5 Ways to Eat More Veg

I’ve been a little swamped lately. In fact, I’ve spent pretty much all of my free time working for weeks now. But the project I’ve been working on has been so incredibly exciting, and has been so completely 100% in line with my passions as a parent and healthy family food blogger, that I haven’t minded a bit.

If you follow me on Instagram, you’ve probably seen me dropping a few hints here and there that something big is coming. That change is approaching and important people in the food and campaigning world are creating a stir.

Maybe you took part in Jamie Oliver‘s #adenough campaign. Maybe you have heard that him and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall are banging on the government’s door regarding childhood obesity.

But they haven’t stopped there. Today marks the official launch of our “VegPower” crowdfund campaign. Yes, I am feeling very blessed and humbled to be on the team helping this campaign to happen, especially when it contains the likes of Jamie and Hugh, Dr Rangan Chatterjee, Sir John Hegarty, and so many more food and health centred celebrities and experts.

The #vegpower campaign is one very very close to my heart. Not only because of my personal involvement in it, but also because its message is so completely and utterly in line with what I am trying to do here at Raising Sugar Free Kids. I am trying to encourage and inspire busy families to eat less sugar and more veg. I am aiming to help parents learn how to make real food as easy, tasty and affordable as junk food. I am passionate about upping our vegetable intake as families, and putting an end to this surge in obesity, particularly in childhood obesity, that we are seeing here in the UK.

If you, too, want to see this crisis halted, and you want to encourage the food industry and government to put measures in place to help this, or if you are a parent who just wants to know how to get your kids to eat more veg, take a look at our crowdfunding page here, and our website here. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

Because in the UK, 80% of young children and 95% of teens are not eating enough veg. 7% of a typical shopping basket is vegetables – it should be 20%. But if we all ate even just enough veg, we could avoid 20,000 premature deaths a year. 20,000!

So take a look and help us make a difference. And in the meantime, here are 5 ways you could be eating more veg today. Like, now!

1. Blitz It or Grate It

Did you know that raw leafy greens are better digested by the body when they are blended and broken down? Try a green smoothie (and replace banana with avocado for an extra low sugar high veg super creamy one) to get an extra portion of green vegetables into your day before lunchtime! Smoothies not your thing? Try grating watery veg like courgettes (zucchini), carrots or cucumber into just about anything (beetroot and radishes work well too but will add flavour). Grate them into meat to make it stretch further and make delicious, soft meatballs. Grate them into cakes or muffins or bread and reduce some of the liquid and/or butter in its place. Grate extra in salads, soups, sandwiches, wraps or whatever you are having for lunch. Try the “grated courgette or carrot in porridge or overnight oats” trick (you really cannot taste it!)

2. Add 1-2 Types of Veg to Every Recipe

Many recipes contain very little in the way of veg. I’m happy to say that Raising Sugar Free Kids recipes are an exception in this case, and there are some other wonderful bloggers out there like Sarah Wilson and The Natural Nurturer who have high-veg recipes all ready worked out for you. But you can also take matters into your own hands! When you make a recipe, think of at least one other vegetable you could add to it. Add some chopped button mushrooms and frozen peas to a pepper-and-beansprout-only stir fry. Instead of jarred, sugary tomato sauce, make a big batch of your own by softening several veggies (onion, garlic, carrot, celery, fennel, sweet potato, beetroot, leeks are all great additions) and simmering in passata or chopped tomatoes before blitzing to make a smooth multiple-veg sauce for topping pizza, wholegrain pasta or cooking meats in. Throw in a handful of chopped frozen spinach and some cauliflower, chickpeas or sweet potato to a simple curry recipe. I keep my freezer stocked with frozen veg for exactly this purpose! Get the kids involved and make it a game, trying to figure out how many extra veggies you can get into a recipe. Try to make new untested or we’re-not-sure-about-this-one veggies feature in this game often to keep variety in your meals.

3. Snack on It

One of the best ways I’ve found of getting vegetables into young children, in particular, is offering vegetables at snack-time. If they are really hungry, they will usually at least give them a go. If they kick up a fuss, they are most likely not as hungry as you thought, and can probably wait until dinner, when they are more likely to eat more of a hopefully-veggie-ful meal! We have a “veg anytime” rule in our house. It works for adults, too, by the way! 😉

4. Start With It and Keep It on the Table

In French schools and homes, the eating in courses idea still stands today. The first course in France is nearly always a vegetable one. Grated carrots in a homemade vinaigrette are a standard starter, but there are so many simple or more complicated things you can do to make the vegetables the first thing on the table. Instead of making a “side dish” of vegetables that only gets picked at slightly after filling up on proteins and carbs, make vegetables that first thing anyone eats and give them time to try it before moving on to mains. All it takes is something as simple as grating a carrot or chopping some cucumber. And when it comes to the meal, serve up the protein and wholegrains/carbs on each person’s plate, add a healthy helping of veg, then put any extra vegetables on the table for people to help themselves to. That way, if they are having second helpings, it is of vegetables. Keep the protein and carbs servings small, and it is more likely that the veggies will be heaped on. The extra bonus being that it is actually cheaper to cook this way as you spend less on meat and fish and grains and more on cheaper vegetables!

5. Replace Some of the Carbs with Veg

You guys know by now, I hope, that I am not a low carb enthusiast. I can see the benefits of it for those who have diabetes or who do not tolerate them as well as others. I am not saying don’t go for it if that is what you want to do (although I strongly, strongly recommend talking to your doctor and/or a trained nutritionist before doing so). But I also believe two things very strongly: 1) in today’s world, we eat far more carbs than we need. And 2) refined carbs are a problem. Our philosophy is to primarily stick to wholegrains (quinoa, millet, oats, wholegrain pasta, brown rice, wholegrain (ideally sourdough) bread, etc) and to make it about 1/4 of your plate. One way to do that and up your veg intake at the same time is to mix the carb with a vegetable alternative. Blitz some cauliflower or broccoli to make “rice” that you can mix in to quinoa or brown rice or wholemeal couscous to make the same amount with half of it veg. Make a cauliflower or sweet potato base pizza. Grate, peel or spiralize some courgettes (zucchini), carrots, sweet potato, squash, parsnips or other sturdy vegetable to make “pasta” and either serve on its own or mixed with some wholegrain pasta. There are so many ideas for this online these days – have a Google or browse Pinterest for inspiration!

Use one or all of these tips to get more veg in your family’s diet today, and make sure you check out the campaign to find out more about our epic book of vegpower, our handy guide to getting more veg into your family, which will feature many many more tips, recipes, kids’ activities and information from a crazy amount of high profile celebrities, foodies and experts.