Eat Your Veggies! Simple Tips for Athletes

We have all heard the recommendation to “Eat Your Veggies.” However, saying it is one thing, but actually doing it is a whole different ball game.

Let’s take a look at the benefits of including vegetables in an athlete’s diet. Then we will explore simple tips to help athletes boost their vegetable intake.

Boosting Athletes’ Meal Plans with Vegetables

Vegetables are an important part of an athlete’s sports nutrition meal plan. They provide fiber, vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals, and antioxidants, making them a nutrient-rich addition to an athlete’s meals and snacks.

A diet rich in vegetables helps decrease inflammation in the body, supports a healthy immune system, and is associated with the reduced risk of chronic disease. In addition, the dietary fiber in the vegetables supports the function of the digestive system and a healthy gut microbiome (1).

Unfortunately, despite their importance in the diet, almost 90% of the U.S. population does not meet the recommendation for vegetable consumption (2). When it comes to adolescents, the stats are even more dismal, with only 2% meeting the USDA recommendations for vegetable intake (3).

Increasing Athlete’s Vegetable Intake

As a sports dietitian, I feel it is important not just to tell athletes to eat their veggies, but also to provide them with ideas for how they can add vegetables to their meal plan.

Below are some strategies I commonly share to help athletes boost their vegetable intake. I hope the ideas help encourage your athletes to actually eat their veggies!

Eat Your Veggies! Simple Tips for Athletes

Add Vegetables to an Athlete’s Breakfast

Vegetables can make a healthy addition to an athlete’s breakfast. Perhaps one of the easiest ways to include veggies in breakfast is by including them in scrambled eggs or an omelet.

Vegetables that make a tasty addition to eggs include: diced tomatoes, onions, spinach, bell peppers, and mushrooms. I encourage athletes to top their eggs/omelet with salsa and sliced avocado for an additional nutrient boost.

Breakfast bowls have also become a popular option and can be a great way to include vegetables in an athlete’s breakfast. Vegetables such as roasted sweet potatoes, black beans, tomatoes, spinach, and avocado are all nutritious additions to a savory breakfast bowl.

When eating breakfast at a restaurant, choose breakfast sandwiches, wraps, and omelets that contain vegetables.

Some of my top recommendations include:

• Panera Bread: Garden Avo & Egg White Sandwich
• First Watch: Tri-Athlete Omelet or Power Wrap
• Starbucks: Spinach, Feta & Egg White Wrap
• IHOP: Veggie Egg White Omelet

Eat Your Veggies: Healthy Snack for Athletes

Fresh veggies can be a healthy addition to an athlete’s snacks. Some of my favorite fresh veggies that I suggest athletes keep available to snack on include:

• Baby carrots
• Celery sticks
• Cucumber slices
• Cherry tomatoes
• Mini peppers
• Broccoli and cauliflower
• Snap peas

I encourage athletes to pair fresh veggies with a protein-rich dip to create a balanced snack that supports their sports nutrition needs.

Greek yogurt dip and hummus are two of my go-to dips for veggies. However, celery with peanut butter is a favorite snack option as well.

Pro Tip: Athletes can substitute plain Greek yogurt in dips that call for sour cream in the recipe. My personal favorite is mixing dry ranch dressing mix with plain Greek yogurt for a protein-packed ranch dip.

Load Up Your Sandwiches and Entrees with Vegetable Toppings

An easy way for athletes to boost their veggie intake is by simply loading up their sandwiches, burgers, tacos, and burrito bowls with vegetable toppings.

When buying a sub sandwich at Subway, Jimmy John’s, or Potbelly, request extra veggie toppings be added to the sandwich.

I also encourage athletes to do this when ordering a burger at a fast-food restaurant – request extra lettuce, tomato, and onion toppings be added.

Similarly, at Chipotle, athletes can request their burrito bowl be topped with black beans, grilled fajita veggies, shredded lettuce, roasted corn, guacamole, and fresh tomato salsa.

Although this seems like a small change, it is a simple way to add variety and boost an athlete’s daily vegetable intake.

Blend Your Veggies into a Smoothie

As a sports dietitian, I know that athletes love their smoothies. To me, this is the perfect way to capitalize on adding veggies to an athlete’s diet.

An easy way for athletes to boost the veggie content of a smoothie is to add a handful of fresh spinach to their favorite smoothie recipes.

Spinach has a mild flavor; thus, it won’t alter the taste of the smoothie. However, athletes should be aware that it will turn the smoothie a greenish-brown color.

Other veggies that can be blended into a smoothie include:

• Kale
• Pumpkin puree
• Roasted sweet potatoes
• Beets (roasted or steamed)
• Seedless cucumbers
• Carrots (grated or frozen carrot slices)

Finally, avocados (although technically a fruit) can be a great addition to a high-calorie smoothie for athletes.  

Avocados are nutrient-dense, containing healthy fats, fiber, vitamins, and minerals (4). They won’t alter the flavor of the smoothie, but will make it creamy and delicious.

Pro Tip: A smoothie can be a great option to support athletes with meeting their recovery nutrition needs. Check out my post-workout smoothie blog for a cherry berry smoothie recipe that contains spinach.

Roast Your Veggies

For athletes that typically don’t like the taste of vegetables, I suggest giving roasted vegetables a try. When vegetables are roasted, they develop a rich-caramelized flavor that is less bitter than that of raw veggies.

Roasting a large batch of veggies is a simple ingredient prep task that athletes can do on the weekends to have ready for meals during the week.

Some of my favorite vegetables to roast include:

• Broccoli
• Cauliflower
• Carrots
• Asparagus
• Beets
• Brussels sprouts
• Zucchini
• Squash
• Red potatoes
• Sweet potatoes

The USDA MyPlate website has a simple recipe available for Oven-Roasted Vegetables that athletes can try out.

Pro Tip: For a quick side dish ready in minutes, athletes can use an air-fryer to roast their veggies. This is a simple solution my family commonly uses for a vegetable side dish on busy weeknights.

Eat Steamed Veggies for a Side Dish with Meals

Frozen vegetables are a great option for athletes to keep on hand to enjoy as a side dish with meals.

When vegetables are frozen, they are flash-frozen at the peak of ripeness. Thus, they maintain a similar nutrition value to fresh vegetables.

Many frozen vegetables now come in microwavable bags, which makes steaming them quick and efficient. Steamed broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, Brussels sprouts, green beans, and asparagus are all nutritious options to add to an athlete’s dinner.

Frozen vegetables are also a convenient option for athletes that travel frequently. Athletes can keep the veggies available in their freezer to have with meals when they are in town.

Boosting Your Veggie Intake with Pasta

There are numerous ways athletes can boost the veggie content of their pasta. First, athletes can consider purchasing a pasta made with lentils or chickpeas, such as those available from Banza® and Barilla®.

Lentil and chickpea pastas are an easy way to increase the fiber, protein, vitamin, and mineral content of a pasta dish.

When choosing a pasta sauce, I encourage athletes to select a marinara or tomato-based sauce. They can then add in a variety of vegetables, such as tomatoes, diced zucchini, onion, red bell peppers, and mushrooms.

To balance out the dish, athletes can include lean ground beef, turkey meatballs, or sliced grilled chicken in the pasta. This pasta dish would be an excellent, nutrient-rich addition to an athlete’s post-game meal.

Add Vegetables to an Athlete’s Favorite Dishes

To make eating veggies as easy as possible for athletes, I suggest adding them into meals that athletes already commonly eat.

Here are some of my top ideas for incorporating veggies into meals for athletes.

• Macaroni and cheese: Stir in steamed broccoli
• Chicken or tuna salad: Add in diced celery, chopped red onions, and shredded carrots
• Chili: Mix in tomatoes, beans (pinto, black, kidney, navy, cannellini), diced onion, carrots, and zucchini; serve on top of a baked potato or sweet potato
• Pizza: Top with mushrooms, olives, diced bell peppers, red onion, tomatoes, artichokes, spinach
• Quesadilla: Add diced tomatoes, onions, bell peppers, and black beans; top with salsa and sliced avocado
• Asian stir-fry: Enjoy a variety of veggies, such as: bell peppers, onions, sugar snap peas, broccoli, carrots, mushrooms, water chestnuts

Pro Tip: Many stores sell stir-fry vegetable kits in the produce section, which include the pre-chopped vegetables and stir-fry sauce. You simply add your choice of protein to the meal and steam some brown rice for a great weeknight dinner for athletes.

Eat Your Veggies! Simple Tips for Athletes

You are now set with tips for adding vegetables to an athlete’s meal plan. Remember, when encouraging athletes to eat their veggies, make sure to provide them with strategies for incorporating them into their daily meal plan.

For additional sports nutrition tips, make sure to check out my blog on the best fruits for athletes.

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About the Author

Mandy Tyler is a Sports Dietitian Nutritionist in the San Antonio, TX area. She is a Registered and Licensed Dietitian, a Board-Certified Specialist in Sports Dietetics, a Licensed Athletic Trainer, and is a Certified Exercise Physiologist through the American College of Sports Medicine. Mandy has experience working with athletes at the high school, collegiate, and professional levels. She believes the key to reaching one’s full potential, both in everyday life and in sports performance, relies on a healthy nutritional foundation. 

If you are looking to take your performance to the next level, make sure to check out my new Sports Nutrition Game Day Guide. This downloadable guide is written to help athletes develop an individualized plan to achieve peak performance on game day.