Stupid question about 5 a day

[Disorganisedmess2023]

This is probably a really stupid question about 5 a day for fruit and veg.

If I had 3 full portions and then 4 half portions (of 4 different things) would that as good as 5 full portions of fruit and veg? For example I might have a small amount of blueberries but not enough for a portion and I might have a few slices of apple but not enough for a portion but if they're combined as one portion is that ok?

Yes that's fine.

Remember that for maximum benefits the emphasis should be on vegetables rather than fruits.

I aim for as many different veg/herbs/spices over the span of a week as possible, rather than worrying about portions of each.

Just to say, this happens quite often as I'd rather have different things than larger amounts of 1 thing. I just don't know if it's as good health wise?

Thanks. Yeah I prefer veg anyway but I'm trying to eat a little more fruit as I rarely ate any.

That is ok, you just can't count one thing as more than one portion. Like 80g tomatoes and 80g tinned tomatoes would still count as one portion of tomatoes but you can mix things to get 80g of different varieties

So today I've had half a banana with natural yoghurt, a few blueberries, half a glass of fresh orange and then I'll get small amounts of various veggies with a chicken lunch. I'm thinking carrots, leek, cabbage, broccoli and peas but it won't be full portions of each.

Perfect. Thanks

It really is just an arbitrary made up thing.

Eating veg is good for you.

Eating fruit can be too.

Eating either is better for you than eating biscuits... (unless you are feeling down, then eating a biscuit can be very good for you)

It should actually be 8-10 portions but the architects of this particular marketing strategy didn’t think that would be achievable for most people. Basically eat plenty of veg and some fruit (especially berries)!

Go for 30 portions a week! It’s actually fun and a good way of jujing up your cooking and menu planning.

30 different types would be tricky when living alone as a lot might go off before I finished it.

Zhuzh is the term apparently. Who knew?

It’s doable. Half a handful of nuts, couple of tablespoons of herbs, squeeze of lemon etc.

True. I figure I've gone from eating not enough fruit and veg to eating some so I figure that's better than not making an improvement.

Variety is a good thing. So having a total of 5 portions made up of more than 5 types of veg is better.

Try and aim for variety day to day as well (also "eat a rainbow" - try and eat different colour fruit and veg) to get all the different vitamins and nutrients.

Nuts aren’t fruit n veg? (Not saying they aren’t nutritious).

(I appreciate variety day to day can be more difficult if you live alone. I do too, I find frozen fruit and veg can be useful for being able to add some variety without having lots go off, or I will just try and think a bit more long term about variety - so one week I'll buy a bunch of grapes and eat those 4 or 5 days that week with a variety of frozen berries other days, the next week it'll be a bag of satsumas etc)

The 30 figure @Lamelie is speaking about refers to 30 different plants so wholegrains, nuts and seeds are also included

Nuts aren’t fruit n veg?

Not in the '5 a day' idea.
The 30 a week is something else, aiming for 30 different plant foods a week - I think it's from the Tim Spectre/Zoe research.

I like more veg than DS or DH, so I get those steam microwave packs - quick and easy way of getting 3 or 4 different veg on my plate while DH has peas and DS has raw carrot.

Yes, there's just me and DD too so this is how I do it - berries of any sort always get eaten but I rotate through apples, bananas, pears or satsumas each week.

also important not to forget the recommended daily 12 portions of cookies

It’s not an arbitrary number. 5-a-day is based on research showing that populations who get 400g+ of fruit and vegetables a day benefit health-wise. A typical portion is 80g ish… therefore 5 and to encourage variety.

@Disorganisedmess2023

30 different types would be tricky when living alone as a lot might go off before I finished it.

Frozen is a good way to have your various portions - you can take out what you need and return the rest to the freezer. I have a mix fresh and frozen veg plus pulses/starchy carbs plus fresh fruit. Excellent in casseroles too. 🌹

Thank you everyone. Well today I managed to have half a small tub of blueberries, half a banana (dog scoffed the rest) then with chicken for lunch I had a carrot, frozen peas, a small amount of broccoli, white cabbage and leek. I also had some fresh orange.
I've drank so much more water too, something I rarely do. I feel full, hydrated and relatively good.