How to eat more vegetables

Why it usually falls apart

Eating more vegetables usually fails because it means cooking new things. New recipes take planning and effort, and on a tired evening the old meal wins. The habit sticks when vegetables are added to meals you already make, and when they are already washed and ready. Most guidelines recommend several portions a day, and the UK's well-known target is five portions of fruit and vegetables.

How to eat more vegetables

1. Add to what you already eat

   Spinach in pasta sauce, peppers in eggs, frozen peas in rice. Adding one vegetable to a familiar meal is easier than a new recipe.

2. Buy frozen

   Frozen vegetables are cheap, keep for months and are just as nutritious. There is no waste and no chopping.

3. Prep once, eat all week

   Wash and chop vegetables on Sunday and keep them in the fridge. Ready to eat gets eaten.

4. Start the meal with them

   Have a salad or vegetables first, when you are hungriest. It also makes the rest of the meal more filling.

5. Snack on them

   Carrots, cucumber and cherry tomatoes with hummus are easy snacks. Keep them at eye level in the fridge.

6. Try one new one a week

   Variety helps. One new vegetable a week, roasted with olive oil and salt, is usually a winner.

What to track

Track the smallest version you would still count on your worst day. A row you can clear when tired is a row you keep:

• Vegetable with lunch
• Vegetable with dinner
• Vegetable snack

Print a tracker with these 3 habits or open them in a spreadsheet.

Your first week

1. Day 1. Buy two bags of frozen vegetables.
2. Day 2. Add a vegetable to tonight's dinner.
3. Day 3. Wash and chop vegetables for the next few days.
4. Day 4. Have a vegetable snack in the afternoon.
5. Day 5. Start dinner with a side salad.
6. Day 6. Try one new vegetable, roasted.
7. Day 7. Count the days you had vegetables twice.