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National Eat Your Veggies Day

We’re celebrating National Eat Your Veggies Day at Dandenong Market on Wednesday 17 June to promote the importance of vegetables in your daily diet.

Shockingly, only 7% of Aussie adults and 5% of kids meet the recommended intake of five serves per day.

The proper consumption of veggies might seem like a big ask but we promise you don’t have to eat five bowls of broccoli a day! A balanced diet consisting of the right nutrients can better your mental and physical health and vastly improve your overall wellbeing.

Vegetables can be super fun to eat too. Although you might think they’re rabbit food or strictly for the vegetarian fitspo influencers clogging up your Instagram feed, veggies are an easy addition to your daily diet that we encourage you to experiment with in the kitchen.

What do five serves of the good stuff look like, you ask? We’ve put together six delicious recipes that will help you reach your daily veggie goal over breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Don’t forget you can snack on things like carrots and celery throughout the day to stay on the right track. We eat ours with some of King of Falafel’s hummus – it’s to die for!

And here at Dandenong Market, we have 15 fabulous fruiters offering the freshest produce at the best price any given Market day.

See below for more information!

 

Breakfast

  1. Green goodness breakfast smoothie

A simple way of increasing your vegetable intake during the first, and arguably most important meal of the day, is by adding leafy greens to your tasty morning smoothie. Leafy greens such as kale and spinach are high in a vitamins A, C and K and are also rich in iron. They have great health benefits too; hello improved liver function and immune support!

Check out this scrumptious recipe below:

Serves two

Ingredients

1.5 cups apple juice

2 cups stemmed and chopped spinach OR kale

1 apple, cored and chopped

½ avocado chopped

 

Method

Add all ingredients to a blender and whizz until desired consistency is reached.

 

  1. Vegetable omelette

Whether you’re making a mess in the kitchen or checking out the menu at a local café, a vegetarian omelette is a great way to kick start your day – plus it’s full of delicious and nutritious veggies that will help build up your intake for the day.

So, keep it clean and whisk together your favourite healthy treats with some of Triple Q Farm’s eggs!

Check out the recipe below:

Serves one

Ingredients

2 large eggs

1/4 cup red or green capsicum, chopped

1/4 cup mushrooms, chopped

1 cup cherry tomatoes, chopped

1/2 cup spinach, stemmed and chopped

Salt and Pepper to taste

 

Method

Prepare spinach, capsicum, 1/2 tomatoes and onions; mix together and set aside.

 

Beat eggs together, add chopped vegetables and mix well.

 

Pour eggs into a pan on medium-high heat and cook until edges are brown, approximately 2-3 minutes

 

Flip omelette over and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes.

 

Sprinkle salt and pepper over top and serve with half cup of tomatoes.

 

Lunch

 

  1. Zucchini quesadillas

Replacing meat with vegetables, beans or peas in your meal is one way to slowly increase the amount of good stuff you’re eating every day. Take a classic chicken quesadilla – a fan favourite. Try mixing it up every now and then by adding zucchini and white beans. Just because there’s no meat doesn’t mean you’re eating less.

If you can’t bear the thought of missing out on meat, simply add more veggies to your meal or try a meatier vegetable like eggplant or mushrooms.

Check out the zucchini quesadilla recipe below:

Serves four

Ingredients

A medium zucchini, diced small

1 brown onion, diced finely

1 can of beans of choice

½ teaspoon cumin

1 tablespoon oil

½ teaspoon chilli powder

1.5 cups shredded cheddar

½ teaspoon dried parsley (optional)

1/3 cup salsa

6 flour or corn tortillas

 

Method

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees.

Dice the onion and zucchini into small pieces. Drain the beans and rinse under running water.

Heat the oil in a pan and add zucchini, onion, beans, cumin, chilli powder and parsley if desired. Cook until the zucchini and onion soften.

Add half of the cheese and cook until melted.

To assemble the quesadillas, place three tortillas on a non-stick baking sheet. Spread each one with filling, salsa, cheese, and other tortillas. Bake until tortillas are crisp, and cheese has melted.

Cut into quarters and serve.

  1. Spiced pumpkin soup

As we head into winter, there is nothing better than a bowl of piping hot soup – as long as you don’t burn the roof of your mouth! More importantly, vegetable soups are perfect for keeping your immunity levels high and keeping you healthy.

So, tuck into a mouth-watering pumpkin soup that will warm you from the inside out!

Serves eight

Ingredients

500g firm pumpkin, peeled and cubed

1 ¼ tablespoons of oil

2 teaspoons buterr

1 large onion, chopped

2 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 carrots, diced

1 teaspoon ground ginger

4 cups (1 litre) chicken stock

1 cup (250ml) milk

½ teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon honey

Salt

 

Method

Place oil and butter in a large pot and allow to heat.

Add pumpkin, onion, potatoes, carrots, paprika, and cinnamon.

Toss together over low heat for five minutes. Add stock, milk, honey, paprika and salt to taste.

Bring to a boil, half cover and simmer until vegetables are soft.

Let cool and puree until smooth

Adjust seasoning if required and reheat over low heat, stirring.

Serve topped with a garnish of choice

 

Dinner

  1. Chickpea, pumpkin and eggplant curry

Indian curries are a great way to increase your daily veggie intake as many followers of the Hindu faith choose to follow a vegetarian-based diet.

Warm and hearty, this delicious curry will fill you up with its mixture of plant-based proteins and meatier veggies.

Feed your stomach and your soul on your way to a day of veggie-filled delight.

See the recipe below:

Serves four

Ingredients

1 brown onion, diced

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 medium eggplant, diced

500g diced pumpkin

1 x 400gm canned chickpeas

2 tablespoons curry paste

1 teaspoon salt-reduced chicken stock

1½ cups water

165ml reduced-fat coconut-flavoured evaporated milk

 

Method

In a non-stick frypan on medium heat add oil, onion, pumpkin and eggplant. Cook for 5 minutes stirring occasionally.

Add curry paste and cook for further 2 minutes.

Then add chickpeas, water and stock.

Stir in coconut milk and simmer for a further 2 minutes.

Garnish with coriander.

  1. Miguel Maestre’s ricotta and mushroom upside-down cannelloni

Another meaty vegetable variety is the mushroom. They come in all shapes and sizes and contain many important B vitamins that help our bodies function at their best.

Miguel’s mushroom cannelloni is a meal perfect for a cold winters night and incorporates some hidden veggie gems. Check it out today!

See recipe below:

Serves four

Ingredients

6 fresh lasagna sheets

½ cup Mozzarella cheese, shredded

Freshly grated Manchego or Parmesan cheese, for serving (optional)

FILLING

200 g white cup mushrooms, cooked (1x punnet)

100 g spinach

300 g ricotta cheese

1 egg

50 g grated Parmesan or Manchego cheese

Pinch nutmeg or cinnamon

½ tsp salt

3 garlic cloves, minced

½ lemon, zested and juiced

Black pepper, to taste

TOMATO SAUCE

2 tbsp olive oil

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 tbsp butter

1 punnet cherry heirloom tomatoes

500 ml passata

Handful basil leaves

Salt, to taste

Black pepper, to taste

 

Method

Preheat oven to 180C (fan forced).

Heat 1 tbsp oil and butter in an ovenproof large baking dish or pan over medium heat and sauté mushrooms till golden. After a couple of minutes, turn off the heat and add the spinach, stirring to combine. The spinach will cook using the residual heat. Set the mushroom and spinach mix aside for the filling.

Add the second tbsp of oil and butter in the same pan on a medium heat. Add the garlic and tomatoes and sauté till the tomatoes blister. Keep stirring the garlic so it doesn’t burn. Add passata and simmer for 2 minutes to bring the flavours together, then remove from heat and add basil.

To make the filling, add the cooked mushrooms and filling ingredients in a large bowl and mix well to combine using your hands. Season with salt and pepper.

To assemble, lay out the lasagna sheet with the shorter end in front of you.

Place a generous handful of filling onto the lasagna sheet. Using a brush or your fingers, dab some water on the end furthest away from you, then roll up starting from the end closest to you. Finish with the seal down.

Roll them up so they are about 3 times thicker than an average cannelloni size.

Continue with remaining lasagna sheets. Then, cut them into sections (like mini rolls), approx. 3cm high.

Spoon the tomato sauce onto the base of the baking dish. Place the rolls around the base so they’re standing close together and spoon a little of the extra sauce over the top.

Bake for 20 minutes, remove from oven and scatter with mozzarella. Return to oven for 10 minutes or until the cheese is bubbly and golden.

Finish with more fresh basil leaves.

Let stand for 5 minutes before serving.

 

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