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?

Today:
Sultanas
Carrot
Parsnip
Cauliflower
Broccoli
Sweetcorn
Lettuce
Tomatoes
Cucumber
Red pepper
Raspberries
Grapes

Total of 12, though the sultanas, cauliflower and broccoli were not full portions, so probably 10 in reality. Am pleased that most were veg though.

That sounds like a great breakfast kowari! May have to copy that!

I’m finally going to the supermarket tomorrow, so hopefully I’ll get the feb, going forward!

Today though -

Apple for breakfast (1)

We went out in an impromptu boat ride trying to be tourists in our town today and got lunch from a shop, so no veg/fruit.

Dinner - BBQ pork steak and a big salad of half a courgette, peas, green pepper, two small beetroot (4)

Five total.

Yesterday's total ended up being

1. Chickpeas
2. Tomatoes
3. Banana
4. Blueberries
5. Edamame
6. Peas
7. Broccoli

The last 3 were with pasta & pesto. I usually defrost some frozen chopped kale and/ or spinach and mix it into the pesto, so I'm annoyed that I forgot. I just use pesto from a jar but if you made your own with handfuls of fresh basil and parsley that could potentially be another portion.

Woke up pondering what a day's worth of fruit and veg would look like.
Banana
Apple
Onion
Pepper
Mushroom
Carrot
French beans
Broad beans
Kale
Spring onions
Total weight 1 kg, once wasteage is allowed for, that should be about right.
At the moment I'm bored but I can't imagine being bored enough during the day to start weighing each portion.
On a standard dinner plate, looks achievable.

We now often eat around ten per day, you get progressively used to it. I find to achieve it I have to start early.

With beans/pulses, I count multiples, they count in terms of fibre, but not obviously healthy to eat only pulses and no variety.

Yesterday I had:
Banana, plums, pear
Carrot & bean burgers, coleslaw, salad, broad beans
Pasta sauce with chick peas, and roast tomatoes, roast fennel on side

So >10.

Am going to look for a vegetable dip recipe to have in place of houmous. We have a sweet potato houmous recipe which has sweet potato in place of the oil, that is a good one, but need more options.

James Wong's book 10 a day the easy way has some very good recipes and tips for ways to get extra veg and fruit in.

Yesterday's veg
B - leftover bolognaise (made with puy lentils and all veg from the bottom of the fridge, about 300g, seeing I have the scale out I have weighed today's portion) 3
L - Roasted veg pasty for a picnic in the rain 1
D - Curry featuring broad beans plus jewelled rice 3
far too many mulberries 1
fermented grape juice 0
mushy pea dip with crackers and only a few veg sticks 1
about 9 portions

Is it 10 a day now? I did once read the Japanese eat 13 a day. Where did the 10 come from though?

10 a day comes from research by Imperial Uni apparently it will decrease our chance of heart disease by 24%, stroke by 33% and cancer by 13% www.theguardian.com/society/2017/feb/23/five-day-10-portions-fruit-veg-cut-early-death

WHO are busy pushing 5 a day worldwide because five is good and quite easily achievable. Some countries recommend more portions.
Generally 10 a day squeezes out room for the crap that we all so easily turn to, hence should give us a better diet without too much effort or cost (carrots are cheap).

Finishing off yesterday, we have
Plum, cucumber, green beans (I weighed them!), butternut squash, grapes.

I was two short, and I don't think I ate 80g of most of them. The variety is getting there though.

Can I recommend frozen fruit and veg to those who haven't found it? Frozen berries, blackcurrants, butternut squash, mango, pineapple etc taste great and make it much easier to manage than balancing fresh stuff.

Can I join you? Looking for inspiration and encouragement to up my fruit and veg consumption. I actually do IF so miss breakfast and eat lunch and supper… so I’m already quite mindful that my 2 meals are nutritionally ‘good’.

I’m a fan of Ottolenghi and find that Middle Eastern approach to lots of veg based dishes is good.
Jamie Oliver did an oven roasted veg curry during one of the lockdowns which I need to find again.

I report on the COVID Zoe App, and their research on diet is increasingly pointing towards a more plant based approach to eating to decrease the chances of catching the virus.
I suppose it’s not the greatest revelation when you think about it!

Ottolenghi has a recipe for a dip using tinned broad beans. I was rather sceptical (didn't even know they were a thing) it is bloody lovely.

Frozen veg we always have in stock are peas, broad beans, peppers for cooking and stir fry mix. Not impressed by frozen green beans, they are just too soggy for my taste. I freeze fruit from the allotment and it cheers up winter porridge a treat. When we run out of home grown I usually buy the frozen wonky berries, they get thrown in porridge or defrosted with a touch of liqueur for tipping on desserts.

I'd love to join if that's OK? Yesterday I had

B: seeds and yogurt with raspberries, gooseberries, blueberries. Not a full portion of each, I'd say 2?
L: vegan chicken pie with broccoli, carrots, cabbage, peas and sweetcorn... Probably 2 portions of veg in total
D: m and s bean salad, plus m and s supergreen salad, plus some extra salad leaves. I'm guessing 4 portions (do beans count as more than 1?)

Later on I ate popcorn and chocolate instead of the fruit I should have had to bring me up to 10. Oops

Iannistunut this is a pate but works well as a dip... Very tasty
laurencariscooks.com/vegan-pate-everyone-will-love/

Yesterday
Smoothie with 1 banana, 1 cup frozen berries (2)
Cherries (1)
Chicken, chickpea and couscous salad with rocket, cherry tomatoes, roast peppers, courgette and feta (3 considering portions)
Clementine cake - assuming that doesn’t count
Sunday roast with Savoy cabbage, carrots and broccoli (probably 2)

So 8 all in.

Can I join please. I used to eat a plant based diet and felt great. Over the past few years I've slipped and now I just eat rubbish. I have a lot of weight to lose so eating ten a day will help.

I'm starting the morning with a green smoothie. Kale, spinach, an apple, banana, ginger, lemon, mint, cucumber and celery all blended up with lots of ice and almond milk. It's surprisingly nice. I'm going to cook up a big pan of lentil and veg soup for lunches too.

Welcome to everyone. It's open to everyone.

It's great to hear all these inspiring dips and recipes. And a great support to hear how well eveyone is doing.

Frozen peas as a snack? 🤔 I’m only jealous as I had 3 choc chip cookies and two mini Cornettos. At least I think they were mini as they weren’t very big at all. Could maybe have balanced in a tablespoon the frozen peas weren't my only snack yesterday. Just the only one relevant to this thread. My thought is the more I focus on filling myself with fruit and veg as snacks the less space I have for the other ones. Back to work today so I tend to be in a better routine and eat better than when I am on holiday anyway.

Lanaa I like a smoothie but yours sounds way more exciting than mine. I have spinach, pineapple, apple, ground almonds, ground chia and ground flaxseed, plus soya milk. Oh and protein powder! Yours sounds fresher and more tasty. How much lemon juice do you add please? And do you grate the ginger first?

[quote TheNarwhalBalloon]Iannistunut this is a pate but works well as a dip... Very tasty
laurencariscooks.com/vegan-pate-everyone-will-love/[/quote]
Thank you, looks good!

Cherries 1
Lettuce, tomatoes, peppers, beetroot - 2
Carrot sticks 1
Canteloupe melon 1
Prepared for dinner:
Carlin peas (from a tin, new to me so time will tell!) tinned tomatoes, mushroom, carrot, courgette, onions, garlic, plenty of herbs. 3+

Which will bring me to a good 8 portions. Getting there slowly.

I'll have to look up ottolenghi recipes, I've come across him before.

For today though, I've got a risotto in the pan with mushrooms, carrot, peppers, onions (lots) and I'll add peas at the end. I'll serve that over salad greens. I know it sounds a bit odd, but it tastes great!

Breakfast/lunch was mango, pineapple and blueberries with cottage cheese. Again, nicer than it sounds!

If I have an apple and a plum at some point, that should get me there!

Picklemewalnuts, I eat a lot of things over salad leaves or baked courgette these days. I really like it now. The risotto sounds lovely.

pickle that breakfast with cottage cheese sounds amazing, do you just mix it all together? I’m drowning in milk as DP bought 8 pints on top of the usual milkman delivery so could make some cottage cheese tonight.

I only had three hours sleep last night, no idea why, so have done abysmally today. I’m watching a friends 5 and 2 year old tomorrow along with DS5, from 8am, so will have to plan my meals and prep them tonight or else I will just eat crap!