Eating our 10-a-day thread

[Breathmiller]

I would like to try to start a project of getting my 10-a-day of fruit and veg in every day.

Anyone fancy joining me? I find groups on here of support so useful.

I know lentils and beans and chickpeas are part of it too so I will up them. I'm vegan so I'm hoping that should make things easier as I eat lentils as part of my diet anyway.

This thread is for everyone who would like to focus on 'eating the rainbow' as part of a healthy lifestyle.

Or anyone who does this already who has any hints and tips?

30 is great. I also started on Sunday and I'm on 27. Do you add in lentils and beans to that 30 a week list? Like you, not all of them on the weekly list are full portions but it's nice to see the variety.

So today was a good day. All full portions...

1. Dates
2. Strawberries
3. Passion fruit
4. Carrot
5. Avocado/lemon juice
6. Sauerkraut/artichoke
7. Tomato
8. Beetroot
9. Cherries

10- 11- 12- Dinner- stir fry. Spring onion, baby corn, red pepper, brocolli, mushrooms, aubergine, sweetheart cabbage, pak choi. (maybe 3 portions altogether at least)

I might still have some fruit with yoghurt for dessert.

I have made some dishes while i had time for the next few days when I'm busy.

I haven't been including kidney beans and lentils, though have just realised I should be! Will add them to my list!

So today,

Breakfast was apricots, mango and yogurt, 2 portions.

Lunch was mushrooms on toast, 1 portion.

Mid afternoon I had a large satsuma, 1 portion.

Dinner was griddles aubergine and courgette slices, 2 portions, with a large mixed salad of lettuce, cress, green beans, spring onions, radishes, mushrooms, avocado and fresh chillies. Another 2 portions.

So 8 today.

Good evening everyone!
Today I've had:
Pak choi
Grapes
Raw carrot
Beetroot
Cherry tomatoes & passata
Apple
Corn on cob,
Black beans & chickpeas mixed
Onion (quarter portion)
Strawberries

Today: sultanas, lettuce, rocket, beetroot, avocado, tomatoes, kidney beans, lentils, mushrooms, onions, celery, strawberries, cherries, kiwi. Probably 9 or 10 portions in total.

My day was
B: smoothie with pineapple, apple and spinach (2)
L: salad leaves, tomatoes, puy lentils, beetroot, mango, veg pate (made with chickpeas, sun dried tomato, garlic, carrot and roasted aubergine) (4)
Snacks : orange and apple, yogurt, seeds and raisins (2.5)
D: lentil cottage pie with sweet potato, carrots, broccoli, corn, peas and cabbage. (4)
12 and a half! Really chuffed with that.

ByeBye that JO recipe looks nice, might give that a go.

I’m really bored with watermelon and still have 1/2 melon to go so any ideas please send my way!

Yesterday - 5 full portions but 8 varieties
Watermelon (predictably)
Cherry tomatoes
Romaine Lettuce
Red grapes
Radish
Edamame, broad bean & pea mix

Wilderness we recently froze watermelon and then blended it with elderflower presse to make a nice sparkling drink. Probably not very healthy but it was refreshing!

I struggle to get a lot of weekly variety in because I just cook for myself so the veg is reused in various meals.

Yesterday I had:

Breakfast: banana, strawberries, pineapple, passion fruit (2 portions)
Lunch: nothing
Dinner: leftover roasted veg on a flatbread with broccoli, asparagus, pumpkin, mushrooms, courgette, and black beans (3-4 portions altogether)

So 5-6 overall.

Lunch was a fail because I had a late working lunch and the sandwich selection wasn't great / there was no fruit left.

I would also freeze the watermelon. We have watermelon ice lollies here which are just frozen slices of watermelon.

Well done everyone. I love hearing what others are choosing. This thread is definitely making me think and add more.

I get how hard it must be to get 30 different varieties if you are only cooking for yourself. I find it hard enough with a family. I'm going to try to buy less of each thing so I don't end up eating the same kind every day. It's hard though when food is in packages, I have had passion fruit every day because it only came in a packet not individually. And if you're on your own a watermelon must last a fortnight. . We can only do what we can within the limitations of cost effectiveness and other commitments though, it's all a good step in the right direction.

I was also thinking today that I'd like to make sure I look at what's in season too. Passion fruit im my yoghurt has been delicious as a treat but I am conscious of air miles. Avocados too.

So I looked up the Vegetarian Society's monthly calender of what's in season. Hoping it will inspire...

August
Aubergine, Beetroot, Blackberries, Blackcurrants, Broad Beans, Broccoli, Carrots, Cauliflower, Cherries, Chicory, Chillies, Courgettes, Cucumber, Damsons, Fennel, French Beans, Garlic, Greengages, Kohlrabi, Leeks, Lettuce, Loganberries, Mangetout, Marrow, Mushrooms, Parsnips, Peas, Peppers, Potatoes, Plums, Pumpkin, Radishes, Raspberries, Redcurrants, Rhubarb, Rocket, Runner Beans, Samphire, Sorrel, Spring Greens, Spring Onions, Strawberries, Summer Squash, Sweetcorn, Sweetheart Cabbage, Swiss Chard, Tomatoes, Watercress, White Cabbage.

When I read it I had a real hankering for stewed rhubarb and custard (custard counts doesn't it?) I might find a corner of the garden and grow a rhubarb bush.

Name change seemed appropriate!

I look to vary what we eat weekly and monthly as that's practical for us. Also there are always peas, green beans and spinach in the freezer.
I also freeze chopped veg if I get a bit fed up of it. Swede typically, I cut all at once to get it over with then freeze half before it shrivels away in the veg drawer of doom! I'll have small portions of Swede, celeriac, kale and mushroom in the freezer waiting for a stew.

Haven't posted for a couple of days (was Rhona) but should do so tonight. Lots of salad in and last of summer fruits.

Great name change massivesalad 😆

That list is brilliant @Breathmiller, both for getting ideas of new veg to try as well as knowing what is in season!

I had a great lunch - pan-fried cod with broccoli, red pepper, courgette, leeks, mangetout and carrot served with sweet potato mash. Ticked off at least 4-5 portions for today.

Probably going to have salad this eve, so will try to get my tally up to 10 with that. Am now up to 34 varieties this week, but this is where it gets harder as I need to keep adding new ones each day.

Absolutely love the idea of freezing the watermelon and having it with presse 😀, thanks. We are a family of 4 adults but 2 don’t like it and the 3rd currently has a problem with their oesophagus and can’t swallow much.

7 portions today :
Watermelon 🤣
Cherry tomatoes
Apple
Mushrooms & onion in stroganoff
Carrots
Peas
Raspberries

Tiredandbored your lunch sounds lovely.

Brilliant list Breathmiller & love seeing everyone's meals!
Today
B Avocado & tomatoes (on a slice of toast)
L homemade soup, different veg, majority broccoli (added a tbsp hummus to it as the stilton was too far gone!) Will measure as 2 portions.
Strawberries
Half a banana
Peach
Dinner will be a tray bake including
Courgette
Onion
Peppers
Extra tomatoes
Fennel
(Cooked with sliced new potatoes, garlic, rosemary and chicken sausages)

Great list @Breathmiller. It's a brilliant time of year for veg boxes. The thread is also helping me think about it more
And great name change @MinesAMassiveSalad 😂

Yesterday was

Raspberries
Blueberries
Apple
Kiwi
Chickpeas/spinach/tomatoes/yellow pepper (2 portions overall)
Roasted aubergine/courgette/sweet potato/cauliflower and hm katsu sauce (which is made with some veg in it). I think 2, possibly 3 overall

I can recommend the katsu sauce recipe. Freezes well, stands up to a Wagamama IMO and I've done it with veg (breadcrumbed or roasted) or fry's vegan chicken burgers (or some of each!)

www.lazycatkitchen.com/vegan-katsu-curry/

I’ve really fallen off the wagon but it’s shopping/meal plan day tomorrow! Please can you all hit me with your breakfast ideas for veg!?

So many lovely sounding meals!

My list today gets me to 6 after a slow start.
Blueberries 1

Cooked beetroot, raw carrot, few blueberries, salad combo 1

Mixed leaf, raw spinach, courgette with thyme, beetroot, carrot, mushroom, coriander leaf, garlic, lemon juice + zest. Guess at 3 servings.
Strawberries 1

AlohaMolly my favourite veg breakfasts are tomatoes on toast or poached egg on spinach (plus mushrooms) on toast. Shakshuka is another one that is bandied about on MN but I never really fancy the idea of that for breakfast.

Great idea !

Not ideal today:
Salad
Dates
Seaweed

Oh! Do chia seeds count?!

Peaches

FD for me today so I only scraped 5

Kiwi
Spiced mixed veg (1 portion)
Tinned tomatoes/passata
Spinach
Tenderstem

@Wildernesstips I LOVE shakshuka (vegan style with silken tofu instead of egg) and usually have it for dinner, as I did tonight. I've happily eaten it for breakfast, but more like brunch for me as I rarely eat until I've been up for a few hours

@AlohaMolly as well as the excellent suggestions from @Wildernesstips avocado on toast, or some kind of Mexican beans/avocado combo if vegan or huevos rancheros + avocado or a veg frittata if you eat eggs.
The mushroom/spinach on toast that I usually do is based on this Meera sodha recipe from the guardian
If you like miso, you could even have miso soup with veggies in it (easy to prep and reheat or have the broth and just simmer veg in the morning)

www.google.co.uk/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/food/2020/feb/15/meera-sodha-vegan-recipe-miso-mushrooms-on-toast

One of these days...

12 hour shift, forgot my lunch, not time to get to a shop. Just home, home a disaster after ds17 not picking ds10 up from school. 😤😖. So the lentil shepherd's pie i made yesterday that was supposed to be served with many veggies ended up being lentil shepherd's pie that had been dried out in the oven. And the pea and mint soup and carrots and tomatoes I had planned are in the fridge.

So...my rubbish day today...

1. Dates
2. Raisins
3. Passion fruit
4. Green lentils
5. Some onion

And that's my lot. I am glad today is done. New start tomorrow