The Jenny Craig dietitians have shared their top tips on ways to increase your daily vegetable intake to the recommended 5 serves per day. Why not try something new this week to make it easier to get that 5 serves in?
Karen Barber – Senior Business Advisor
1. Colour Your ‘5 a Day’
Aim for a colourful variety of fruit and veg to enjoy your ‘5 a day’. Each colour provides different micronutrients and antioxidants for a healthy diet. Try a new colour….I’m loving purple right now! Add some blueberries to muesli, try grated beetroot with salad or even some stir fried eggplant!
2. Let’s Be Canny!
Canned fruit and veg are convenient, affordable and nutritious. Did you know that canned tomatoes provide more lycopene, a powerful antioxidant, than raw tomatoes? Keep a variety of canned vegetables in your pantry to help you achieve your ‘5 a day’.
Jessica Percic – Company Dietitian
1. Get to know new herbs and spices
I love to roast or air-fry my veggies (especially broccoli, cauliflower and capsicum) and I always use different herbs and spices to add flavour my vegetables. Paprika, garlic powder, onion flakes, salt and pepper with a drizzle of chilli olive oil is my favourite combination.
2. Add some texture
I find when I crumble some feta cheese and sometimes even a bit of avocado, or add apples or pears to my salads, I enjoy them so much more- the different textures and flavours make them much more interesting.
Danielle Bowman – Nutrition & Program Manager
1. Add some vegetables to your breakfast smoothie
Veggies give beautiful colour, a boost of nutrients and extra volume with very few kilojoules. For a delicious green breakfast to go, blend some orange juice, chia seeds, a few almonds, oats and frozen mango with a generous handful each of kale, celery and cucumber plus ice.
2. Add a handful of green leaves to any dinner you can
To boost your intake of anti-oxidants and bring their protective effect to your body, top your risotto, pasta or pizza with a handful of rocket, add a handful of spinach leaves to your soup or curry, or wilt finely sliced kale at the beginning of any dish when you start with softening onions in a pan.
