Looking for fresh and easy meal ideas that boost your vegie intake this season? Spring is a great time to shake up your usual meals and discover simple ways to add more vegies to your day.
From budget-friendly meals to a sweet snack, discover five delicious recipes to help you eat more vegies. Plus, you’ll find budget tips, easy swaps and meal-prep ideas to make healthy eating easier.
Sometimes the old-school meals are hard to beat! Savoury mince is full of flavour, packed with goodness and easy on the budget. And when every dollar counts, adding a can of brown lentils is a simple way to boost the protein and stretch your mince into more serves.
Budget tip: Frozen mixed vegetables are an affordable and convenient option. You can use just what you need and return the rest to the freezer, helping to reduce food waste.
Make it stretch: Add a can of brown lentils to make this dish go further. Lentils provide protein and fibre which helps to keep you fuller for longer.
Meal-prep tip: Freeze leftover portions for a quick meal on a busy night.
Love risotto but not all the stirring? This mushroom risotto bake is an easy, hands-off option for busy nights. Simply combine the ingredients in an oven-proof dish, cover and bake, then stir through baby spinach, parmesan and chives.
Savvy swap: No fresh baby spinach? Swap it for cooked frozen spinach or peas. It’s an easy way to make the recipe work with what you already have.
Serving suggestion: Serve with a simple mixed salad for a nutrient-packed meal.
Nutrition tip: Spinach is a source of folate, which helps reduce tiredness and fatigue, giving you another reason to add more greens to your plate.
When the weather warms up, this colourful Mediterranean tuna salad is an simple meal that requires no cooking and can be ready in just 15 minutes.
With 3 serves of vegies per serve, plus protein from budget-friendly pantry staples – tuna and cannellini beans – this salad is sure to be a favourite!
Budget tip: Swap cherry tomatoes for a chopped regular tomato and choose whichever coloured capsicum is best value.
Lunch tip: Make it ahead for an easy work or school-day lunch. If you’re taking the tuna salad with you, keep it cold with an ice brick.
Nutrition tip: This salad is a good source of fibre. Eating a diet high in fibre can help reduce your risk of bowel cancer.
Stir-fries are a simple way to turn a variety of vegies into a quick and colourful dinner.
Our stir-fry vegetables provide three serves of vegetables per portion and can be ready in under 20 minutes, perfect for nights when you’re short on time. They’re also easy to adapt depending on what’s available in your fridge.
Use-it-up tip: Try broccoli, carrot, capsicum, snow peas, zucchini, mushrooms or cabbage. Mixing different coloured vegies also brings a variety of vitamins to your plate.
Make it a meal: Add a source of protein such as cashew nuts, tofu or leftover roast chicken and serve with brown rice or noodles.
Reduce waste: Don’t throw away the broccoli stem! Slice it into sticks for a nutritious and crunchy addition to the stir fry.
Vegies in a sweet snack? Absolutely! These colourful beetroot and spinach bliss balls are a fun and unexpected way to include beetroot and spinach in your day.
Made with dates, beetroot, baby spinach, rolled oats, chia seeds and coconut, they’re naturally sweet, require no cooking and take just 10 minutes to prepare.
Make-ahead tip: Make a batch and keep them in the freezer so you have an easy snack ready to go.
Nutrition tip: These bliss balls are packed full of fibre from the dates, rolled oats and chia seeds. Fibre is good for your gut.
Kitchen tip: Beetroot can stain hands and benchtops, so protect your work surface and wear gloves when grating it.
Eating more vegies doesn’t have to mean completely changing the way you eat. Small additions and swaps can help you add extra vegies to meals you already enjoy.
Here are five simple ideas to try:
➕ Add one more vegie to dinner
Look at what you’re already cooking and think about where you could add another vegie. Try frozen peas in pasta, grated carrot in mince, spinach in curries or extra vegetables in a stir-fry.
🔪 Prep vegies before you need them
Wash and chop vegies ahead of time and store them in the fridge. Having them ready to go makes it easier to add them to meals or grab them for a quick snack.
🍽️ Cook once, eat twice
Roasting vegies for dinner? Make an extra tray. Leftover roasted vegetables can be added to salads, wraps or lunches the next day.
🥫 Keep canned and frozen vegetables handy
Fresh isn’t your only option. Keeping frozen and canned vegetables on hand means you can add vegies to meals even when the fridge is looking a little bare.
Looking for inspiration? Try our healthy recipes using canned fruit and vegetables.
♻️ Use up what you already have
Before heading to the shops, check what’s already in your fridge. Stir-fries, pasta dishes, salads and other flexible meals are great opportunities to use vegetables before they go to waste.
Eating more vegies doesn’t need to be complicated. Start with one small change, whether that’s adding an extra vegie to dinner, keeping frozen vegies on hand for busy nights or trying vegies in a completely new way.
From colourful stir-fries and fresh salads to easy family dinners and even sweet snacks, there are plenty of tasty ways to get more vegies into your day.
Ready for more inspiration? Explore our collection of healthy, tasty recipes and find your next favourite.
© Cancer Council NSW 2024 Head Office Address: 153 Dowling Street, Woolloomooloo NSW 2011. Cancer Council NSW is registered with the Australian Taxation Office as an Income Tax Exempt Charity: Charitable Fundraising Authority No. 18521.
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