10 Creative Ways to Eat More Veggies and Reach Your Weight-Loss Goals

Buying veggies at the store is the first step in eating more veggies, but if they stay in your fridge and spoil, they're not doing anything to help you lose weight. So as soon as you get home from the store, wash, peel, cut, and prep veggies so they'll be easy to grab later for roasting, sautéing, adding to soups, or eating raw.

Craving a bowl of creamy mac and cheese? Skip the saturated fat and cholesterol and puree carrots, onion, and potato to make this dairy-free mac and cheese.

Salads aren't the only way to get your fill of veggies. Add them to baked goods like these black bean brownie bites, bake up some carrot zucchini bread, mash sweet potato into your pancake batter, or try these smoothie muffins made with spinach.

Focus on making veggies the main event on your plate. Try maple cumin lentils over pasta (or spaghetti squash if you're feeling really inspired!), black bean and roasted sweet potato burritos, or a huge butternut squash and kale salad, or make your own homemade veggie burgers.

Pledge to eat a huge salad for either lunch or dinner each day so you'll be sure to get your fill of low-cal veggies. Making a big batch of mason jar salads all at once makes it easier to follow through on this.

If your dinners tend to be heavy on the pasta or rice, you can cut carbs and up the fiber by serving your dinner on a bed of cauliflower rice, sauteed kale, or roasted peppers. Get creative so you don't get bored!

Whether you like your oatmeal hot or go for cold overnight oats, add to the creamy texture of your bowl of oats by mashing in some beans. You'll increase the fiber and protein without your taste buds even knowing. The same goes for creamy soups and mashed potatoes — just add in beans and puree or mash as you normally would.

Don't knock it till you try it! Cauliflower porridge is just as creamy as regular oatmeal, but has fewer carbs and calories. And since it's sweetened naturally with mashed banana, maple syrup, and fresh fruit, it tastes just like real oatmeal.

Skip the late-afternoon cookies and chips and use snack time to fill in the holes in your diet you may be missing from meals alone. Carrot sticks with with hummus are basic but still delicious, or you can nosh on roasted cubes of sweet potato, almond butter on celery sticks, cauliflower hummus, cherry tomatoes with goddess dressing, or baked carrot chips.

Greens like kale and spinach are a great start, but don't stop there! You can add broccoli, beans, cauliflower, carrots, and even sweet potatoes to your smoothies. The fiber will satiate your hunger longer.