How to Double Your Veg Intake Today

I think we all know we should be eating more veg. In the UK, 80% of kids aren’t eating even the bare minimum recommendation of 5-7 portions of veg and fruit a day (no more than half of which should be fruit).

I get it, it can be hard. Veg takes more prep than a pre-packaged cereal bar or a bag of sweets. Sugar-laden tastebuds learn to seek sweeter and sweeter flavours and a lot of the more bitter vegetables become difficult to consume.

It feels hard. But it doesn’t have to be.

Many of us in England are barely consuming 2-3 portions of veg a day. So we need to be at least doubling what we eat. Even those of us striving to eat closer to 5-7 portions a day already are being told that 10-a-day or more is even better!

So how do you double your intake without it taking a tonne of time and effort? We’ve worked our way as a family from 5-a-day (fruit & veg) to more like 8 or 9-a-day over the last few years, and I’ve learned a few great lessons and all-important shortcuts along the way. Here are my favourites:

Add an extra 1-2 handfuls of veg per person to every savoury recipe

Most recipes are sorely lacking in vegetables. I can’t tell you how many cookbooks I’ve flicked through only to be seriously frustrated by the presence of maybe 1 vegetable in a dinner recipe, 2 if we’re really pushing the boat out! But the truth is, almost every savoury recipe (and quite a lot of sweet ones!) can have at least 1-2 other vegetables added in without it taking anything away from the flavour or texture of a dish. Next time you pack a cheese sandwich in a lunchbox, grab a handful of cherry tomatoes and slice them to add to it. Tuna mayo one? Finely chop a few sticks of celery and some sweetcorn straight from the freezer. Making bolognese or lasagne for dinner tonight with just meat and tomato sauce? Add more flavour and nutrients by making a veg-packed version like this or this, or just chuck in a few handfuls of frozen veg. It adds more colour, which is pleasing to our brain, as well as adding more nutrients and variety. Having a stash of frozen veg on hand is the easiest and cheapest way to do this, but prepping a big batch of fresh veg or using tinned/jarred drained and rinsed can work, too!

Skip the juice with breakfast and serve a homemade smoothie instead

Halve your sugar and add some veg at the same time by replacing fruit juice with a homemade green smoothie like this one. Choose banana or avocado for creaminess, a liquid like milk (dairy/unsweetened non-dairy) or water (tap or coconut), a generous handful of fresh greens per person and your pick of extras like frozen berries or mango, frozen veg like broccoli or cauliflower or sweet potato puree, fresh fruit like apple or orange, and/or fresh veg like courgette, cucumber, fennel or celery. Pin some nice-looking smoothie recipes and give them a go (or check out my Smoothie board for inspiration). Make sure they are generous on the veg and don’t go overboard on fruit, though. And a word of warning: a cheap food processor means that smoothies with fresh greens in sometimes end up a little “bitty”. Kids often don’t appreciate this. I found that swapping to a Nutribullet or similar high-quality (but affordable) blender made a difference as our smoothies were coming out so, well, smooth, that they were much more appetising to look at and to drink!

Swap some family favourite desserts for veg-containing low sugar versions

Does your family love a chocolate treat at the weekend? Try making an avocado brownie or mousse instead. Enjoy cake? Give a low sugar carrot cake or chocolate beetroot cake a go. Remember, these things are still “treats”, to be enjoyed in moderation, but at least you know you are eating something marginally more virtuous (and can enjoy it all the more!).

Snack on veg

Roast a big ol’ batch of root veg at the weekend and keep it in the fridge to reach for when the munchies hit. Kids bugging you for an after-school snack? Make sure you chopped a load of raw veg and made a dip or two at the weekend and then you have an instant healthy snack for them with just a little planning ahead. And trust me, nothing tells you quicker whether a child is actually hungry or not when they ask for a snack than getting out a tray of veg. If they are, it’s the perfect time to get them trying new healthy foods. Turning their noses up at veg you know they would probably eat if they were really hungry? Maybe they just need a glass of water and to wait a little longer until dinner time (trust me, they won’t starve if they don’t eat for another hour!). And make sure they see you reaching for the veg at snacktime – nothing influences a child more than seeing what their parents are eating!

Have veg at breakfast

I know, I know, whaaaaat? But bear with me. Veg at breakfast time isn’t as weird as it sounds. And it’s amazing the difference that starting your day off right can make. Swapping a high sugar breakfast of juice, cereals and jam on toast for some eggs with wholegrain bread and wilted spinach and/or fried mushrooms, grilled tomatoes and/or softened peppers… it makes a massive impact on your overall health. And you can leave the house knowing you’ve already had at least 1-2 portions of your veg for the day before you’ve even done the school run. I recommend sticking with more familiar breakfast veg at first (tomatoes, mushrooms, occasional spinach or peppers, homemade unsweetened or sugar free baked beans, ripe avocado), and then building up to more “unusual” veg. One of our favourite ever breakfasts as a family (kids included) is a hash made from scrambled eggs, cubed sweet potatoes and broccoli florets (sounds bizarre, tastes amazing). I prep the broccoli and sweet potato the night before and shove them in the oven with a little oil until they are roasted, soft and sweet, then I leave them in a container in the fridge overnight and heat through them with some scrambled eggs in the morning. The prep makes it a 2 minute breakfast and we get 2 different veg in us before 8am! Talk about starting as you mean to go on. Not ready for broccoli at that time yet? Why not try veg-packed baked eggs or pepper egg cups with a green smoothie. There are definitely worse ways to start the day!

Looking for more ways to eat more veg? Check out our veg-packed recipes or our 10 Ways to Get Your 10-a-Day (Without Really Trying) post.