They are your life: Important vegetables for kids and babies

Tomato

• It’s hard to imagine, but when Europeans first saw tomato, they thought it might be poisonous. In fact, they are highly nutritious and sweetly delicious due to their natural sugars – sucrose and fructose.
• Tomato the richest source of lycopene, a carotenoid that scientists think could be important for the health of the prostate gland in men. The riper, the more lycopene have.
• Tomato is a good source of vitamin C (cherry tomatoes have even more vitamin C) and it supply some vitamin E, folate and dietary fibre.
• Cherry tomatoes that are deep red in colour are also a source of beta carotene.
• 100g has 65-75 kJ.

Select those which are bright red for immediate use, and pale pink for future use.

Ripen it at room temperature until they are brightly coloured and slightly soft. Refrigerating tomato before they are ripe will reduce our flavour and ability to ripen to our full potential. It can be refrigerated once ripe but it should be left at room temperature for an hour before using.

Whether you choose the baby cherry tomato, egg-shaped (Roma), vine-ripened or the so-called ordinary round ones, they are a versatile food and can be used in a great many recipes. Even unripe green tomatoes are delicious when cooked.

Eat it raw after washing and removing the stem end. There is no need to peel it unless stated in the recipe, but if required simply dip it in boiling water for 1-2 minutes until skin splits, or peel it with a small sharp knife from stem end down.

Use it raw in salads, juice, sandwiches. Bake, stew, pan-fry, barbecue, microwave, stuff, puree and serve as a vegetable, in sauces, soups, pizza, omelettes, casseroles, with meat, chicken and fish and even in cakes.

Carrot • Carrots are the reason why the whole family of brightly coloured compounds in foods were called carotenoids – they are such a rich source, especially of beta carotene. Carrots bodies can convert beta carotene to vitamin A. Vitamin A helps with night vision - that’s why children are told to eat carrot so they will be able to see in the dark!

• With many vegetables cooking destroys some of their vitamins, but you can absorb more beta carotene from cooked carrots than from raw ones. If you prefer to eat it raw, that’s fine because even one of us has two day’s supply of beta carotene. Baby carrots have even higher levels.
• They are sweetly delicious whether we’re old or young because they have some natural sugars, but younger carrots have more folate, one of the B vitamins which may help prevent birth defects in babies.
• They are a really good source of dietary fiber.
• 100g carrots has 130 kJ.

To pick the best carrot select bright-coloured, firm, well-shaped roots. When their tops are still attached, look for fresh, green leaves. Avoid any of that are dry, wilted, shrivelled, soft or split.

Refrigerate in a plastic bag or store in the vegetable crisper.

They are best washed, removing top and tail and eaten raw, skin and all. Carrot sticks are great for school snacks, with dips, in salads, or pureed as a healthy fresh drink.

Stir-fry, boil, steam, microwave, about 4-8 minutes, depending on the size and quantity.