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

[SplinterSplit]

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.

@TeacupDrama yes, of course, they have to be full portions.

Anyone else hoping this will turn into an ongoing thread?

I've bought 10 a Day the Easy Way.

Same. I really like how positive it is, and how it’s less about eating 10-a-day everyday but more.. every portion past your 5 a day is a bonus.

Yesterday I had 4-ish servings for breakfast alone:

leftover homemade ‘macho’ peas (1) and an avocado (2) on toast with a small glass of orange juice (1). It was bloody delicious, although I do need to cut down on the amount of avocado I’m eating. 😬

Lunch was leftover peri peri chicken with rice, but I made up a salsa with cherry tomatoes and the leftover corn on the cob. Probably another 2 portions.

Dinner was lasagne and salad, so 1-2 portions.

It’s doable, but it does take planning.

As for cost, I love Aldi’s Super 6 and selection of veg generally, love lentils, am trying to use more frozen veg and judicious use of tinned fruit.

Waitrose tinned pears in fruit juice, for example. 3 portions of pear (and 1 of juice) for 85p.

@10 the easy way, I'm sorry but a single apple is 1 portion not 2 unless you are under 3 years old, portion size is proportionate to age

A portion is 70-80g so that is a small banana, apple or orange or 2 satsumas plums or kiwi fruit, about 14 grapes, 2 handfuls of blueberries 9 strawberries
most veg peas carrots etc 3 heaped tablespoons, 1 onion, 1 whole pepper 7 cherry tomatoes, lettuce a cereal bowl full 10 radishes , 8 spring onions 8 florets of cauliflower/ broccoli
there is a difference between 10 actual portions and the eat a rainbow by trying to eat 10 different sorts of fruit/vegetables per day to get maximum nutrients

@ 10 the easy way, I'm sorry but a single apple is 1 portion not 2 unless you are under 3 years old, portion size is proportionate to age

The apple mentioned in the book was 160g. The point was that it’s sometimes easy to underestimate how many servings you’re getting.

I think it is much more likely people are overestimating by thinking that because they had a spoonful of peas and carrots and 2 bits of broccoli that they had 3 portions of veg but together that is only going to be 1 portion ( 3 portions would be 3 spoons each of peas and carrots and 8 pieces of broccoli) which would occupy 2/3 of a large dinner plate
but you are right that you can add up half portions and when concentrated a tablespoon of tomato sauce is also a portion but it would be quite high sugar
most apples are about 100g so more like 1.2 of a portion a stewed cooking apple would definitely be 160g or 2 portions though

I eat 7 a day and a colorectal surgeon told me that was too many! I ignored him as reducing didn’t resolve my problem anyway.

It does have to be different. 2 portions of broccoli is not two of your 10 a day

metro.co.uk/2017/02/23/what-is-a-portion-of-fruit-or-veg-can-i-actually-eat-10-portions-a-day-6468244/

Great question OP.

I agree with PPs it’s about habit and very doable if you put your mind to it. Nowhere near it currently personally but working on it.

DM aims for it, 10 different ones, but rarely reaches it. A lot of it is fruit, I question how healthy all that sugar really is. And she's spending a tenner or more a week on fresh fruit and veg just for her (and still spending as much on everything else as always).

I'm nowhere near.

If it is 800g for adults does anyone know the equivalents for children? I guess it will be different for different ages?!?

I probably either:

• easily meet the 10 servings, but not of 10 unique veg

or

• have 10 different types of fruit and veg but not 10 servings

I can live with that!

(Re: the above - I just can't be bothered with that much different chopping/cooking styles needed for different veg!)

Yesterday, its quite easy

Breakfast (2) - Fresh orange juice, dried banana on porridge.
Lunch (2) -Baked potatoes with salad & beans
Snacks (2) - Apple & smoothie
Dinner (3) - Broccoli, cauliflower & vegi lasagne
Desert (1) - Strawberries

That’s more like five than ten portions 🤔

It’s difficult to eat even five portions (IMO) unless you are really mindful of what you eat. I go through phases with fruit in particular and my natural inclination is to go for chocolate if I want a snack.

I’m now thinking I should try to eat five

I often eat a banana first thing, that’s 1

I am at home currently so thinking I’ll try to have a salad every day for lunch and make one for DH to take to work, that would be 2 (or 3?)

Could have an apple or some other fruit as a snack in the afternoon / before dinner (3 or 4)

Some veg with dinner - carrots, peas and broccoli / cauliflower with beef or sausages and mash, veg in a stir fry... (5)

I like raw carrots so sometimes try to fit one of those in while cooking (if I’m making carrots)

OP I don’t know if that helped but you’ve inspired me to try to eat five a day

Good Food magazine is quite useful, since they give a 5-a-day count for their recipes, and they often have recipes with 3, 4 or even 5 portions for a single serving (or is it the other way around?).

I also really like the cookbook Less Meat, More Veg, which is all about reducing the amount of meat and upping the veg content.

I probably could in the summer when fruit and veg are cheap and tasty but not so much in the winter. Let me see, today I had a bowl of salad for breakfast which isn't usual, normally porridge or toast, that was maybe 2 palmfuls of veg, lunch was a tin of tomatoes roasted with feta and that was about 3 palmfuls, and I'll have mixed steamed veg with dinner which is another 2 or 3 palmfuls so 7 or 8 today. Not as bad as I thought.

On the back of this thread, I’ve just bought the 10 a day book!

We do quite well but it’s very repetitive, ie. lots of carrots, peas, broccoli, cut up apple - and repeat.

Hoping for some inspiration...

I think it's easier you eat a plant based/vegan diet and don't use the meat substitutes so much.

I'm not sure I get ten a day, but certainly more than 5.

Does red wine count? 😂

I only eat about 2 a day, 3 on a good day. I don't like fruit but I could manage an apple or banana occasionally. I would have 2 veg with my evening meal but that's it. I don't like salad very much, hate smoothies, and am not keen on soup. On the plus side I am healthy and haven't been to the Dr in years. (Even through menopause etc). This thread has inspired me though, i am going to make an effort to eat some fruit and add an extra veg to dinner. It's a start. Good luck op.

I’m around ten most days, but then I’m almost a vegan, so I have to replace meat/fish/dairy with something.

For breakfast today I had porridge with a banana mashed in and half a mango.

For lunch I have egg salad, the veg that will be around 80g each is carrots, courgettes, beetroot and cucumber.

For dinner tonight I’m making veg machoosi, it will have one portion of cauliflower, sweet potatoes, okra and chic peas.

So that’s 9 portions.

There’s some recipes here which all include 3 of your 5-a-day.

www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/collection/7-day

I know the NHS LiveWell plate is much maligned on MN, especially by the low carb brigade, but I do think if everyone ate around a third of every meal OR a third of their calorie allowance as fruit and veg we would all be eating at least 800g of fruit and veg which is around 500 cal depending on what kinds (although I agree it can be hard to make it 10 different sorts, and if you went heavy on the fruit and light on the veg you'd probably be having too much sugar). I personally probably eat 2 or 3 portions of veg with each meal plus a couple of fruit and one of legumes or beans, so close-ish to the 10 but not consistently there. Agree it's easier if you stick to a mainly plant based diet.

People saying they find lunches hard because they don't like salad, are you thinking of salad as sad limp lettuce and raw tomatos, cucumbers etc? I used to think I didn't like salad either until I started making more middle eastern style salads with (cold) roasted veg - peppers, tomatos, onions aubergines, courgettes, even broccoli and cauliflower roast really well and still taste good cold. I combine with some grains like couscous or bulgar wheat, some hummus, lentils or beans for protein and some strong tasting cheese like feta and it's really good, low-ish cal depending on how much cheese and dressing you use, and easy enough to pack in at least 2 or 3 portions of veg (plus one for the beans). Soup is also a really good way of getting in lots of veg and also avoiding food waste as you can chuck pretty much anything in, although I do think you lose some of the fibre/bulk by blending it, same as with smoothies and why you are only meant to count liquids like juice as 1 or 2 portions regardless of how much fruit and veg is in there...

I'm trying to eat more healthily, not having crisps n the house has been a good start.

I think you need to think about adding veg to everything, so instead of a shepherd's pie being mince, onion and potato either swap the mashed potato for mashed vag or do 1/2 potato and 1/2 carrots, sweet potato or even leeks.

Add sweet corn, carrots and peas to the mince.

Always have salad with dinner, either as a side salad or as a starter.

If you have a juicer remember to use the 'pulp' as a basis for soups or in stews.

Always have fruit or veg in a meal, even if it is adding a mushroom or a few slices of pepper to a cheese omelette.

Swap a carb for a veg eg boiled egg and toast soldiers is the food of the gods but swapping the toast for asparagus is good too.

Eat vegi for at least one meal a day.

I'm not saying I am doing this, but I am trying.

As I said I am not keen on soup, but if you put lots of veg in soup can you count each one as a portion? I know smoothies only count as one no matter how much fruit is in it, but is it the same for soup?

no soup is different as mostly vegetables are just cooked I think it is the blending and removing of fibre that make smoothies only 1 portion
when making soup count the portions of veg you put in then divide by the number of portions it makes
so if you use 2 onions 2 carrots 2 leeks a 400g can of tomatoes and 400g can of beans (about 250g drained) that is 10 portions if it does 5 bowls of soup it is 2 portions per bowl I make a lot of soup and reckon regardless of which vegetables you use a cereal/ soup bowl is 2 portions unless you make potato and leek when it is 1 as potatoes don't count

I think the difference between fruit smoothies and veg soup is that there are a lot more calories and sugar in fruit than there are in vegetables, so if you make a smoothie, you can probably ingest a lot of calories and sugar as a drink, that might not fill you up as much as a vegetable soup as a meal, even if it is blended, because the calorie density is lower.

Remember that the 5 or 10 a day is supposed to be mostly veg and it's supposed to make up a good part of your diet, not 5 portions of fruit and veg a day in addition to all the other meat, crisps, bread etc.

For example, something like sausages and mash - instead 3 sausages and a big pile of mash, have 2 sausages, a smaller pile of mash and some brocolli, onion gravy and cabbage.

When I make bolognese I use carrots, onions and celery but it's really only 6/7 portions for a quantity of food that will last 2 at least 2 meals. I'm coeliac so normally have it over courgette spaghetti but that's still only 2.5 per portion if you go by some of the guides.