Inspection Service: you’re being duped by vegetable wraps and vegetable crisps

Chickpea macaroni, lentil crisps and carrot tortillas – all supposedly extra healthy because they’re made with vegetables. Or is it actually different? De Keuringsdienst van Waarde delved into the world of hidden vegetables – and they were in for a disappointment.

‘My husband is always complaining, but he has no idea that he’s eating spaghetti made from sweet potatoes instead of regular spaghetti,’ a customer service employee cheerfully tells Sofie from De Keuringsdienst van Waarde. That’s the idea behind these vegetable products: people who don’t like eating vegetables, or who struggle to reach the recommended 250 grams a day, can sneak some extra vegetables into their diet this way. Healthy, right? And convenient?

Attractive

De Keuringsdienst speaks to the inventor of the vegetable wrap, someone who works in Knorr’s Research & Development department. His wrap consists of 35 percent vegetables, which works out to around 22 grams per wrap. You’ve already got that in the bag. ‘Vegetables are healthy,’ says Jaap Seidell, professor of Nutrition and Health at Vrije Universiteit. ‘They contain thousands of different bioactive substances. What’s more, they have a lot of volume because they consist of water, fibre and nutrients, and very few calories. That also makes them such an attractive part of our diet.’

Pink pasta

The professor has a bit of a laugh at the vegetable crisps, vegetable sweets, vegetable wraps, vegetable pancake mix and other vegetable products. ‘I sometimes call it decoy vegetables,’ he says. He takes a critical look at the labels, and what does it turn out? There isn’t nearly as much vegetable in them as claimed. A little beetroot powder to colour pasta pinkish red, a little carrot powder to make the wraps orange – easy as that. And guess what? These vegetable wraps contain more calories than wraps without vegetables – so what’s healthy about that?

Chew on this

It’s still much better to eat vegetables as you buy them from the greengrocer. No powder, no juice, but simply as nature provides them, says nutritionist Karine Hoenderdos. ‘You chew them, your digestion gets to work on them, and your body extracts the nutrients. That way, you can benefit from them to the fullest.’

Also read:

• 1 sauce, 2 meals: do the maths
• These are the 11 dishes you should be able to make by the time you’re 40
• How fresh are canned vegetables, really?

Source: Keuringsdienst van Waarde, image: KRO-NCRV