Have you eaten vegetables today?

According to the Australian National Health Survey conducted a few years ago, only about 3.2 percent…

According to the Australian National Health Survey conducted a few years ago, only about 3.2 percent of those aged between 18 and 24 consumed the correct amount of vegetables each day. When broken down further, the survey found that 0.9 percent of those with the recommended daily intake of vegetables were males, compared with 6.7 percent of females.

In case that isn't clear enough, that is one male in a group of 100 (aged 18 to 24) consuming the recommended intake of vegetables. Hannah Brown, a dietitian and PhD Candidate at the University of Newcastle explains that vegetables are our true 'superfoods'. Everybody and every body needs them to function well. "They contain many important nutrients to keep our bodies healthy and working well, such as potassium, fibre and many vitamins. Most vegetables are also generally quite low in calories and fat, which assists with weight maintenance.”

Now that you get how important our little vitamin-packed friends are, how can we integrate them into more of our meals?

Firstly, vegetables shouldn't be a chore. While some of us do feel like preparing and cooking vegetables is a bit of hassle, it shouldn't be that way at all. "They should just be part of your everyday routine, such as brushing your teeth, because they are that important," Hannah says. “Buy frozen and canned vegetables so that you always have some on hand when you're preparing meals—frozen veg are just as good for you as fresh."

Then, if you feel like you hate most vegetables, it could be just because you haven't found the right ones yet. "If you hate broccoli and Brussels sprouts, you don't have to eat them," Hannah admits. "There are plenty more delicious vegetables out there to try so eat the ones that you like and eat them often."

In fact, while we wouldn't usually consider foods like legumes (chickpeas, kidney beans, et cetera) as vegetables, Hannah explains that they count as part of your vegetable intake too and can be added to spaghetti dishes and nachos.

And finally, veggies aren't just a 'dinner' thing. Another misconception is that veggies are something to be eaten at dinnertime, after a long day of eating lots of non-vegetables. Hannah dismisses this idea completely. "Put some spinach in your breakfast omelette and serve with grilled tomato; pack salad onto your lunchtime sandwich," Hannah suggests. "You're already on your way to reaching your veg intake for the day!"

Source: studentedge.org