Vegies a delight for body

Heather Curran extols the virtues of fresh fruit to Ava Williams and Lilly Walsh.

Ren Lanzon GLARENS

SOME of these vegetables may taste yuck and children won't eat them.

But they are full of antioxidants and are very good for little people - and their mums and dads, too.

Unfortunately some of the widely available ones are in the cabbage family such as broccoli and brussels sprouts.

Part of the problem with the taste of cooked vegetables is that they are sometimes overcooked.

In Asian cooking, the vegetables are lightly cooked and retain much more of the flavour as well as the health benefits.

Of course the best source of antioxidants in a meal are fresh, raw vegetable, but better still if they are organically grown.

The good news is that, although the cabbage family is a good source of antioxidants but with a taste that doesn't suit all, there are delicious berries and fruits that even the fussiest person will happily eat.

In Gladstone we are lucky to have access to locally grown mangoes and pawpaws, oranges, watermelons, as well as rockmelons, and a range of berries and cold climate fruits up from the south.

Also many kids don't mind a raw carrot and corn, raw or cooked, always goes down well.

Antioxidant foods

These are some of the best...

Fruits: blueberries, red grapes, oranges, mangoes, grapefruit, rockmelons, watermelons, prunes, pawpaws, apricots

Vegetables: spinach, sweet potatoes, carrot, garlic, beets, eggplants, cauliflowers, cabbages, brussels sprouts, corn, tomatoes, capsicum