Eating your 5 serves of veg doesn’t have to be hard.
There are plenty of ways you can add veggies to meals and snacks you already love. Try these tips to help boost your veg intake.
1. Veg & Egg
Add diced veg to scrambled eggs or omelette - such as left-over potatoes, capsicum, spring onion, zucchini, mushrooms, spinach or tomato. Serve with rocket or spinach and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.
3. Snacks
Snack on veggie sticks such as celery, carrots, capsicum or cucumber, which can also be served with hommus, tzatziki or other vegetable-based dips.
5. Smoothies
Make a green smoothie with spinach, broccoli, cucumber, carrot and ginger. Add vegetables such as avocado, cucumber, lettuce or spinach to fruit smoothies.
7. Beans
Add beans for an extra nutritional veg hit packed with flavour and texture. Chickpeas, kidney or black beans are perfect for tacos, burritos or chilli con carne and lentils ideal for bolognese.
9. Experiment
Try different ways to prep and eat your veg. Roasted capsicum for example takes on a completely different taste to raw. Experiment to see what you like best!
2. Sauces
Grate a carrot or zucchini, or add some kidney beans or other legumes into any dish that involves mince, such as pasta sauces, burritos and tacos. The kids won’t even know!
4. Scones & Muffins
For a yummy snack on the go, make some savoury scones or muffins, and include any veggies you have on hand. They can also be frozen and eaten later.
6. Flavour
Up the flavour ante by experimenting with different herbs & spices on your veg, or drizzle with extra virgin olive oil.
8. Fill the fridge
Keeping your fridge or freezer stocked with veg makes it easier to load up on the good stuff and not always reach for the treats!
10. Dressings
Veggies are a great base for salad dressings! Use a veggie that’s easy to blend like pumpkin, tomato or zucchini to make delicious dressing bases.
Pimp up your veggies with herbs
Adding the right herbs to your vegetables can make all the difference. All widely available and common herbs (fresh or dried) can be used with vegetables. Herbs such as coriander, oregano, basil, parsley, thyme, rosemary, dill, ginger, garlic, lemongrass and curry leaves can add some magic to your vegetables.
Try some of these vegetable and herbs combinations – and more herb-inspired vegetable dishes here.
Potatoes - garlic and basil, mint and sage
Cabbage - coriander and cumin
Carrots - cumin, sage, ginger
Brussels Sprouts - parsley and garlic
Corn - sage, dill seed and thyme, basil and rosemary
Broccoli - basil and oregano
Peas – thyme, caraway seeds
Beans - oregano and basil, onion and garlic
Eggplant - basil and parsley
Leek - garlic and ginger
Asparagus - tarragon, basil
Spinach - basil and garlic, dill and lemon
Whether you are using fresh, frozen or canned vegetables, flavour will always be enhanced with the addition of herbs. So don’t be shy. Experiment with a wide variety of herbs and foods. Add don’t forgot to add simple spices such as cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves to really spice up your vegetables. You’ll be surprised how much more you enjoy cooking, serving and eating your vegetables.
Check out more herb-inspired recipes
