Vegetables like spinach, kale, and onions can support your heart health. You can eat more of these vegetables through meal planning and making vegetables more visible in your fridge.
Vegetables play a key role in supporting heart health. The
However, it can be challenging to reach this recommended intake, especially if you aren’t used to eating a lot of vegetables. Keep reading to learn more about vegetables that promote heart health, as well as how to incorporate more of them into your diet.
All vegetables can support heart health in some capacity. However, some vegetables may be more beneficial than others. A 2018 study found that certain vegetables may have more heart health benefits, including:
- onions
- garlic
- cruciferous vegetables
- leafy greens
Many cruciferous vegetables are rich in nutrients such as vitamin K and folate. Some examples of cruciferous vegetables include:
- cauliflower
- brussels sprouts
- broccoli
- bok choy
Leafy greens are high in vitamins, minerals, and fiber. Examples of leafy greens include:
- collard greens
- spinach
- beet greens
- watercress
- romaine lettuce
- swiss chard
- endive
- turnip greens
Vegetables like kale, cabbage, and arugula fall under both the cruciferous and leafy green categories.
Canned and frozen vegetables
It’s perfectly O.K. to consume canned or frozen vegetables, as all forms of vegetables count towards your intake. They are convenient and keep for a long time.
However, keep in mind that some canned vegetables may contain added sugars or sodium to help preserve them in the can. Before you use vegetables from a can, consider rinsing them in water to remove this excess sugar and salt.
Read the nutrition labels on canned vegetables to choose options with the lowest sodium and added sugar content.
You should also try to buy plain frozen vegetables. Some frozen vegetables come mixed in sauces, which are often a hidden source of sodium and added sugar.
Here are a few ways you can incorporate more vegetables into your diet for a healthier heart.
Meal plan
Planning your meals in advance can help you meet your vegetable intake by ensuring every meal contributes to it. And when you go to the grocery store, you can get everything you need for the week.
Instead of throwing something together last-second with what you happen to have on hand — or having to make another grocery run — you will have all of the ingredients you need to create vegetable-rich meals.
Snack on vegetables
If you find yourself reaching for a bag of chips in between meals, consider planning out snacks that incorporate vegetables.
Make vegetables visible
If you’re buying vegetables but find that they go bad before you get to them, switching some things around in your fridge may help prevent this.
Instead of storing them in the produce drawer, try moving vegetables to eye level or putting them in the door of your fridge. Then, every time you open the fridge, you will remember that you have them.
The downside of this is that your produce may spoil faster outside of the produce drawers, which can help them stay fresher for longer. An alternative to changing the location of your vegetables is writing down the vegetables you have on a magnetic white board and attaching it to your fridge.
Eat vegetables in season
Sopme vegetables are available at all times of the year, but you may find that they are the tastiest while they are in season. They may even be
Try varying your meals by incorporating new vegetables every season. Having something new and delicious to look forward to can keep you motivated to reach your vegetable intake goal.
Take it slow
While vegetables like leafy greens and onions may have more heart health benefits than others, if you aren’t used to eating enough vegetables in general — or dislike certain ones — it’s O.K. to stick to the ones you like at first. Eating the vegetables you enjoy may increase the likelihood that you meet the recommended intake.
Once you are consistently meeting the recommended intake, you can branch out.
While all vegetables can support your heart health in some way, vegetables such as onions, kale, spinach, and garlic may provide additional benefits.
You can incorporate more heart-healthy vegetables in your diet through meal planning, planning snacks, and rearranging your fridge to make vegetables more visible.