THE CHALLENGE: Have a variety of vegetables this week
Why are vegetables important?
Vegetables provide a range of different vitamins and minerals needed for health. They also provide fibre, which is important for the digestive system and can help reduce the risk of developing heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and bowel cancer in adulthood.
What counts towards the 5 A DAY recommendation?
Examples of 5 A DAY portions of vegetables and pulses include:
- Three heaped tablespoons of cooked vegetables like broccoli, peas, cabbage or carrots.
- A dessert bowl of salad.
- Three heaped tablespoons of beans, chickpeas or lentils (but only once each day).
However, we don’t have to limit our portion sizes of vegetables and having smaller amounts of lots of different kinds (e.g. in a soup or stew) is great too! Remember that fresh, frozen, canned, dried and juiced types all count.
How can we include vegetables in our diet?
Add extra vegetables to dishes, such as spaghetti bolognese, curry or cottage pie. Vegetables can be a great way to add bulk to meals and increase the amount of fibre they contain.
Just like fruit, vegetables make a great snack. Try carrot, pepper or celery sticks.
Vegetable juice or smoothies (up to a maximum of 150 ml a day) can be served as a drink alongside meals.
Get involved
Check out our blog to read Tammy’s post about vegetarianism. We will also be adding some recipes to help you vary your veg and reach the 5 a day target!
If you take on the veggie challenge or have any exciting recipes to share then contact us on the blog or at ECRF.Sustainability@ed.ac.uk
