Vegetable discipline

Last night Ms Haribo was preparing swede fajitas, courtesy of her Abel & Cole box. Each week they send her organic in season vegetables and then she bases her meals around them that week ... hence the swede fajitas!!

Personally I find that a British only vegetable box over the winter months can get a bit repetitive so I don't get one, but the plus side is it does get you to eat vegetables that you might not ordinarily try.

The fact is that vegetables are the most health giving food available to us (in my opinion refined sugar is the most harmful) so we should be trying to eat as many vegetables as possible.

However it's also important to remember that they all have different health properties .. the brassica family (cabbage, broccoli, brussel sprouts) has super cancer fighting properties, the capsaicin family (chillies, peppers) have anti-inflammatory properties, the allium family (garlic & onions) have blood thinning properties, cabbages have restorative properties for the gut, red and orange vegetables are excellent for the skin ... the list goes on.

And as with so much in nature there is just so much we don't know when it comes to the health benefits of vegetables, so maybe next year the latest thing will be to eat as much swede as we can get our hands on!!

The point is that one of the simplest and most important investments you can make in your health is to eat five portions of vegetables a day (add your fruit on top) and to choose different vegetables whenever possible. It's actually not that difficult to put in practice:

- when you're doing your weekly shop, buy a vegetable you didn't buy last time and learn a new recipe to prepare it with

- once you've grasped that, try not buying any of the same vegetables as last time

- over winter when there isn't much in season explore the freezer section and pick up a different bag of veg each time, the range of frozen veg available has really increased

- incorporate vegetables into snacks - carrots and hummous are a favourite of mine, but there are plenty of options - mashed avocado on toast, different vegetable crudites (carrot, celery, pepper, baby corn, mange tout), home made salsa with tomatoes and onions, sweet potato wedges

- always order a side order of vegetables or salad when you eat out and rotate what you order, you might be surprised what you enjoy if it's prepared properly