I listen to the family comedy station on Pandora and heard a funny joke by Brian Regan about the food pyramid. He was talking about how the USDA was going to change the food pyramid to a new icon. He joked that nobody uses the pyramid ever. Nobody goes to a restaurant, sits down and realizes that they forgot their pyramid chart to figure out what they had left to eat in the day. It was really funny.
I thought it was pretty funny but it’s true, nobody used that old chart so they updated it to a plate. Honestly, it does make a LOT more sense. We are suppose to fill 1/2 our plates with vegetables and fruits – but do we?
Sometimes it is hard to think of enough ways to prepare vegetables to get the daily recommended serving.
If you are like me, you just need ideas and ways to make serving vegetables fast, easy, and delicious. That is where Bird’s Eye comes in. Did you that frozen vegetables are just as nutritious as fresh vegetables? In fact, some say even healthier since they are flash frozen at their peak.
I received Bird’s Eye Steamfresh product to facilitate this post.
How to Serve Your Family the Daily Recommended Serving of Vegetables
With so many choices, Bird’s Eye makes it really easy to serve your family the daily recommended serving of vegetables. You can find your favorite vegetable like broccoli, corn, beans, peas, brussel sprouts, asparagus, and more in their Pure & Simple line. These make great side dishes and add-ons to main dishes like casseroles.
Or, choose form their Chef’s Favorites line where they combine the vegetables with sauces as well as with pasta, rice, risotto, and vegetable combinations.
Here is an example of how I use both as a quick weeknight dinner with plenty of vegetables:
For the main dish, I served baked chicken. For sides, I served the Steamfresh Whole Green Beans and the Steamfresh Buttered Shells with Corn & Carrots as sides. We did pretty good with our food chart!
Another Steamfresh favorite is the new vegetable combination of Asparagus, Gold & White Corn, and Baby Carrots. It is served with a very light sauce for extra flavor. My family enjoys this side with any meal. If you look at the serving size on the bag, you’ll see that the servings are generous. Don’t limit it to a couple spoonfuls, get your kids use to larger quantities bit by bit until they are getting their recommended serving. I like that I can cook the Steamfresh line right in the bag in just minutes.
I didn’t take a picture but you can also purchase the asparagus alone in the Birds Eye Steamfresh line and it is amazing. I served it when we had dinner guests over and they commended on how delicious it was! It was the easiest part of dinner and the favorite!
Another favorite is their Penne with Spinach in a Parmesan Sauce. Your kids might love pasta, so adding vegetables to something they already like make it easy to sneak in more vegetables to their diet. A pasta and vegetable combination like this makes the perfect side dish to any meal. My family likes spinach prepared many ways, so this was a nice new way to enjoy it.
I always have a family size bag of mixed vegetables on hand for casseroles like this recipe for delicious Shepherd’s Pie. When mixed in with a hearty hamburger and tomato sauce recipe, picky eaters won’t even notice the vegetables!
By serving your family a variety of vegetables in a variety of ways, you will be well on your way to serving your family the daily recommended servings of vegetables in no time.
I’ve been using Birds Eye vegetables in recipes for years. I’ve always found their products of good taste, quality, and value. By keeping a variety of their Steamfresh products on hand, I can easily give my family the daily recommended serving of vegetables without racking my brain. Believe me, that is 1/2 the battle sometimes.
Birds Eye also has some really delicious recipes to try on their website and Pinterest board. Check it out and get inspired.
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