veg power
We all know that vegetables are important. Every parent wants the best for their children, and to give them the best start to a healthy life. But raising healthy kids is hard, even harder if you are short of time, feeling the squeeze of the cost of living, or facing other challenges. So we’ve partnered with Sainsbury’s Great Fruit & Veg Challenge to help you to get your kids eating more veg.
We all know that vegetables are important. Every parent wants the best for their children, and to give them the best start to a healthy life. But raising healthy kids is hard, even harder if you are short of time, feeling the squeeze of the cost of living, or facing other challenges. So we’ve partnered with Sainsbury’s Great Fruit & Veg Challenge to help you to get your kids eating more veg.
eat more veg
Are you struggling to get your kids to eat vegetables?
Simply Veg from Veg Power is packed full of tips, advice and fun to make it as easy as possible for you to serve affordable veg-packed meals that your family will love. Our experts are here to help you understand what vegetables your children naturally prefer, how to reduce your food waste, how to improve your family’s favourite meals in small steps and what to do if your kids simply don’t like veg.
Getting started
Are your children eating little or no veg? Are you desperate for them to eat more, or at least eat a wider variety? We’re here to help. To get you started please watch this short video of top tips from leading nutritionists, famous chefs and a child food psychologist.
Need help putting those steps into action? Check out Launch in Veg our new online programme specifically designed to help parents whose children eat little or no vegetables.
Reducing food waste
How much food do you think we waste in the UK? How much money does the average household lose in food waste? Check out our short video about the impact of food waste.
We want more veg to go from plates to bellies, not bins. It saves you money, helps food go further, and helps the environment, too! For top tips and advice on reducing food waste in your home from nutritionist Charlotte Radcliffe RNtr. and eco-chef Tom Hunt.
Understanding preferences
Like you, your children will have their own natural preferences – some prefer sweet flavours, while others enjoy bitter, some prefer crunchy, others soft, cooked foods. The very first step to supporting your child when it comes to eating vegetables is to understand what veg they naturally prefer. Expert Kim Smith explain more and step you up for success.
more tips
Here’s more helpful advice, tips and fun from our experts.
Portions
Ever found yourself confused by “5-a-day”?
Is it important? Is it affordable? What even counts? Why does it matter? We’ve enlisted some expert advice from registered nutritionists Jenny Rosborough.
Plus download our handy portion guide.
Veg on a budget
When your food budget is tight, adding anything in, especially something that might be rejected, can be a daunting task.
Eating more veg can cost more, but in the long run can actually save you money, as well as improving the health of your family. Here are some tips from a few of our experts.
Eat the Rainbow
Eating the rainbow is an easy and fun way for your family to understand what vegetables they should be eating.
But why bother? Consuming lots of different coloured vegetables means getting a wide range of vitamins and minerals, essential for all of us, but especially for growing kids! Find out more from expert Dr Laura Wyness RNtr.
Supporting Neurodiversity
What if your child is neurodiverse?
Perhaps they have autism or struggle with hypersensitivity in some form. We know that convincing them to try new foods, particularly veg, can present challenges.
We enlisted the help of neurodiversity expert David Rex RD to give you some extra help and support for your family.
Eat with the seasons
Domestically-produced in-season vegetables are generally cheaper, tastier and fresher.
They are almost universally kinder to the environment and, of course, they support British farming and our rural communities. What’s not to love? Expert and Veg Power supporter Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall shows you how to get started.1 pack provided per child.
Check out and download our handy guide to seasonal veg.
engaging kids
Kids who first engage with veg are more likely to end up eating them.
Engaging through everything from arts & crafts to senses and cooking are great, simple ways to encourage children to view vegetables positively and increase the likelihood of them putting those veggies in their mouths! We have sensory education experts from TastEd, the Gastronaut himself Stefan Gates doing wacky science, and many more experts to guide you through making veg fun!
kids in the kitchen
One of the best ways to develop a love of veg in kids is to get them involved in the prep.
Not only is cooking an essential life skill for kids to learn, but it’s a great, fun way to get them engaging with healthy foods! It doesn’t have to be difficult (or stressful) – we’ve enlisted some experts to walk you through cooking with kids, the simple way.
Why not download and learn our Kitchen Ninja skills?
serving for success
Serving for success is about putting an end to battles around mealtimes and turning them instead into positive experiences.
We have a leading expert in child psychology, Dr Clare, Holley, who specialises in how to get children eating more vegetables sharing her top tips, including the “Three R’s”: role modelling, rewarding and re-offering. These principles are the foundational ones proven to get veg from plates to bellies.
get fresh with frozen
Save time and waste with frozen vegetables.
Using frozen veg as best you can, whether you have a large freezer or just a shelf in the fridge, can save you money and waste, cost less than fresh, and be a fuss-free way to introduce kids slowly to small amounts of new veggies. Charlotte Radcliffe, nutritionist on our expert panel, walks you through how to make the most of frozen veg.
THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF VEG
Check out our vegepedia. When to buy in-season. How to store them to keep for longer. How to engage children with each veg, and simple ideas of how to prepare and cook them for maximum taste and minimum waste. Select a veg…
Do you have a question you’d like one of our experts to help you with?
SIMPLY VEG
Need to get your kids eating more veg?
Our only goal is to help parents and carers serve up affordable, simple food their families will love. We know that takes more than a few recipes, so we've got all the hacks and advice you'll need. Join now. It's 100% free and 100% simple.
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