One thing that is common with many people’s diets is that they don’t eat enough veg. Veg is the true king of healthy foods providing fibres, vitamins, minerals and other phytonutrients. So it’s no surprise that when I recommend people eat more veg I’m met with a blank look or the response of “I just don’t know how to eat more veg”. To be fair some veg can be pretty boring and sometimes it doesn’t taste great. So how can we get more of it into our diets?
I have come up with a couple of great tips to get more veg in your diet and still enjoy some of your favourite foods. We all love spaghetti Bolognese, curry or chilli con carne, but we have to eat these foods with rice or pasta right? Well, no! Substitute the rice, spaghetti and pasta for veg. Here is how…
Use spaghetti squash instead of spaghetti. A spaghetti squash is like a pumpkin – you roast it and scrape the flesh out from the inside and it comes out just like spaghetti (hence the name). Instead of rice or pasta try using diced kale, cabbage, chard or other winter greens as the base to put your sauce on. Also put loads of veg in to the sauces to bulk them out. Try these 2 recipes:
Lamb and chickpea curry
- 500g of diced lamb neck or shoulder
- 1 tin of tomatoes
- 1 tin of cooked chickpeas
- 1 tablespoon curry paste
- 1 onion
- 1 2cm square of ginger
- 2 cloves of garlic
- Veg of your choice (courgettes, green beans)
- 1 teaspoon of cayenne,
- 1 teaspoon of garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon of turmeric
- Salt and pepper
- Kale
Dice up and stir fry the onions and ginger. Add the lamb and brown to seal the meat. Season with salt and pepper. Add all the veg, chickpeas, curry paste, tomatoes and garlic and simmer for 20 minutes until cooked. Finish with adding the spices and serve on a bed of diced steamed kale.
Beef chilli
- 500g of minced beef
- 1 tin of tomatoes
- 1 tin of cooked kidney beans
- 1 onion
- 2 cloves of garlic
- Veg of your choice (carrots, sprouting broccoli and red peppers)
- 1 tablespoon of cayenne,
- 1 teaspoon of garlic powder
- Salt and pepper
- Chard
Dice up and stir fry the onions. Add the beef and brown to seal the meat. Season with salt and pepper. Add all the veg, kidney beans, tomatoes and garlic and simmer for 20 minutes until cooked. Finish with adding the spices and serve on a bed of diced steamed chard.
Also try bulk cooking it and putting it in to bowls and then freezing it. Then you came come home a heat it up for a quick healthy meal.
Here are some other great ways to get veg into your diet
Stir fry
Most veg can be stir fried – bean sprouts, cabbage, onions, ginger, garlic, chestnuts, peppers, mushrooms, green beans, peas, corn, mange tout, broccoli and chard. Throw in some prawns or chi9cken and add some tamari for a great tasting stir fry.
Steam
Broccoli, carrots, cabbage, chard, spinach, winter greens, squash and sweet potato. These are are a great addition to a roasted meat or fish.
Roast
Roast Mediterranean veg – onions, courgettes, aubergine, pepper, garlic. Also roast carrots, beetroot, parsnips and sweet potato. Lovely with a piece of fish.
Raw
Think salads – all leaves, tomatoes, spring onions, beetroot, artichoke, peppers, cucumber and corn. Great summer bites with meat or fish or just a boiled egg.
Good luck with these recipes and get more veg into your diet. London nutritionist Steve Hines: get more veg in to your diet.
