10 fruit & veg a day - is it really possible long term?

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I'm mulling over a diet change as I've 2 stone a bit of weight to lose. We're all familiar with the '5 a day' rule but the nhs says 10 would be better.. Could you, do you, eat 10 portions of fruit/veg a day? What would your daily diet look like breakfast/lunch & dinner? I'm interested to hear what others think? I bet it'd make a massive difference to my aches & pains & how I feel overall. I think I'd find it very hard though. Last time I tried a major diet change I lasted 3 months & fell off the wagon.

Those saying 5 veg in a lasagna equals 5 portions are unlikely to be correct unless you’re eating HUGE portions for the required amount of each veg. More likely to be 2 portions

Similarly 1 satsuma is not a portion. Some of you are eating a lot less than you think

I tried this for a bit and found it quite difficult. I couldn't eat enough calories to maintain weight as too full of fruit and veg. I think a lot who say 10 portions is easy aren't actually consuming a portion - a portion is bigger than you think.

Here’s the official guidance
www.nhs.uk/Livewell/5ADAY/Documents/Downloads/5ADAY_portion_guide.pdf

Surely it is 10 helpings of fruit and veg?
As far as I know a recommended helping is 80g.
Get your scales out and weigh? 80g is not an awful lot.

Satsumas: I think super small ones are about 25g each, so would need up to 3 for 1 portion. I ate a lot of beans (didn't require that all 10 portions be different).

As nod to this thread I just had a banana with my late night cheese.

If I ate that much fruit and veg I would shit myself.

I do this but becaus I have a dreadful relationship with food. So yes get the veg, but I’m woefully short in protein, calcium and have very little carbs.
Veg is only great if it doesn’t replace other nutrients.

I’ve done it in the past but am picky when it comes to veg and don’t like tinned or lots of veg frozen and it worked out really expensive. Rarely ate fruit due to the sugar but big salad for lunch and veg stir fry in the evening as a side to what ever we were having

I do manage ten most days.

Breakfast is a mushroom and chive omelette

I often have a Buddha bowl, salad or soup for lunch. These contain a minimum of 3 veg, often more. Always have a courgette, pepper and some broccoli in there.

I always have 5 seed crackers to hand, celery, banana, apple for snacks.

Dinner consists of cauliflower rice and a curry, a stir fry (great way to get veg in!) or occasionally pasta with sauce (made with tomato, celery, carrots, garlic, onion).

Friday night is pizza night, and I make my own tomato sauce, with hidden vegetables.

Kale crisps for an evening snack. I am also a bit addicted to semi dried tomatoes and eat them with everything. Also turn them into a paste with cashews, chili, coriander and garlic to spread on crackers for late snacks.

And I often have a green smoothie as well (kale, wheatgrass, ginger, cucumber, lemon etc).

The trick is to prepare bits for the week. Everything is made from scratch, which makes it easier to get everything in.

Of course, a few times a month I eat shite, and I crave cheese and ham toasties and mcds, but I keep these down to once or twice a month as I often feel sluggish the next day.

I don't eat any fruit as they all bring my throat up. I do drink Cherry Pepsi max and Banana milkshake.

I do like vegetables but don't eat more than or two a day.

I've made it to my 50's without getting rickets or scurvy.

I’d find it really hard. Most days I try to eat two meals. Today I had chicken and hummus and salad (1 maybe two portions) and for dinner I had two apples - one with peanut butter (so again 1 portion or two if you are allowed to count two of the same fruit as two portions which on some guidelines you are not). I manage four at most.

Granted I haven’t eaten a lot today but even if I had eaten more meals it really seems like too much to be practical most days - unless you can dedicate time and effort to it all day every day.

I think 10 fruit or veg sorts is not the same as 10 portions also it is expensive
berries on porridge it is not the right season for berries blueberries even in Aldi are £1.50 for about 125g about 1.5 portions or 5 boxes per week is £7.50 just for 1 person
cheap fruit and veg are limited to carrots onions cabbage root veg tinned tomatoes, frozen peas/ mixed veg maybe leeks and some mushrooms but 80g of mushrooms is a lot. things like aubergines broccoli fresh peas etc cost a lot for the average portion
when it comes to fruit anything except oranges apples and bananas is really expensive

realistically I could manage on a budget apple or banana with breakfast

soup or salad for lunch unlikely to be more than 2 portions due to volume
snack realistically only 1 satsuma though a portion is 2-3 depending on size
dinner we generally have 2-3 sorts of veg but really only 2 portions due to size 2 portions is easily half a plate so at end of the day it is about 6-7 portions

10 real portions are going to cost over £5 per person per day more if you do lots of berries asparagus avocado type things

I eat mostly veg rather than fruit, as I’m trying to lose weight.

Veg omlette for breakfast ( instead of usual Greek yoghurt and berries ). Or cold ham and tomatoes and cucumber.

Salad and protein at lunch or crudités and dip or stir fry veg.

Usual dinners but with veg instead of rice, potatoes or pasta. It’s easy as I love cauliflower, broccoli and couregette.

I manage this most days.
Today for example I had:
Banana for breakfast
Clementine for snack
Beetroot and tomatoes with lunch
Grapes, strawberries and blueberries for snack
Carrots, broccoli and parsnips with dinner.

It takes a bit of planning but I really enjoy it!

You can include lentils, chickpeas, and beans. Seeds too. And you can sub veg for carbs. Eg. lentil pasta, slices of aubergine or butternut squash for lasagne pasta, sweet potato instead of white. You can bulk out mince with cauliflower rice. Hummus counts so carrots/cucumber and hummus. Del Monte do a 100% fruit juice lolly! Sweet potato fries. Add extra onions to dishes. Tomato based sauces for pasta. You want more veg than fruit because of the sugar.

And it doesn't have to be 10 different types. That's not realistic for most people. Two portions of broccoli is two portions of veg. Perfectly fine.

Yeah I manage it most days. Fruit with breakfast usually berries. Apple mid morning. Vegetable soup for lunch or a sandwich with salad. Fruit after lunch. Always have a few veg with dinner eg dhal with lentils, tomatoes, onions, chickpeas, spinach.

you can only count legumes as 1 portion per day so its chickpeas or lentils or beans
@cataline that is 10 sorts of fruit/veg but did you have 80g of them all?
ie did you have 3 clementines or just 1,

yes but 2 portions of broccoli is 8 florets ie half of a large head would cover almost half a dinner plate

@TeacupDrama oh yes I forgot about legumes, you're right. True, it wouldn't be my favourite meal 😂 but would count nonetheless. You get my point though, an apple at breakfast and one after dinner is still two portions.

Try using frozen, canned and dried fruit and veg for convenience and they are often more economical :
Defrosted berries with yogurt and granola made with dried fruit
Broccoli and Stilton soup made with frozen broccoli and onions
Dinner with frozen sweetcorn, cauliflower and green beans
Pudding=tinned pineapple in juice

I do a lot of days.
Blueberries and strawberries for breakfast.
Lunch is tuna salad with lettuce, tomatoes, red peppers, cucumbers.
Dinner maybe chicken, potatoes with carrots, broccoli, peas. That's, 9. Or if a stirfry etc then definitely over 10!

@notharryssallyyes 2 apples is 2 portions but also a bowl of salad with lettuce tomatoes peppers cucumber carrot and onions might have 6 different vegetables in it but a large bowl of salad is 2 portions not 6

dd manages 10 to 12. I don't.

she as 3 on breakfast: 30g each of dried raisins, sultanas and apricots on cereal. (sugary though?)

three or four with lunch. (fruit/tomato/cucmber)

two bananas as a snack when she gets home,

fruit juice,

tea is mainly vegetable based lentils and beans beaing a large component as well but not actually counting twice.

I've bought 10 a Day the Easy Way.

It's v good. The best bit is that a portion is v small - an apple is 2 portions

Since buying it, I don't think we are managing 10 portions but probably 7-8 a day. The recipes in it are v good (and well thought out to use frozen veg) but you need to think about having most of your plate as veg to get to 10.