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?

FD again yesterday

Nectarine (1)
Cannellini beans (1)
Tomatoes (1)
Cucumber (1)
Celery/shallot (1)
Cauliflower (1)
Broccoli (1)
Green beans (1)

Happy rainbow eating all 🌈😊

Just recording lunch
Big plate of salad of
Beetroot
Avocado
Peas
Tomato
Celery
Red peppers
At least 6

I have a few hours free at work so went out to the supermarket to see what i could get without opting for things like olives and tapas type veg.

Just went to the fruit and veg aisle to see how I could get as many into my lunch as possible. I cheated and got houmuss too.

Here was my haul...

1. Raisins (breakfast)
2. Raw Carrots
3. Chickpeas/houmuss
4. Raw Tomato
5. Grapes
6. Butternut squash
7. Sweet potato
8. Beetroot (in vinegar)
9. Strawberries

I still have a banana but I'm stuffed. I'm working til 8.30 so I'll have it later.

Everything was raw as I only have a microwave at work. Except the sweet potato and butternut squash which was a bag of slices of each that could be microwaved in the bag. The butternut squash part was better than the sweet potato. I only ate a portion worth of each so half the bag is now wasted which has annoyed me. But the rest of the things can be taken home and finished tomorrow.

I also have a small vegan lasagne for dinner when i get home but it's a ready meal and although it's veg I'm never convinced it has a huge amount of vitamins and goodness left in the veg. Does anyone know ? Maybe it's just like frozen and still does. Who knows?

Anyway, I don't need to count it now because once I have my banana I will have made it to 10. Anything else is a bonus.

I don't think I'll try to fit in 8 for lunch again. I'm VERY full. 😆Although I feel because it's just veg and fruit it will metabolise quickly.

Evening, rainbow gang.
Dp had used all the edamame, the bugger, so I couldn't have them for lunch.
Instead I had:
B: strawberries, melon, blueberries (2) with yogurt and seeds
L: salad leaves, beetroot, puy lentils, cucumber, tomatoes, plant meatballs, melon, grapes, hemp seeds (3.5)
Snack: hummus (can't remember if we count hummus or not?) plus a load of raw veg and some tortilla chips (3.5 not counting hummus)
D: lentil soup (2)

11! Like yesterday I feel really full so I hope I'm not overdoing it. I like the theory of it metabolising quickly, LOL.

Breathmiller I don't know about the vitamin content of ready meals. It's a good question. I ordered some from allplants.com and thought they were pretty tasty but a bit pricy. They claim their meals have the nutrition "locked in", but then they would, wouldn't they

1 Blueberries
2 Raisins, dates
3 Onion
4 Mushroom, olives
5 Pak choi
6 Carrot sticks

Must make a bean meal tomorrow!

Well done everyone! One thing I am noticing is that I do seem to stay fuller for longer. Also less likely to overeat when I am eating vegetables!

Snacks - banana and apple
Dinner, half a chicken Kiev
Tomato
Peas
10 in total

Hello, I've been reading all your inspiring daily posts but not quite getting around to writing my own. I find I'm managing 7-8 a day quite easily but I need to try and bit harder and push it up to 10 on a regular basis.
I quite often have brown rice which I know doesn't count, but I do feel good about about the fibre content.

What's the wisdom about repetition? I had tomatoes in four different forms yesterday. And i usually have a couple of apples in a day, but of different varieties/colours. Do they count as two? 🤔

Well done all.

So for some of the questions,
I believe that...

• houmous counts, I made homemade houmous and counted the amount you needed to have for a portion of chickpeas. It was a 5th of a portion made with 1 tin. I wasn't sure about bought stuff but the packet of organic tesco houmous says a general portion is 1/4 of the tub. Not sure of that's a portion of your 5 or 10 a day though.

• I'm afraid that variety is key. So, fresh tomatoes, a tin of tomatoes and some tomato puree is only 1. Same as 2 bananas, only 1 portion. It's 10 different things. Which on one hand makes it a challenge but on the other some things are not huge. 14 grapes for instance, 7 strawberries.

My lunch may have helped me hit the 10 a day but all that veg made for a sore belly later at work. Which is always a worry.

Had rocket with my veggie lasagne to make my 10.

My question is...Does anyone know about whizzed soup? I find it light on my stomach when I'm working but if a smoothie can only be classed as one then is soup that's been whizzed the same?

I've got a feeling that smooth soup is 1, due to the blitzing process.

Ahhh that's a shame I've been counting my pea and cannelini bean soup as two. Makes sense though if smoothie is one. Is it because the fibre is broken down do you think?

Could you leave it a bit chunkier Breathmiller? Blend half of it and leave the rest with some whole peas and beans?

That's an idea.

Here is the link to the 5 a day that answers some of the questions...

(I can't see anything about soup though? - it seems the smoothie is to do with sugar? )

Does anyone have a link to explain the soup only being one? I tend to be better if I know why something is the case

www.nhs.uk/live-well/eat-well/5-a-day-faqs/

Blended food is easier to eat more of. That's why it's traditionally been useful when feeding small children, the elderly and the ill or recuperating.

In the context of having enough food and not wanting to overeat calories it's not helpful. (Lab animals fed their normal food but blitzed up became heavier than controls.) It's part of the appeal and problem of the ultra high processed foods.

Quite how it applies to getting your veg in I'm not sure. The logic I presume is that those who gravitate towards finely blended food may gain weight over time.

I seem to remember it's because the cell walls are broken down by the blending process but I might be thinking of smoothies.

If the aim is to absorb more of a nutrient then there is a benefit to blitzing and breaking those cell walls to release it . So I was thinking of whizzing up blueberries as I'm after the anthocyanins.

Tomatoes when both cooked and blitzed will provide way more lycopene than raw. Which is useful and why tomato puree and cooked tomato in tins get a thumbs up from nutritionists.

Yep I think it is because it is easier to eat more before being full, and it is better digested because the cellulose is broken down a bit?

Today -
Lunch:
Beetroot
Lettuce
Tomato
Red pepper
Avocado
Snacks:
Banana
Grapes
7 so far …

And u was chuffed with four 😂

I was chuffed. Should have previewed..

@MinesAMassiveSalad 😂

@Breathmiller that link was the only official type thing I could find too. If there are any qualified nutritionists or dieticians lurking maybe they could delurk and help us out 🤞😂

Until I find out otherwise I intend to count blitzed soup as 2 (although I rarely blitz until completely smooth, but that's laziness 😂)

Yesterday was

Nectarine (1)
Raspberries (1)
Kiwi (1)
Cherry tomatoes (1)
Butternut/cauliflower soup (partially blitzed, 2)
Beetroot (1)
Avocado (1)
Corn on the cob (1)
Black bean chilli (0.5-1)

Cell walls, anthocyanins, lycopenes?

You lot are sciencey people. . I was just thinking about to eating a pretty rainbow.

Yes, any other clever bods around who know for sure? That would be helpful.

Today was fairly easy....

1. Dried cranberries
2. Bananas
3. Carrots
4. Chickpeas/Lentils
5. Grapes
6. Olives
7. Tomatoes
8. Peas
9. Kale

10. Mushrooms

I definitely need to go buy more veg tomorrow though.

I am also on 25 weekly varieties on day 5. So 2 more days to get 5 different things.

Evening all.
B: smoothie - I didn't know this was only 1 portion! I can vouch for it having a lot of fibre still in, especially when it's kale. But I'll try to abide by the rules.
L: tofu which doesn't count, a big mushroom, and tomatoes. Plus a bowl of yogurt with banana and raisins
D: i will not confess the details of my shame but there were No Vegetables! (sorry, we got a takeaway burger!)
This is a rather poor score of 3 i think! I'll try and redeem myself tomorrow.

Grapefruit
Tomatoes
Fruit juice
Apple
Green beans
Guacamole & hummus as part of a sharing plate
Counting that as 6 today. Sorry, I can’t even remember yesterday.

1 Nectarine
2 Blueberries
3 Tomato
4 Red Pepper
5 Carrot
6 Pak choi , avocado
7 Broccolli
8 Courgette, aubergine

Narwhal, surely kale counts extra?😉

@TheNarwhalBalloon but think of how much fruit and veg you've eaten the rest of the time 😊

I think I made it to 11 yesterday so quite chuffed with that. The corn on the cob was the highlight which I ate with miso and chilli butter 😋

Nectarine (1)
Blueberries (1)
Salad of leaves, beetroot, avocado and artichoke hearts, 2.5)
Chickpea/cherry tomato/spinach/pepper stew (2.5)
Plums (1)
Corn on the cob (1)
Green beans (1)
Pak choi (1)