a base in smoothies
• Use as a base in salad dressings

Beet Kvass Recipe

Ingredients

• 3 litres water
• 1.5 tbsp sea salt
• 3 beets (peel if not organic)

 
Instructions

1. Wash beets and chop roughly. Add to a glass mason jar big enough for all beets and water, or use a couple of smaller jars if necessary. 
2. Add the sea salt.
3. Add water to about 1/2 inch below the lid.
4. Twist on lid tightly, and you might want to label with the date.
5. Keep the jar at room temperature for 4-5 days or up to a week. 
6. After fermentation time, store the kvass in the fridge. 

 
NOTES

• Optional flavour additions: thumb-sized piece of fresh ginger, peeled and chopped; 1 lime, washed and quartered, turmeric powder, star anise, cinnamon sticks
• You can reuse the beets for a second batch, but after fermenting a second time, throw the beets away and start fresh. 

Growing up the veggies I got at the dinner table usually came from the freezer. Those bags of frozen mixed veggies- the little green beans, cubes of carrots, etc- you know the ones I mean! If it wasn’t that it was an iceberg lettuce salad loaded with french dressing.

While I still love french dressing, I’m not such a big fan of those frozen veggies and flavourless salads. My veggie repertoire has seriously expanded since then and I’m proud to say I now love most veggies that I hated before.

It’s a good thing too because the veggies I eat daily have a big role to play in balancing my hormones and generally helping me to feel strong, healthy and mentally balanced.

Do You Feel Like. . .

A grumpy mess?
An elderly person because you’re always so tired?
A fat blob that can’t stop eating sugar no matter what?
Choosing what to eat is an ancient cypher you just can’t crack?
You’re in hormone hell?

Then, I’m Willing to Bet You’re Not Eating Enough Veggies.

  
Nutrients, phytochemicals, and general good ju-ju comes from eating fresh foods that comes from the ground- aka plants.

If you’re not eating any (or enough) then you’re not going to feel so good. Here’s why.

More Veggies = Happy Hormones

Vitamins
Veggies contain a whole laundry list of vitamins. Each veg has a whole bunch, and when you eat a variety, you can be sure that you’re getting what your body needs to make and balance hormones.

For example:

Vitamin C found in bell peppers, broccoli, swiss chard and spinach is anti-inflammatory, can help to increase progesterone and support your adrenals glands to manage stress more effectively.

Vitamin B5 found in mushrooms, avocado, sweet potato and broccoli support your adrenals glands to manage stress effectively, increase energy and assist fat metabolism.

Vitamin B6 found in sweet potato, spinach, cabbage and cauliflower helps your body produce progesterone, reduces water retention, may help with depressive or erratic moods and liver detoxification.

Beta Carotene the precursor to Vitamin A found in carrots, sweet potato, spinach and kale is anti-inflammatory, a thyroid-supportive nutrient and may help reduce heavy menstrual bleeding.

Minerals
Like vitamins, minerals are abundant to veggies. We need a wide variety of minerals to help us balance hormones, improve our emotional state and increase our energy. I find clinically that minerals are often an afterthought- we focus on the vitamins the proteins, fats and carbs and forget about minerals. Regardless, we need them in droves for our hormones!

For example:

Magnesium, a super abundant mineral found in spinach, swiss chard, collard greens and beets is used in over 300 body processes, including balancing blood sugar, supporting the adrenal glands, relaxing muscle contraction (think cramps and tense muscles) and regulates mood.

Zinc, found in spinach, mushrooms, asparagus and green peas is essential for clear skin, balanced mood, healthy hair, thyroid support, immune-boosting and healthy testosterone.

Selenium found in mushrooms, asparagus, cabbage and spinach supports activation of thyroid hormone, works as an antioxidant to reduce inflammation and free-radicals, and may help with energy production.

Healthy Carbs
Sometimes carbs get a bad wrap. True, if you eat too many of the wrong types of carbs, you’ll likely gain weight or experience some other type of health issue. However, the right types of carbs (and any food, really) can be enjoyed without guilt. Specifically, I’m talking about veggie-based carbs. Some veggies are considered non-starchy, and others starchy.

You’ll want to eat as many non-starchy veg as you possible can, as they’ll fill you up with fibre and loads of nutrients. Here’s some good examples of non-starchy veggies:
* Leafy greens of all types
* Broccoli
* Asparagus
* Sprouts
* Cauliflower
* Radishes
* Onions and garlic
* Cucumber
* Spinach
* zucchini
* Lettuce
* Green beans
* Artichokes

Starchy veggies have their place in the diet as well, and I usually recommend getting them mostly at dinner time.
* Winter squash like butternut and acorn
* Spaghetti squash
* Yams and/or sweet potatoes
* Potatoes
* Beets
* Carrots
* Corn (organic and non-GMO)
* Parsnips
* Green peas

9 Ways to Eat More Veggies – Even If You Hate Them!

#1: Add Puréed Veggies

You can hide so many vegetables in your food by simply cooking and pure ingredients them. For example, stir some pureed cooked carrots, sweet potato or pumpkin into your favourite tomato sauce- you’ll never know it’s there! Another option is to stir these pureed veggies into your morning breakfast porridge- you can see how it’s done in my Pumpkin Porridge recipe by clicking here. 

#2: Try an Unconventional Salad

A lot of the women I work with as private clients and in my 21-Day Happy Hormones Diet program aren’t huge fans of salad. They’re boring, they take forever to chew and really- who needs ’em? While I can’t totally relate as I LOVE salad, there is a better way that mixing some lettuce with carrots, cucumber and tossing with a store-bought gelatinous dressing.

There’s two ways to have an unconventional salad that I think you’ll love.

1) Warm Salad
Warm salads are amazing, especially during colder months. An example of a warm salad would be a bed of baby spinach that you top with warm grilled chicken, sautéed peppers and onions and a nice balsamic vinaigrette. Feel free to sauté any veggie you like, and you don’t even have to put it on a bed of greens if that’s not your thing.

2) Chopped Salad
Chopped salads are great. Simply put these salads are harder veggies (typically not leafy stuff) all chopped up to be a similar size and mixed together with a dressing. The recipe for Hormone Detox Salad you’ll see below is so good and so popular that I include it as a recipe in my 21-Day Happy Hormones Diet program.

#3: Zoodles (+ Other Plant Noodles)

Seriously, go out and buy a veggie spiralizer right now. It will be the best $20 you’ve ever spent. You can make noodles out of nearly any hard veggie using this device, and may I say that everything tastes way better shaped as noodles. For example, I normally don’t really like zucchini but some zucchini noodles “zoodles” lightly sautéed and topped with a sauce and protein is one of my favs ways to get this veggie. You can also make noodles out of sweet potatoes, beets, carrots and more.

#4: 5-Minute Dinner Greens

A lot of times we don’t eat enough veggies because we think it takes too much time. Who has time to roast/cook some veggies when pasta cooks in 10 minutes. The truth is veggies can be extremely quick, they’re the original fast food! Whether you’re eating them raw or cooked, you don’t need to spend hours in the kitchen.

One of my favourite ways to get more hormone-loving greens in me is to lightly sauté them and serve underneath some baked fish or chicken with a little sweet potato or other starchy on the side for dinner.

Below you’ll find my 5-minute dinner greens recipe. Feel free to swap out any green leafy veggie you prefer! The trick is to cook them until they’re bright green in colour- faster for things like spinach and longer for heartier greens like collards. Don’t overcook- if their colour turns dull, you’ve left it in the pan too long.

#5: Soup – Two-Ways

I’m writing this in winter, so naturally I’m feeling soups. Soups are a fantastic and healing food that can be really easy to hide veggies in. Pour in some of those pureed veggies to thicken your soup, or use one of the following 2 methods for quick soup.

1) Purée

To do this, combine several cups of your fav veg (zucchini, carrots, greens etc) in a pot with some onion, garlic, herbs/seasonings of your choice and just enough bone broth to cover. Bring to a boil and simmer gently until veggies are tender. Puree to be as smooth as you like- I like it really smooth but some prefer chunky. Super easy, and depending on the veg can be made in 10 minutes.

2) Veggie-loaded
Sometimes it’s helpful to buy pre-made foods when we’re busy. If you think I cook 100% of my meals, you’re sadly mistaken. Purchasing store-bought soups (preferably not canned but rather from the refrigerated section) can be a great way to sneak in extra veggies. Purchase the soup of your choice, and then go home and add about 1/2 – 1 cup extra chopped/pureed veggies per serving. Dump the pre-made soup and veggies in a pot and simply cook a few minutes until the fresh veg are tender.

#6: Smoothies

The ultimate veggie-hider! Put anything you want in a smoothie- leafy greens like kale or spinach, harder veg like carrots and beets, or anything at all you want! If you add a touch of fruit, some flavorings like vanilla, cacao and/or cinnamon you’ll not even notice the veggies in your drink. As you get more adventurous, you can make your smoothies 100% vegetables.
  

#7: Roasted Veg

An easy way to make sure you have veggies prepared all week, roasting up a big pan of mixed veggies can be kept in the fridge and re-heated at lunch or dinner time. Combine any veggies you like, drizzle with olive oil, salt, pepper and herbs/seasonings of choice. Pop in the oven at about 350-375 degrees until tender. Note that some veggies like broccoli might be quicker that harder root veggies like carrots, sweet potatoes and turnips.

#8: Bacon

Anything is better with bacon. Bacon is how I’ve convinced my family that brussels sprouts are a delicious food. Chop up a fav veggie, saute it in a pan with nitrate-free bacon, some chopped onions and garlic and you’re good to go! I like to shred brussel sprouts, use organic corn, broccoli or any other veg.

#9: Greens Powder

This one is at the bottom of the list for a reason. While there are some really really good greens powders out there, they do not replace having fresh, whole vegetables. But, while you’re slowly building yourself up to have several servings of veggies in a day, greens powders can be good in a pinch to help with your nutrient status.

My. favourite greens supplement in terms of taste is the Chocolate Silk greens by Barlean’s- amazing! It tastes like chocolate milk when you mix the powder with non-dairy milk.
  

What Should I Look For in a Healthy Dessert Recipe?

#1: Natural Sweeteners

#2: Gluten-Free or Grain-Free

#3: Nutritious Extras