Parched potatoes and boiled-to-within-an-inch-of-disintegration greens are disappearing from the Christmas dinner plate as people take more pride in the traditional feast.
Retailers are more than happy to help Christmas cooks with increasingly imaginative pre-prepared food, which not only frees up much-needed present-opening time, but allows even those who cannot boil an egg to add delicious vegetables to their meal.
Waitrose, with two heavyweight chefs fronting its Christmas campaign in Delia and Heston, is offering such delights as Spiced Red Cabbage & Beetroot with a Mulled Wine Dressing and Winter Vegetables with Balsamic & Honey Glaze.
However, the humble potato is also putting on its party frock to attract the attention of Christmas food shoppers with suppliers such as Greenvale AP partnering with Tesco to serve up its Mayan Gold potatoes in a presentation box.
Tesco potato buyer Andrew Blackett says the idea of the presentation box was to draw attention to the exceptional quality of the potato, which he claims is perfect for roasting.
'Mayan Gold make a really great roast potato and are an essential accompaniment for that special family Christmas dinner,' he added.
Challenging the great British spud for space on the nation's dinner plates is the sweet potato, with Scott Farms International on a mission to have it added to the Christmas menu.
'Traditionally sweet potatoes are most prominent on the plates of Americans at Thanksgiving,' says Stan Smith, Scott Farms International's CEO.
'However, we are able to supply the product to UK supermarkets 52 weeks of the year and as a result we would love to see the humble sweet potato take pride of place on the nation's Christmas table this year.
'We have established a packing facility in the UK, which enables us to ensure quality for the home market and increases our flexibility in supplying wholesale and the supermarkets.
'We are now able to supply any volume down to a single pallet and deliver to anywhere in Europe so we are making a real push this winter, with the new season's product now available, to get the nation eating sweet potatoes this Christmas.'
For those who do enjoy cooking from scratch, the Fresh Herb Company is launching pots of living sage into Tesco, Waitrose and Marks & Spencer stores in the weeks prior to Christmas.
The company has recruited ITV's This Morning chef Mark Sargeant to front the promotional campaign to inspire consumers to choose fresh herbs rather than dried for their Christmas stuffing.
'Living herbs are an essential kitchen ingredient,' says Sargeant. 'There is no substitute for beautiful, fresh herbs and sage is one of my favourites as it is really versatile and has a great flavour.'
Another traditional favourite being given a makeover in time for the festive season is the date.
Israeli growers of Medjool dates are funding a promotional campaign to raise awareness of the date as a great eating fruit. The campaign includes point of sale advertising, online and print advertising.
'The aim of the campaign is to move away from the old-fashioned image of dates – crammed into a small box with a plastic fork – and highlight the great eating quality, taste and all-round health benefits of Medjool,' says a campaign spokesman.
'We want to support sales of the fruit in the run up to Christmas, but also set the scene for consumers to see Medjool as much more than just a Christmas treat.
'We want them to regard Medjool as the best date on the market, and something they can eat every day – as a sweet pick-me-up with a morning coffee at work, an alternative dessert or an energy-giving snack for sports.'
Department store Harrods is also promoting the fruit as a gift, including the brand Bateel as an option for its Christmas hamper packages.
Bateel, which has a concession in Harrods as well as a Bond Street store, specialises in gourmet date ranges that are packaged as one would a box of chocolates.
The brand is particularly popular with Middle-Eastern customers, but is looking to raise awareness of the date as an alternative to candy at Christmas.
Head of Harrods' Corporate Service, Tracy Finn, says Bateel dates are incredibly popular. 'We have a Bateel 'bar' where frozen and fresh dates are available,' she points out.
With such a wide range of fresh and prepared vegetables available this year, there really is no excuse for leaving the Christmas dinner to the dog.
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