nutrition

National Nutrition Week by Nutrition Australia is on from the 10th to 17th October, and this year Life Education Queensland and Healthy Eats are getting behind the ‘Try for 5’ theme aimed at encouraging Australian families to add more vegetables to their diet.

Packed full of essential vitamins, minerals and fibre, veggies are essential in supporting healthy growth and development in children but… we also know it isn’t always easy to get kids to eat them.

The stats speak for themselves. Did you know in Queensland in 2020, just 4.6 per cent of children met their daily recommended vegetable intake? And in 2019, only 8 per cent of adults met their daily recommended veggie intake.

So, to pump up those numbers we’ve come up with a great list of yummy kid-approved vegetable snacks to boost that veggie intake toward the recommended 5 veggie serves a day.

Easy, tasty veggie snacks in less than 15 minutes

Ants on a log – celery sticks filled with cream cheese with sultanas placed on top.
Cherry tomato halves in a small container.
Toast with baked beans and cheese.
Vegetable sticks and dip. Cut up carrot, celery, capsicum, cucumber and serve with a small container of homemade or store-bought salsa, hummus, tzatziki or reduced-fat cream cheese.
Leftover baked vegetables in a cup.
Vegetable stacks – slices of cucumber or carrot with cream cheese filling.
Cucumber and tomato slices.
Wholegrain crackers topped with cheese and tomato or cucumber.
Rice cake with avocado, cheese and salads e.g. grated lettuce, grated carrot.

Veggie snacks in less than 30 minutes

Cooked corn on the cob – add herbs or spices for flavour.
Vegetable pikelets – add grated zucchini, corn or carrot into pikelet batter. Spread with ricotta. Serve warm as an afternoon snack or cold in the lunchbox.
Lightly fried mixed vegetables with herbs.
Pizza muffins – spread pizza sauce on a toasted English muffin, top with cheese and a variety of vegetables e.g. cooked mushrooms and capsicum, then grill. Serve hot as an after-school snack or cold in the lunchbox.

Veggie snacks in less than 45 minutes

Rice paper rolls – try tofu, grated carrot, shredded lettuce and vermicelli rice noodles.
Pumpkin and cheese scones – add boiled, pureed pumpkin and grated parmesan cheese to a scone mix.
Potato salad – combine chopped boiled potatoes with mayonnaise, egg and peas.
Vegetable chips – slice potato, sweet potato and zucchini, coat lightly with olive oil and bake.
Zucchini slice – mix eggs, flour, grated cheese and grated zucchini together and bake until set.
Roasted chickpeas – drain a can of chickpeas, rinse and pat dry. Coat chickpeas with olive oil and bake on a tray until crispy. Sprinkle with spices (e.g. cumin, paprika).