Get more vegetables into your day

We all know that vegetables are good for us, but aiming for 5 a day can sometimes feel like a daunting task. Remember – Rome wasn’t built in a day. Increasing the number of vegies you and your family eats gradually can be a more realistic goal and in fact, can mean you are more likely to stick at these changes in the long term.

Here are some tips for packing more vegetables into your day:

Breakfast

• Top toast with baked beans, grilled mushroom, avocado or tomato
• Add veggies like tomato, onion, zucchini, capsicum and mushroom to omelettes and pikelets

Lunchbox

• Fill sandwiches with an extra boost of vegetables – grated carrot, tomato, cucumber, beetroot, lettuce, sprouts and capsicum are all delicious additions
• Make a batch of veggie packed savoury muffins, wrap individually in cling wrap, and freeze. These can be taken out each morning for the lunchbox.
• Make a super salad filled with veggies, a small portion of protein foods (e.g. fish, chicken, egg, lean meat, beans, seeds) and a small portion of grains/cereals (e.g. pasta, brown rice, couscous, corn)

After School Snacks

• Choose veggie sticks and a vegetable based dip like humus
• Try a toasted sandwich with baked beans, cheese and grated veggies

Dinner

• Add grated zucchini, mushroom or carrot to tomato-based pasta sauces
• Add extra veggies and beans into soups, stews, pasta and rice dishes
• Include a side salad or a serve of steamed vegetables with hot dishes
• Try cabbage and lettuce leaves as edible containers with savoury fillings
• Explore different ways of preparing veggies e.g. stir fry, curry, grated in sauce, steamed, roasted, slow-cooked or raw.
• Make takeaway meals healthier by adding in extra veggies – e.g. stuff some extra salad into burgers, stir steamed vegetables into takeaway pasta and rice dishes, or top pizzas with extras spinach, rocket, diced capsicum or diced tomato

For recipe ideas visit our lunchbox and recipe page