Do you really get your five a day?

Reading this I feel like I need to up my game in what I cook. There's some fancy daily eating going on!

I wish I got my 5 a day but sadly not. I don't usually eat breakfast, sandwich for dinner and then veg with my evening meal but to be honest if its a spag bol or similar I wouldn't do extra veg. I find it really hard if you don't a lot to then fit in 5 a day.

I used to log food on my fitness pal which shows if yours eating enough protein and vitamins etc and that was also impossible before you start with the a day!

I do since I discovered BOL one pot meals for work 😁

@MeridaBrave

well done! A “massive” salad AND a “massive” plate of veg. Most MN users only manage one massive

Haven’t RTFT so these points may have been mentioned but for one, the whole 5 a day thing came from fruit and veg companies so they had a vested interest in promoting it.

Secondly, the Japanese are known for their longevity and the average Japanese person in no way hits 5 a day. Fruit is expensive there and a treat. While they do eat veg, it’s in quite small amounts, usually as one or two ingredients in a recipe. Not a big portion of veg on the side like we would.

So personally I don’t even try or consider it. I mean yes, fruit and veg isn’t going to be unhealthy. But the 5 a day thing is plucked from the air.

Yes!

Today I had...

Avocado, rye bread & apple & satsuma for breakfast

Cauliflower & broccoli cheese for lunch with smoked mackerel

Asparagus, lettuce, potatoes & Satsuma with tuna steak for dinner

Yes, moreso in salad/soup ingredients though.

Yes and much more. We’re vegetarian.

Your choice but it’s easy, I probably have over 10 each day. When I don’t have I get constipated.

breakfast smoothie with at least 2 pieces fruit and protein powder

Massive lunch salad eg lettuce tomato cucumber pepper probably another 3

A couple of apples in the afternoon

tonight I had half a broccoli some cauliflower and mushrooms with dinner at least another 3. even if rest of my family don’t eat I do a massive bowl of steamed or stir fry veg with dinner each night

It could very well be worse if you didn’t eat your fruit and veg.

Usually yes

I'm dieting at the moment so getting more like 7 I'd day

Yes. I make sure I have vegetables at every meal. Even breakfast. And I eat my fruit as snacks.

today I’ve had mushrooms and cherry tomato’s at breakfast.

Lunchtime I had a salmon salad with lettuce, tomato, cucumber, mixed peppers, beetroot and avocado.

Dinner I had more salmon with broccoli, carrots and green beans.

Fruit wise it’s been grapes, mandarins, an apple and banana.

So thats 14 today but I’ve never counted it up before.

Its easy to eat that amount though.

Eating a wide range of fruit and veg is really expensive. We spend a lot.

It's not "really" expensive. Frozen veg and fruit is very cheap and there are many choices. ASDA has mixed frozen veg 1kg for 80p. That cannot really get any cheaper. I used to like the frozen leeks and they also go quite far.
Are they as great as fresh? Nutritionally yes, consistency may differ, but they are still good choice. So can be tinned veg. I got most of my stir fryes for 20-50p in yellow stickers. For some reason they are always left there yet they can be used into so many dishes.
Yes, there is less variatey than fresh, but still very good wide range in the freezers.

Eating a wide range of fruit and veg is really expensive. We spend a lot. It would be so much cheaper to make a cheese or ham sandwich for lunch rather than a selection of veg and salad like I have. I've been shocked at how much fruit and veg has shot up in price. I buy loose and it's trebled in price at least. Even more if you want the nicer veg like the nice tomatoes.

Yes most days. Today I made a smoothie with three portions of fruit for breakfast. At the same time I prepared a fresh fruit blended apple and pineapple juice for later in the day (this isn't every day as I keep an eye on my sugar intake). I had leftover veg stir-fry for lunch - at least two portions - then salad with dinner - another two portions. So nine so far.

Yes, as long as I'm not feeling ill. Today I've had onion, carrots, lentils, celery, tomatoes, apple, banana, strawberries. Homemade wholemeal & rye bread. Will probably have some grapes and/or a peach later. I don't really eat UPFs very often, the occasional hobnob or glass of squash.

There’s a certain degree of snobbery with this ‘we eat at least 10 portions each a day’ compared to someone who might only be able to afford a bunch of bananas, a packet of 6 apples and a tin of pears each week for their family.

I don't think posters' responses have been snobbish. The OP asked whether people eat their five a day and people responded. They aren't saying 'I eat 10 a day, and you're rubbish if you don't!', are they?

Of course it's expensive to eat a diet containing a really wide variety of interesting and tasty vegetables and fruit, but most people on high, medium or low incomes could probably increase their fruit/veg intake a bit. Some veg is cheap, and frozen veg is good (if you have a freezer).

To be sure for all the different plants I eat my health is far from great.

Not everyday but at least 3

It's not necessarily super expensive to eat a good variety of fruit and veg. The average weekly spend on food in the UK for an adult, including eating out and takeaways is £45-50.

My weekly budget is in line with this and of this I usually spend around £15-£20 per adult on fruit and veg. I easily eat 10-20 different fruit/veg per day although not full "portions" of each. Definitely hit the target of 30 different fruit/veg/herbs each week.

I don't buy the expensive fruit/veg often - don't eat much fruit other than apples.
I do though have the luxury of time to cook from scratch which not everybody does, I don't like takeaways and don't eat out much so most of the weeks food money goes on ingredients.

I meal plan so there is not much wastage but my budget stretches to organic meat and dairy and we eat really well. If I had to cut back I'd spend less on fish and meat.

I think many people are short on time to cook from scratch or do not have easy access to shops selling fresh fruit and veg. Also kids can be fussy about vegetables which can throw a spanner in the works.

Or a garden … I like growing leaves and veg from seed and also loads of different fruit trees have gone in (yes I know not everyone has a garden but people usually have space for trough or pots). So at lunch/supper time can gather up loads of different things for salads (in growing season obvs) inc herbs and weeds like dandelion as bitter leaves v nutritious. I aim for ten a day and that’s achievable with smoothies/soups/salads/stirfries/chillies etc.

I read interview with Michael Morpurgo where he said that he picks kale leaves from his garden every morning to chuck in breakfast smoothie so have planted kale outside front door in the hope of long healthy life and literary genius.

It can be bloody expensive all right. But it doesn't have to be?

Bananas apples, carrots and tinned stuff is still fruit and veg, and to my mind counts for a lot.

A veggie homemade soup costs fuck all with just normal carrots, celery, onions and a load of lentils or barley, served with potatos and bread for additional belly-filling. It's what my mother used to make when money was really tight and it's still our favourite comfort food. She got that recipe from her mother in the 40s when rationing was still in place.

Not always

Today I've had
Protein shake
Cinnamon bun
Apple with PB
Having a flatbread with chicken, tomatoes, onions and cucumber for tea
Might try and add a banana or some berries later

But yes, it is true, a "good" diet can be expensive

I would look at it that low quality diet will be obviously cheap. It's not given better diet is expensive. People can use lots of cheaper versions like frozen etc. Food in UK is still cheap and fresh veg and fruit on offer can get so ridiculously cheap I wonder how much the farmers get actually if anything.
Good diet doesn't have to be fresh berries and nuts. I think sometimes it's bit unhelpful when people talk about good diets in these terms because it just discourages people.
Good diet is balanced. Sometimes toast and jam, sometimes yogurt and available fruit.

It takes a bit of thinking but is fairly easy if you get in to the swign of things.

So yesterday, fruit and veg wise, I had:

2 satsumas

1 apple

a handful of dried fruit

half an onion

Half a pepper

A portion of spinach

a portion of green beans

A salad made from lettuce, cucumber, olives and peppers