Veggie Victory!

Have a Veggie Victory this Healthy Eating Week!

We all know our children need to eat plenty of vegetables to be healthy. But sometimes this is easier said than done!  

 

We asked parents what made it difficult to get their children eating vegetables – they said: 

  • Children prefer to eat processed foods such as baked beans, chips or fish fingers (38%) or other home-cooked foods such as pasta, rice or chicken (33%) 
  • More than a third of parents (37%) said their children refuse to eat vegetables.  
  • Overall, more than 45% of parents said that healthy food being more expensive than unhealthy foods made it harder to give their children a healthy diet. 

We want you to have a Veggie Victory with your children this Healthy Eating Week (10-14 June). See if you can get them to eat two types of vegetable with their dinner every night this week. Fresh, frozen and canned all count and we’ve got some suggestions below on what to try. Don’t worry if they don’t eat all of it – even if they just try one bite, it still counts as a victory! There’s a reward chart you could download to record your progress during the week.

 

For more on using rewards to encourage children to eat vegetables see Simply Veg. 

Have a look at the downloads below for more information:

Veggie victory reward card

Track the vegetables they try during Healthy Eating Week.

Download

Veggie Meal Ideas

Child-friendly meal ideas to get them eating more vegetables.

Download

Veggie nutrition factsheet

This factsheet provides information about the nutrients in different types of vegetables and what they do for health.

Download

Veggie Victory – nutrition factsheet 

You know that vegetables are important for you and your children’s health. But here is some more information about the nutrients in different types of vegetables and what they do for our health.  

 

There are so many different types of vegetables, and each provides a different selection of nutrients. So, getting a variety of different types is ideal.  

 

This factsheet shows which nutrients different types of vegetables are particularly good for. 

 

Green leafy vegetables 

Spinach, cabbage, kale 

Vitamin A and K 

Salad leaves 

Folate, Vitamin K 

Carrots and other root vegetables 

Vitamin A, and potassium 

Peas and beans 

Folate, vitamin B1 (thiamine) 

Tomatoes and peppers 

Vitamins A and C 

Mushrooms 

Vitamin B2 (riboflavin) 

Sweetcorn, corn on the cob 

Vitamin B1, C and folate 

Beetroot 

Potassium, folate 

Broccoli and cauliflower 

Vitamin C, K, folate 

Squashes and pumpkins 

Vitamin A, C and E 

What do these nutrients do?

Nutrient

Role

Vitamin A 

Helps the immune system to function normally, helps with vision, and helps the maintenance of normal skin. 

Vitamin B1 

Helps to release energy from food. It also helps our nervous system and heart function normally. 

Vitamin B2 

Helps to release energy from food, reduce tiredness, and helps to maintain normal skin and a normal nervous system. 

Vitamin C 

Helps to protect cells from damage. It helps form collagen, which is important for normal bones, gums, teeth, and skin. It also helps the immune system and the nervous system to function normally. 

Vitamin E 

Helps to protect the cells in our bodies against damage. 

Vitamin K 

Helps with normal clotting of blood and is required for normal bone structure. 

Folate 

Helps to make red blood cells, reduce tiredness, and helps the immune system work as it should. It is also needed for the normal development of the nervous system in unborn babies. 

Potassium  

Helps to regulate the water content in the body and maintain a normal blood pressure. It also helps the nerves and muscles to function normally. 

Veggies on a budget

Healthy eating can seem expensive but here are some suggestions for cheaper vegetables that are a great addition to a healthy diet. Each of these are less than 50p per 5 A DAY portion 

Vegetable 

Pack size  

Price per pack* 

Price per 5 A DAY portion (80g) 

Fresh carrots 

500g bag 

0.39 

0.06 

Packaged beetroot 

500g pack 

0.62 

0.10 

Frozen peas 

1000g pack 

1.23 

0.10 

Canned tomatoes 

400g can 

0.51 

0.10 

Frozen Cauliflower 

1000g pack 

1.41 

0.11 

Frozen broccoli 

900g pack 

1.36 

0.12 

Frozen spinach 

900g pack 

1.47 

0.13 

White cabbage 

1 cabbage (about 380g) 

0.69 

0.14 

Canned cannellini beans 

400g can (240g drained) 

0.49 

0.14 

Canned chickpeas 

400g can (240g drained) 

0.48 

0.16 

Red cabbage 

1 cabbage (about 380g) 

0.8 

0.17 

Iceberg Lettuce 

1 lettuce (about 320g) 

0.79 

0.20 

Canned sweetcorn 

325g can (260g drained) 

0.68 

0.21 

Cherry Tomatoes 

300g bag 

0.96 

0.26 

Fresh cauliflower 

1 cauliflower (about 320g) 

1.09 

0.27 

Peppers – value pack 

375g bag 

1.74 

0.37 

Little gem lettuce 

Pack of 2 (about 160g) 

0.87 

0.43 
*An average cost per own-brand pack or item from 4 UK supermarkets (Tesco, Sainsburys, Asda and Morrisons) during the week of 21st May 2024. 

Veggie Meal Ideas

Below are some child-friendly meal ideas to get them eating more vegetables. You can adapt these to suit you. Also try adapting your family’s favourites, for example a pasta bake or curry, to include more vegetables as well as (or instead of) serving vegetables on the side. 

 

Build-your-own wraps 

 

Get children to put together their own wrap, including a protein food and then choose their own vegetables. 

  • For protein you could pick: cooked chicken, fish fingers, grated cheese, humous or canned tuna. 
  • For vegetables you could try: grated carrot, shredded lettuce or red cabbage, sliced tomatoes. 
  • You could also add some plain yogurt or ketchup on top 

Younger children will probably need you to roll up the wrap – older children can have a go themselves.  

 

Veggie kebabs 

 

Great to have alongside meat, fish or veggie options, you could get children to help assemble these or make in advance then just grill before serving. You can provide a selection of colours and types of vegetables to make these look great. For a recipe see https://www.foodafactoflife.org.uk/recipes/5-11-years/vegetable-kebabs/  

 

Colourful couscous 

 

Couscous is a great base for a salad and is quick to prepare. Mix with a selection of vegetables – canned and frozen vegetables such as peas, sweetcorn, green beans or chickpeas can work well and make this a quick and budget friendly option. You could also prepare a similar version using leftover pasta or rice. For a recipe see https://www.foodafactoflife.org.uk/recipes/11-14-l2c/vegetable-couscous-salad/  

 

Easy Vegetable frittatas  

 

Eggs are a quick and nutritious base for meals, and you can include what ever vegetables you have at home.  You could try chopped peppers, some defrosted frozen spinach or sliced mushrooms. For a recipe see https://www.foodafactoflife.org.uk/recipes/ks3-sow-2020/easy-veg-frittatas/  

 

Rainbow pasta 

 

Add a selection of vegetables to pasta shapes to make a colourful dish. You could pair with your favourite pasta sauce or pesto and some grated or cream cheese. This can be a good way of using up any leftover vegetables that you have in the fridge. If you have time you could get your children involved in preparing the vegetables and choosing which to include. But skip this if short of time! For a recipe see https://www.foodafactoflife.org.uk/recipes/3-5-years/pleasing-pasta/  

 

Want to find out more about getting children to eat more vegetables, including a free online training course? Go to www.simplyveg.org.uk  

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Please note that advice provided on our website about nutrition and health is general in nature. We do not provide any individualised advice on prevention, treatment and management for patients or their family members.