Media North / Hinds Spices / Aug 2026 / In-Image AI
How to sneak vegetables into your winter comfort foods
Winter has a funny way of changing our relationship with food.
Suddenly, a bowl of cold salad doesn't sound quite as exciting. Breakfast becomes toast and tea. Lunch calls for something warm and filling, while dinner is all about soups, stews, curries, pasta and anything else that can be eaten straight from a steaming bowl.
And somewhere between the first cold morning and the last chilly evening, the vegetables seem to disappear.
It's not that South Africans suddenly stop liking vegetables. When the temperature drops, we simply start craving food that feels comforting, hearty and easy and vegetables can end up being the first thing pushed to the side.
The problem is that this happens against an already challenging nutritional backdrop.
According to South Africa's National Nutrition Week, adults consume an average of around 230g of fruit and vegetables a day, just 58% of the internationally recommended 400g.
So, if vegetables are already struggling to make it onto the plate, winter can make matters worse.
But here's the good news: you don't have to choose between comfort food and eating your greens.
You just need to sneak the greens into the comfort food.
Your winter breakfast needs an upgrade
Let's be honest: on a freezing morning, nobody wants to spend 30 minutes preparing an elaborate breakfast.
Toast is quick. Cereal is quick. A rusk dipped into tea? Even quicker.
This is where a little weekend preparation can save the day.
A vegetable egg bake or frittata can be prepared on a Sunday, sliced into portions and kept in the fridge for busy mornings. Come Monday, all you need to do is heat it up and get on with your day.
Add broccoli, cheese and your favourite vegetables to whisked eggs and bake until set.
Tenderstem, broccoli works particularly well because the whole vegetable can be used, from the florets to the stem, without much preparation.
In other words, less chopping, less fuss and fewer excuses.
Your curry has room for greens
Winter is curry season. It is soup season. It is stew season.
So why not let your vegetables join the party?
Instead of making a completely separate vegetable dish, add quick-cooking greens to meals that are already on the stove.
Broccoli can be added to a curry during the final few minutes of cooking, stirred into soup or placed alongside a roast for the last few minutes in the oven.
You could even sneak a few green stems into a toasted cheese sandwich.
Yes, broccoli in a toasted sandwich.
Try it before judging.
The idea is simple: don't create more work for yourself. Make vegetables part of what you're already cooking.
The secret is making the healthy choice easy
When you're cold, hungry and tired after a long day, convenience wins.
That is why the answer to eating more vegetables in winter may not be about having more willpower. It could simply be about making vegetables easier to prepare and easier to add to everyday meals.
Tenderstem broccoli cooks in around three to five minutes and can be used whole. An 80g serving counts towards one of the recommended five portions of fruit and vegetables a day and provides vitamin C and folate, which contribute to normal immune function. It also provides fibre, potassium and vitamin B6.
“People do not stop caring about nutrition in winter. They choose food that feels warm, filling and manageable,” said Elise Ruddle, chef and nutritionist and South African brand representative for Tenderstem.
“The easiest way to keep vegetables on the menu is to build them into those familiar meals rather than treating them as a separate side dish.”
And perhaps that's the real winter vegetable hack.
You don't need to give up the creamy soup, the hearty curry or the comforting toasted sandwich. You just need to find a way to make room for something green.
Because winter may be the season for comfort food, but that doesn't mean broccoli has to hibernate.
Three comforting winter recipes to put vegetables back on the plate
If winter is going to bring comfort food, vegetables may as well come along for the ride.
From creamy samp to a warming curry-inspired soup and a golden tray bake, these three recipes show that adding more vegetables doesn't have to mean giving up the foods that make winter worth looking forward to.