Fighting the battle with greens
Around this time of year, hearing the phrase “How do you eat yours?” has a way of making you think specifically about certain chocolate products!
However, I ask the question, following some new research from Wageningen University in The Netherlands which looked specifically at why it’s a struggle to get children to eat their greens.
Apparently it all comes down to the way they are prepared and children prefer to have vegetables which have been steamed or boiled as they like their vegetables to be crunchy. While they only gave them carrots and french beans they did offer them to the children mashed, steamed, boiled, stir fried, grilled and deep fried. But the crunchiness and the way that boiling and steaming helps retain colour and flavour made it a winner.
And could this be a solution for bringing in more fruit and vegetables into your daily routine? How often do we look at changing the ways we eat certain foods. I’ve talked on a few occasions about the importance of diet on your digestive health, and particularly about the importance of fruit and vegetables.
For instance, how many of us have snacks during the working day? Are we gluttons for biscuits, cakes and crisps or do we have vegetables sticks – carrots, peppers, celery? Cartons of raisins aren’t just for the kids lunchboxes, look at having some yourself or having a small tupperware box of nuts and fruit. And you could easily buy a bag of carrots and make a weeks worth of snacks for a fraction of a cost of some other snack foods.
Some people will use fruit in a smoothie or drink fruit juice, but remember this can only count as one of your five a day. How often do you have fruit salad? Perhaps if you’re worried about fruit going off at home perhaps you can team up with some friends and work, all agree to buy a certain fruit and combine your handywork.
But anything that gets us eating more fruit and vegetables is always going to be good in my book – so if it works for you and those children, then steam or boil away!