Health Matters – An A to Z Guide to Good Health – V is for Vegetables

An A to Z Guide to Good Health – V is for Vegetables

V is for vegetables which we know we should eat. We have all heard of the five-a-day rule but how many of us manage to get our five portions of vegetables and fruit?  I believe that we should be aiming for more than five a day and in particular vegetables that are full of vitamins, minerals and dietary fibre so try and make it a new rule because research indicates that people who eat lots of vegetables and fruit are less likely to develop chronic diseases such as coronary heart disease and some cancers.

Children can be difficult when it comes to getting them to eat their vegetables so here are some ideas:

🥦 Try and get them involved in the preparation of food and never force them to eat anything but just keep presenting it to them in different ways. You can describe broccoli as little trees and always give more than they need to eat so they can leave a little on the plate – at least they will have eaten some.

🥕 Children usually like pasta and tomato sauces and you can hide some carrots and courgettes and peppers by pureeing them first; they will probably not notice; especially if you are relaxed about it. This idea is also good for the men who say they don’t want vegetables!

🍊 You could also try juicing vegetables; make them taste sweet using carrots, sweet potato and orange juice; experiment and see which works best.

🍲 Soups are another easy way of getting children to eat their vegetables and now we are all having to be more careful as food is so expensive, they are a wonderful cheap way of providing nutritional food.

🍐 We all know about the five-a-day rule, so make sure you have a bowl of fruit in the kitchen; if your children refuse vegetables at least they will be getting lots of goodness from fruit.

🍎 Why not remember to take that apple to work with you or even provide a bowl of fruit for your colleagues instead of cakes?

Live with joy and health 💚

Elizabeth Beetham