The root of the beet plant, which explains its name. People have grown it for food since Roman times. Raw beetroot is best for you and great for grating – peel it first. Try it in a salad or sandwich.

Closely related to cabbage. We eat the flowerhead of the plant, which can be purple or green. It is great steamed and thrown into a salad or stir-fry.

These are like mini cabbages and contain a lot of vitamin C. They grow out of the ground in knobbly rows on a long tough stalk.

A favourite of many family mealtimes, carrots are a versatile root vegetable, which can be used in all sorts of dishes – from casseroles to cakes. Raw carrots are a great snack to have at hand. They contain lots of beta-carotene, which helps keep eyes and skin healthy.

These are allium vegetables and are in the same family as onion and garlic. You can boil or steam leeks to add to a recipe, or stir-fry them with other vegetables. They are grown during winter in the UK and are a good source of fibre.

Asparagus is a shoot vegetable – we eat the stalk and the tip. It can make a dish look more interesting with its unusual shape. Asparagus is a good source of a vitamin called folate, which is important for healthy blood.

If you eat enough garlic, you can repel mosquitoes – but you may not be so popular with those around you as it can make your breath smell! You only need to use one or two cloves to add loads of extra flavour to a dish. Evidence suggests that regularly including garlic in a diet reduces the risk of bowel cancer. Chop the garlic then wait 10–15 minutes before cooking in order to activate its health-promoting properties.

French beans, runner beans, common beans, bobby beans, string beans and Thai beans are all names for different types of green bean. Green beans are picked when they’re very young – they should be bright in colour and firm. If the pods are bendy, they won’t taste sweet and crunchy. To eat the beans, the ends should be trimmed. They only need to be steamed or cooked in boiling water for a few minutes to be ready to eat. Green beans are a good source of fibre and contain beta-carotene, which helps us keep our eyes and skin healthy.

A member of the cabbage family. The leaves are dark green or sometimes purple. They contain vitamin K, which helps blood clotting, and iron, which keeps red blood cells healthy.

This vegetable has a hint of liquorice in its flavour and when roasted in olive oil it goes really well with fish. Raw fennel is a crunchy addition to salads and you can also slice it and cook it like onion or celery to use in casseroles. The feathery leaves and seeds add flavouring to cooking, just like herbs.