Vegetables are the perfect snack food. Including veges as snacks gets you closer to your daily target of vegetable serves. And the best thing? You can eat as many veges as you like!
1. Juice it up
Try juicing tomatoes, carrots or beetroot. If you’re short on time, check out vege juices at the supermarket.
2. Pita pizzas
Halve a pita bread and top with tomato paste, chopped veges, grated cheese and grill. Mushroom, capsicum and tomatoes work well.
3. Beetroot salad
Canned beetroot chunks, chopped walnuts, crumbled feta cheese and a little balsamic vinegar makes a quick, colourful salad.
4. Stuffed potatoes
Bake potatoes, halve and fill with creamed corn. Great hot or cold.
5. Vegetable soup
Whether homemade or bought, vege soup is a great snack.
6. Corn wheels
Cut corn cobs in thick slices and add to a snack platter or kids’ lunchboxes.
7. Picked onions, mushrooms and gherkins
Keep pickled veges on hand and serve on skewers with small chunks of cheese.
8. Savoury muffin
Whip up savoury muffins using grated courgette, corn kernels, spinach or other leftover cooked veges. Freeze muffins individually to grab for lunches and snacks at a later date.
9. Vegetable dips
Our favourite combinations? Pumpkin and chickpea, bean and capsicum, and pea and parmesan. Blend cooked veges in a food processor, season and chill. Serve with pita crisps.
10. Ants on a log
Fill a celery stick with peanut butter and dot with raisins. Kids love this.
11. Vegetable sticks
Cut raw carrots, celery and cucumber in sticks and serve with your favourite hummus or dip. Cut lots up at once and keep in the fridge for easy snacking.
12. Caprese on a stick
Skewers of buffalo mozzarella cheese, cherry tomatoes and basil, seasoned with salt, pepper and olive oil, are a fun twist on this Italian classic.
13. Cucumber cups
Slice cucumber in 2cm rings, partially hollow out and fill with cottage cheese.
14. Asparagus rolls
Cut crusts off bread then spread with avocado, diagonally place cooked/canned asparagus spears and roll up.
15. Cucumber crostini
Use cucumber slices in place of bread and top with smoked salmon.
16. Edamame
Served as whole pods, these immature soybeans make a delicious snack. Find them in the frozen section at supermarkets (in pods), ready to eat after a few minutes in the microwave.
17. Courgette chips
Dip courgette slices in egg and coat in seasoned flour or breadcrumbs and bake (turn once) until brown and crispy.
18. Corn fritters
Revisit this Kiwi favourite. Add a can of creamed corn to your supermarket shop.
19. Marinated baby carrots
Make the marinade with chopped onion, white vinegar, oil, condensed tomato soup and sugar. Coat the just-cooked carrots in the marinade and keep in the refrigerator. Serve cold.
20. Chilli chips
Cut firm, ripe mango, carrot and cucumber in chips the size of potato fries, toss in a little lime juice and dust with a teaspoon of chilli powder and salt to taste.
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