I recently had lunch with one of my best friends from high school (who I don’t see very much anymore, sadly), and she mentioned that when the book “Deceptively Delicious” — a cookbook for moms who want to hide vegetable puree in their children’s meals — came out, she bought it so she could trick herself into eating vegetables. Then I laughed, because… I did the same thing.

While I’ve always liked spinach, corn, carrots and sweet potatoes, getting me to even eat three bites of nearly any other vegetable was nearly impossible. I’ve gotten better as I’ve gotten older, of course, and I don’t have to hide vegetables in brownies. But getting several servings each day is still a challenge for Meg and I both.

So, I’m resolving to eat more vegetables in 2015, and I wanted to share some of the recipes and methods I plan to use to do so.

Fatten them up: One of the easiest (and most obvious) ways to make anything more delicious is to add something fattening and wonderful, like cheese, bacon and butter… or all three. And research shows that we absorb more of the nutrients from vegetables when we eat them with a little bit of fat. Obviously this method has drawbacks, though, and isn’t quite as easy when you have dietary restrictions (although olive oil and avocado are pretty delicious, too).

Try it: Roasted brussels sprouts with orange butter sauce
Spinach souffle
Spinach quiche
Skinny tomato soup and green grilled cheese
Garlicky parmesan broccoli

Liquify them: Yes, you can make vegetable puree and add it into your foods. But you can also throw a big handful of spinach into your smoothie without impacting the flavor, add some extra vegetables to your chili, or make a vegetable soup.

Try it: Butternut squash soup
Pinto bean mole chili
Slow-cooker veggie chili
Curried squash and red lentil soup
Lean, green fighting machine smoothie

Spice them up: If you don’t want to add cheese or bacon… add salsa. Or some Southwestern spices. You’ll get a lot of fun, interesting flavors without the fat. After all, salsa is made of vegetables, too.

Try it: Southwestern butternut squash saute
Spicy collards
Chipotle sweet potatoes
Guacamole salad
Chicken enchiladas
Spicy bean salad with corn
Sweet potato tacos
Southwestern muffin-cup eggs
Pork fajitas with mango

And if all else fails, just roast, steam or sauté them! Sometimes simple is good.

Try it: Roasted root vegetables
Asparagus, peas and basil
Steamed broccoli with garlic

What are your favorite ways to eat vegetables?