More than just a snack: Simone van Breda on making vegetables count

The holiday period has come to an end, and with it probably the cucumber season. But before it is officially over, it is worth looking back at a relevant article that appeared in de Volkskrant this summer.

For the article, Simone was interviewed about snack vegetables such as cherry tomatoes, mini peppers and cucumbers. How healthy are they really? And does it matter whether you eat them in between meals or as part of a meal?

The good news is that snack vegetables are every bit as much vegetables as their larger counterparts. They provide fibre, micronutrients and a range of vitamins, minerals and bioactive compounds. So yes, those handfuls of cherry tomatoes or slices of cucumber definitely count.

At the same time, there is some important nuance. How and when we eat vegetables also matters. Vegetables consumed as part of a main meal contribute to satiety and slower digestion, which can influence blood glucose responses and how quickly hunger returns. Food preparation and meal composition can also affect how nutrients are absorbed. Cooking, for example, can make some compounds easier to absorb, while dietary fats can enhance the uptake of fat-soluble compounds such as β-carotene.

This means that a handful of cherry tomatoes during the day is best seen as an addition rather than a substitute for the vegetables at dinner. Variety is important too. Different colours and types of vegetables provide different combinations of vitamins, minerals and bioactive compounds. Simply reaching 250 grams of vegetables with tomatoes alone therefore does not capture the full benefits of a varied diet.

Still, this should not take away from the value of snack vegetables. Vegetable intake in the Netherlands remains below recommendations, and snack vegetables offer a convenient way to increase consumption — particularly when they replace less healthy snacks. This can be especially useful for children, for whom every extra moment of eating vegetables is a bonus.

So, are snack vegetables healthy? Absolutely — but they are part of the bigger picture. Healthy eating is about more than reaching a certain number of grams. Diversity, timing, preparation and the rest of the diet all matter.

As Simone concluded in the Volkskrant article: “Eating vegetables is always better than eating no vegetables at all.”

Source: The Volkskrant