Fall Flavors, Extra Veggies, & Easy Meal Hacks {Indy Style}

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Add more veggies to your favorite Fall meals with these easy meal hacks. 

Today on Indy Style, The Produce Moms’ founder Lori Taylor shared sneaky ways to add more  veggies into your fall meals. We could all benefit from adding a few extra veggies to our plates — 90% of Americans fall below the fruit and vegetable consumption recommendations. September is National Fruits & Veggies Month™  — there’s no better time than right now to add more produce to your plate!

Bolognese Sauce with Hidden Mushroom and Eggplant

This might look like your typical Bolognese sauce, but it’s actually hiding mushrooms and eggplants. If you or your kids are bothered by the texture of mushrooms or eggplants, this recipe is for you! When finished, you can’t even tell they are there but you’ll still get all their nutritional benefits!

Bolognese Sauce with Hidden Mushroom and Eggplant

Ingredients

  • Ground Beef
  • Mushrooms, processed in a food processor
  • Eggplant
  • Marinara Sauce

Directions

  1. Cut eggplant in half lengthwise and place on a baking sheet skin-side up. Roast in the oven for approximately 20 minutes at 350 degrees. 
  2. While your eggplant is roasting, cook together one part ground beef with one part mushrooms in a large skillet. Cook until ground beef is no longer pink and is lightly seared.
  3. When your eggplant is finished roasting, use a fork to scrape out the “meat” of the eggplant. Add into the ground beef and mushroom mixture.
  4. Add marinara sauce to skillet and let simmer. Serve sauce over pasta.

Cream Sauce with Hidden Cauliflower

This sauce looks and tastes a lot like Alfredo sauce but it’s actually cauliflower blended together with garlic, butter, and milk. Add over pasta and top with a little parmesan cheese and dig in!

Cream Sauce with Hidden Cauliflower

Ingredients

  • 8 Garlic Cloves
  • 2 TBSP Butter (use coconut oil to make recipe vegan)
  • 6 Cups Cauliflower Florets
  • Milk of your choice

Directions

  1. Sauté garlic in butter. Let cool to room temperature.
  2. Boil cauliflower until soft, about 7 minutes.
  3. Place garlic butter mixture and cauliflower in blender. Blend together with milk.
  4. Serve sauce over pasta.

Sheet Pan Smoky Lime Fajitas 

Fajitas are a fun way to sneak in a few extra veggies at dinner time. These fajitas include red bell pepper, orange bell pepper, onion, and lime. Serve it with pico de gallo to work in even more healthy veggies!

Sheet Pan Smoky Lime Chicken Fajitas

Ingredients

  • 2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into 1 inch strips
  • 1 red bell pepper cut into strips
  • 1 orange bell pepper cut into strips
  • 2 Peri & Sons Farms Nevada Whites™ sliced
  • 1 lime (juice only)
  • 1 tbsp corn starch
  • 2 tsp chili powder
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2 tsp smoked paprika
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 1/2 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 tsp coriander
  • 1/4 tsp chipotle chili powder
  • limes to garnish cut into wedges

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
  2. Combine all spices in a large mixing bowl. Add bell peppers, white onions, lime juice, and chicken. Toss until evenly coated.
  3. Place chicken and veggies onto a baking sheet and bake for 18-25 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through. Remove from oven and garnish with lime wedges.
  4. Serve with warm tortillas and pico de gallo.

*Full recipe post can be viewed here. 

Green Giant Fresh Veggie Bowls

Have you seen the Green Giant Fresh Veggies Bowls yet? Each bowl is a full meal in itself. They are filling and an easy way to ensure you’re getting lots of veggies in your meal. Eat them as is or top this with cheese, wontons, tortilla strips, or dried fruit. Each bowl comes in a microwavable container and includes a fork, so they are perfect for packing!

Green Giant Fresh Veggie Bowls

We especially love their new flavors, Korean BBQ and Harvest but maybe you’ll love their Ramen Soup Bowl or Buddha Bowl best. Find them all in the refrigerated section of the produce department. They are available at grocer’s nationwide.

While these bowls are a meal in itself, they are also a convenient and affordable way to cook with. Here are two examples:

Turning Green Giant Fresh Burrito Bowl Into Taco Night 

  1. Prepare the Burrito Meal Bowl according to directions on package. Remove from microwave and scoop into Little Gem lettuce.

Turning Green Giant Fresh Burrito Bowl Into Taco Night 

Turning Green Giant Fresh Harvest Meal Bowl Into Stuffed Apples 

  1. Hollow out Honeycrisp apples and bake in the oven at 350 degrees until they get soft (about 15-20 minutes).
  2. Prepare Harvest Meal Bowl according to package instructions. Scoop Harvest Meal Bowl into the apples and serve.

Turning Green Giant Fresh Harvest Meal Bowl Into Stuffed Apples 

Find more creative recipes for Green Giant Fresh Meal Bowls on their website, here.

*Green Giant Fresh is a brand partner. 

Take the Have A Plant™ pledge and add one fruit or veggie to every meal for a month. These recipes will help! Need more recipe inspiration? Check out our Pinterest boards or search our recipe archives.

Thanks for watching! How do you sneak in more veggies to your daily meals? Share in the comments below or tag us in your food photos on Instagram @theproducemoms.

About Lori

Lori Taylor is the Founder & CEO of The Produce Moms. For ten years she sold fresh produce to over 300 grocery stores throughout the United States, and today she is fully focused on working with the produce supply chain, media, and government to increase fresh produce access & consumption in the US and around the globe. Connect with Lori on LinkedIn.

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1 Comment

  1. Great ideas have been trying to eat more fruits and vegetables to lower cholesterol #S. Have tried some Green Giant products.