There is plenty of research that links diets full of fruits and vegetables to lower rates of heart disease. But even for those people who like vegetables, getting the recommended servings can be hard. Theresa Desai, Dietitian at NorthShore, recommends a few simple ways to add fruits and vegetables to your diet:

1. Experiment with veggie noodles. Substitute noodles from your favorite pasta dish with spiralized carrots, zucchini, squash and cucumbers.
2. Drink your veggies! Throw a handful of spinach, kale or beets into a fruit smoothie for an added serving of veggies. You can also experiment with fruit and vegetable juices to drink or for adding to your smoothie.
3. Use leafy greens for your wraps. Instead of using tortillas or bread for your wraps and sandwiches, try some leafy greens as the top and bottom or to roll up sandwich ingredients. Greens are low-carb, too!
4. Hide vegetables in your sweets. Adding spinach or avocado to your brownies masks the taste of the vegetables and keeps the delicious chocolate flavor. Additionally, you can add pumpkin or squash puree to pancake batter.
5. Replace snacks and sides with healthier choices. Kale chips make a great replacement for potato chips, or you can try lightly breaded and baked avocados, carrot or zucchini strips for a delicious substitute for French fries. Cauliflower tots are a fun and interesting alternative to tater tots!

These are also great ways to get kids excited about eating vegetables!