Veggies made easy.

We've been looking for new ways to get veggies into our diet, and although we've found a few great recipes, we're always looking for more. Experts say that we should aim to have half of our plate filled with fruits and veggies at each meal. But  let's face it, veggies can be pretty boring on their own. So, we're always looking for ways to jazz them up so we'll actually eat them. Here's two of our latest store finds that make veggie eating very easy and tasty...

1. Jamba Juice Fruit & Veggie Smoothies

Smoothies are one of the easiest and tastiest ways to get veggies into Linna's diet, especially when she's in an "anti-veggie phase". We discovered the new Fruit & Veggie Smoothies at a Jamba Juice in Minnesota, and we're hooked! Both Linna and I will often replace a meal with these delicious smoothies. We're big fans of the Apple n' Greens Smoothie, and Berry UpBEET Smoothie, as they have 6 to 8 grams of fiber in a 16 oz. smoothie. The Apple n' Greens Smoothie has 220 calories, 240% of your daily intake of Vitamin A, and 90% of your daily intake of Vitamin C. The Berry UpBEET Smoothie has 230 calories, 120% of your daily intake of Vitamin A, and 100% of your daily intake of Vitamin C. They are both absolutely delicious. We also love the new Tropical Harvest Smoothie. These smoothies have veggies like Carrots, Beets, Broccoli, Spinach, Kale, Lettuce, Bell Pepper, and Spirulina in them. Yes they have a good amount of sugar in them, but they are packed with fruit which obviously has natural sugars in them. When you replace a meal with one of these smoothies, $4 doesn't seem like too big of a splurge, especially when you consider the nutritional benefits.

2. Lean Cuisine Salad Additions

I'm a big salad lover, but the salads I love usually include bacon, cheese, and some kind of fatty dressing. Yep, I'm a Minnesotan. I recently found Lean Cuisine's Salad Additions in the freezer aisle at Cub Foods, and when I read that they have almost two servings of veggies in each pack, I had to try them. I picked up an Asian-Style Chicken Salad and a Cranberry & Chicken Salad. I chose the Salad Additions with chicken in them, because I like having meat in my salad if I'm eating it as a meal. I must say that both are pretty decent for a frozen, no-fuss salad mix. Although these salad additions don't quite reach the level of a restaurant salad, they do force us to buy salad (and actually eat it), and it's an easy way to get my daily intake of veggies. Linna loves eating the edamame out of my salads, and I do like the vinaigrette in both Salad Additions. I'm not sure I could eat these all day, every day, but they are tasty enough to eat a few times a week. I'm looking forward to trying the other Salad Additions varieties!