Knorr’s Tasty Guide to Cooking with More Vegetables

Healthy eating does not have to be boring, expensive, or complicated. It can be as simple as making small changes - adding more vegetables to everyday dishes for example. It is well worth cooking tasty veg dishes as they contribute to your family’s 5-a-day and help you live a healthier life.

Vegetable-based meal options like cold pasta salads and veggie tray bakes, are not just great as side dishes or mains, but also make for filling lunches when sandwiches leave you feeling a little bored.

This is our chef’s tasty guide to adding more vegetables to your favourite dishes and taking your menu to healthier heights.

Four Tips to Make Everyday Meals Healthier

So, what can you do to add more vegetables to your weekly menu? At Knorr we asked our chefs to share four tips on making everyday meals a little healthier through the addition of veggies:

1. Cook with a variety of colours and textures
2. Infuse vegetables with flavour
3. Sneak them in for fussy eaters
4. Know your portion sizes

1. Cook with a Variety Of Colour and Textures

Add some excitement by adding a variety of colours, textures and flavours to everyday dishes. Seven colour meals should be all the rage!

Get adventurous and try new vegetables in old family dishes. What about adding baby corn to your chakalaka or some carrots/spinach to ujeqe (steamed bread)?

For a colourful dish that will attract the attention of everyone at your dinner table try Honey Roasted Root Vegetables. Caramelised, crunchy, and fresh. What more could you ask for from your veggies?

2. Infuse Vegetables with Flavour

Vegetables naturally have a lot of flavour, but you can add some additional seasoning, spices, and herbs to make them even tastier. Try this recipe for a perfectly seasoned dish with a full-bodied, curry taste: Spicy Chicken Liver and Mixed Vegetable Pie. You will love the way the veggies take on the savoury notes of the chicken livers. Delicious!

3. Sneak Them in for Fussy Eaters

It can be very challenging to get the little ones to eat their vegetables - ask any parent! But if you shred or grate fruits and vegetables, like baby marrows, carrots, cauliflower, and squash, you might get your kids to eat them without noticing they are there.

You can also puree veggies and add them to your favourite pasta, dips, pizza, curries or sishebo recipes. Or sneak veggies into a soup like this Roasted Cauliflower Soup. Creamy, subtle, and salty, we are convinced that even the fussiest toddler will enjoy this meal!

4. Know your Portion Sizes

Incorporating more vegetables into your meals should be a priority for us all. The World Health Organisation advises that every person should be eating at least 400g of fruit and vegetables per day – this roughly equates to the famous 5-a-day. A good reason to make lunches with vegetables in the mix a top choice. Check out this cold pasta salad recipe: Macaroni Salad. It is chock full of veggies that add to your daily intake.

Knorr is Here to Help!

At the end of the day, there are so many ways you can bring more vegetables into your diet and provide your family with tasty veg dishes that you can feel good about. We know how important health and well-being is to you which is why Knorr is here to help!