Sneaking in the 5-a-day
Some days it doesn’t matter how much we want to eat a balanced diet; we just can’t seem to eat the minimum 5 bits of fruit or veg in a day. Life gets busy. Quick ready meals seem easier. Or little ones refuse to eat the vegetables you put in front of them. So, we started thinking about the ways that we can start building in extra fruit or vegetables into the dishes we often cook.
3 ways to get your 5-a-day every day
1.Smoothies/Juices
We’ve all heard about juicing fads and extreme diets, but putting a few fruits and veg in a blender is a sure-fire way of taking in a load of nutrients and fibre without having to think too much about cooking extra vegetables with your meal. We love blitzing up kale, spinach, kiwi and apple with some fresh ginger and juice of orange for a super green energy boost in the morning.
2. Baking with an extra something special
You’ve heard of carrot cake, there’s also courgette cake…..Making chocolate cakes or brownies with grated courgette has much the same effect as cooking with carrots, adding a lovely texture and keeping in the moisture. Try out this recipe here
3. Meat’s only half the story
Meat eaters, this is a brilliant way to make sure that we are eating more veg. In our house we often use half the amount of chicken in a curry and substitute it for other veg like sweet potato, parsnips, aubergine or butternut squash. Another great way to sneak veg in is with a tin of lentils (green, red or black) to a dish of mince (like a Chilli con Carne) or whiz up some chestnut mushrooms in a blender to get a mince-like consistency and add them to the dish.
Let us know your sneaky tricks for packing extra fruit and veg into your diet! Comment here or tag us in a post on Instagram.
