Have You Eaten Vegetables Today? Stats Say Only 3% Of You Have, So Let Us Help

If you're a male between 18 and 24, there's a 99 per cent chance you don't eat enough vegetables daily.

It's no real surprise that statistics have found Australians aren't getting enough vegetables in their body. With most of our go-to comfort meals being pizza and pasta (surely, this isn't just me), getting in four to six servings of vegetables is a pretty huge task.

But the statistics are reminding us just how dire our eating habits are.

According to the National Health Survey conducted a few years ago, only about 3.2 per cent those aged between 18 and 24 consumed the right amount of vegetables each day. When broken down further, the survey found that 0.9 per cent of those males had the recommended daily intake of vegetables compared with 6.7 per cent of females.

In case that isn't clear enough, there is one male aged 18 to 24 in a group of 100 consuming a recommended intake of vegetables. Damn, Ron Swanson.

So, in order to make you reconsider some of your eating choices, we spoke to Hannah Brown, a dietitian and PhD Candidate at the University of Newcastle, to figure out how to up our veggie game.

First off, Hannah explains that vegetables are our true 'superfoods' and every body needs them to function well. Without them, bodies...

"They contain many important nutrients to keep our bodies healthy and working well, such as potassium, fibre and many vitamins," she explains.

"Most vegetables are also generally quite low in calories and fat, which assists with weight maintenance."

Now that you get how important our little vitamin-packed friends are, how can we integrate them into more of our meals? Let us learn you a thing or two.

1. Veggies shouldn't be a chore.

While some of us do feel like preparing and cooking vegetables is a bit of hassle, it shouldn't be that way at all.

"They should just be part of your everyday routine, such as brushing your teeth, because they are that important," Hannah says.

"Buy frozen and canned vegetables so that you always have some on hand when you're preparing meals—frozen veg are just as good for you as fresh."

2. Find your veggie.

If you feel like you hate most vegetables, it could be just because you haven't found your veggie yet. 

"If you hate broccoli and Brussels sprouts, you don't have to eat them," Hannah admits.

"There are plenty more delicious vegetables out there to try so eat the ones that you like and eat them often."

In fact, while we wouldn't usually consider foods like legumes (chickpeas, kidney beans, et cetera) as vegetables, Hannah explains that they count as part of your vegetable intake too and can be added to spaghetti dishes and nachos.

3. Veggies aren't just a 'dinner' thing.

Another misconception is that veggies are something to be eaten at dinnertime, after a long day of eating lots of non-vegetables. Hannah dismisses this idea completely.

"Put some spinach in your breakfast omelette and serve with grilled tomato; pack salad onto your lunchtime sandwich," Hannah suggests.

"You're already on your way to reaching your veg intake for the day!"

So, remember next time you're feeling lazy and you decide to order a pizza, get the one with four serves of veggies on it or steam some veggies as a side dish.

And DO. NOT. FORGET.

Header Image: 20th Century Fox