What percentage of your shop is fresh fruit and veg?

[bignoseswan]

Mine is quite high, its nearly all fresh fruit and veg so about 80% along with some pulses and milk eggs etc. We are a vegetarian household so it makes sense that we do buy more veg and as vegetarian ready meals and convenience foods typically suck we make our own food from scratch daily to ensure we have something tasty.

Met a colleague in the supermarket today who commented on the "crazy" amounts of fresh veg we had (which will only do us 3 days until our delivery comes). Her trolley has some potatoes and an onion in and everything else was in a packet or box. I previously hadn't noticed how much fresh produce we had compared to other shoppers but as I went to the till it did look like most people had very little veg in their shopping (the produce section is at the entrance and most people would pass through that section first).

However the produce section is well stocked and has all sorts in cavolo nero, celeriac, fresh herbs, ginger, aubergines so people are buying it.

So I am just curious how much of your trolley is fresh fruit and veg?

As I said we use Kale and Spinach as the main ingredients, we also go to the gym and understand the sugars, I have one child with type 1 diabetes.

The smoothies we make have been checked by a dietitian and I am understand the need for limiting sugars, it’s also a hell of a lot cheaper than buying shop smoothies.

I am very lucky that we can afford to buy fresh berries all year round.

Food shopping for 6 is expensive every week, but good food is important to us.

30 per cent of the last shop if you go by items. 15 items out of 50. With other items including things like Tampax and shampoo.

Similar to you, but it isn't the norm as you walk around the supermarket.

However some days I go for a store cupboard stock up and it's all cans and dried foods with zero fresh produce, so who really knows what others are doing.

I don't think any of those websites are saying not to have fruit smoothies at all? Just don't have too many, don't add sugar, homemade better than shop bought, remember they still contain calories.

I love a fruit smoothie. Especially at the weekend when were got a bit more time. Fruit smoothie followed by fresh coffee - absolute heaven!

My food shop varies. Store cupboard tins of tomatoes, beans, tuna, frozen fish and peas.

Usual shop is, bar bread, 95% fresh fruit, milk and veg. It being Australia, I buy seasonally, so stone fruit will soon be off the menu.

Forgot about cheese!!

A large proportion of it - we have salads or vegetable soups lunchtimes and lots of veg with dinner/fruit for snacks. Maybe 70% at a guess.

My last food shopping trip the other day contained

Chicken thighs
Salmon
Broccoli
Asparagus
Green beans
Butternut
Oranges
Bananas
Tomatoes
Salad leaves
Cucumber
Beetroot
Spinach
New potatoes
Carrots
Yoghurt
Nuts
Milk
Loaf of bread
Butter

Or you could do an online shop, that way people won’t give you unwanted opinions on your shop and you won’t need feel the need to mention this person’s ‘mostly packaged’ food shop in order to prove your point. If you really feel the need to justify your food shop or check if it’s ‘normal’ (and what would you do if it wasn’t, change it?), then I really feel online shopping is for you.

@Fallenangelofthenorth No, I was not saying all smoothies are bad. I was just saying that we have to be careful with them. As a treat, yes, fine. But, unless properly balanced with other fruit/veg, they can be far too full of sugar.

never buy salad leaves as we grow sprouting seeds and cut&come again leaves at home.
buy a lot of frozen veg & berries as convenient.
tinned beans/lentils & tomatos

most fresh stuff comes from the greengrocer.

so yeah, fresh produce is only a small amount of our weekly shop.

Very little.

I live alone, work long hours, and have been told by various professionals I likely have ADHD.

I can't cope with organising fresh veg and fruit. So I buy lots of frozen (which is usually a bit more nutritious than fresh) and tinned (usually a bit less). I buy nuts and seeds. And multi-vitamins and fortified cereal and fortified long life milk.

I try not to fall into 10-a-day style thinking. I have never seen a single study to say that so much variety is needed. It would, throughout human history, have been extremely rare. I see no harm in eating lots of one veg for a while, and lots of another another time. Neurodiverse individuals often find this easier than variety.

I buy two lots of fresh fruit / veg max with my big shop. Maybe a bunch of bananas and spring onions. Maybe pears and rocket. Much more and chances are it will go off. I could shop more often, but I don't drive and that means a couple of big shops delivered a month suit best.

I'm happy to grab an apple, a nice salad, a fruit dessert etc if I need a snack / eat out.

It was during the pandemic that I realised how easy it was to eat healthily if I stopped focusing on photogenic fresh fruit and veg. I managed online shopping for elderly neighbours and realised they had healthy diets without much fresh veg.

This is not to criticise other people's way of doing things but to say there are simpler ways if that's what you need.

Frozen veg are fantastic - often healthier and more environmentally friendly than alternatives. A little more expensive but a time saver for me.

Probably about half, then other half is things like nuts, eggs and pulses, and meat or fish about once a week.

I'm not a vegetarian but don't like cooking meat so it's usually tinned tuna! I also have household items like bin bags, random things like olive oil or spices, and dark chocolate or 0% beer for a treat. I don't buy supermarket bread but like pasta and grains like barley and buckwheat.

OP bot cheaky but I'd love a few days typical meal plan.

I'd love to eat more fruit and veg and buy it but then look st it uninspired!

Ditto!

Cakes, cakes and so many cakes.🍰🍰🍰🍰

I remember a thread where the OP had a piece of toast with jam and I think some avocado for breakfast and everyone was saying she should have had a full English instead because eggs and fat are so much healthier than carbs which will kill you, it was crazy especially as she explained she doesn't like to eat a lot in the morning.

@Westenra It really depends on the frozen food, how it was prepared, the speed of it and so on or how it was prepped, frozen can retain more nutrition but in practice it doesn't always happen, so its a bit of a gamble. I prefer to see what the fruit and veg looks feels and smells like and even in my delivery I will turn away sub standard produce. However frozen can be more practical for people as you say and I have used frozen veg my self at times and as you say people should do what suits them.

There is evidence to suggest that the biggest variety of different fruit and veg is the most beneficial diet but of course if it is a struggle to eat that much then 5 or 7 a day is also great. I probably eat at least 10 a day if not more but that is just how I like to eat.

I do have a diagnosis of ADHD and find my problems with executive function are so much better when I eat a good, highly varied diet for fresh food that is actually one of the reasons we are careful to prioritise this kind of eating.

We mix it up a bit.

We have tons of fresh fruit and v, plus frozen. So lunch today I had a salad of tuna with avocado, peppers, tomatoes etc but at dinner I was tired and had backache, so I lobbed some frozen diced cooked lamb previously saved from a roast leg, in with onion, garlic, curry paste etc, then added in frozen mixed root vegetables. It cooked quickly. I have plenty of spices, probably too many, and use them, but I'm happy to use a paste if I'm pushed for time.

I get great benefits from my diet too, yes.

What I have never seen anywhere is a study suggesting it should be ten different fruits and veg a day. More than five portions, yes. More than five types - people just seem to extrapolate. Would be interested, though. But for the moment I don't bother because while I've seen studies supporting 10 portions, never 10 types.

Frozen vegetables really aren't second best. I find the quality consistent and the science tells us nutrients are locked in when food is frozen fast. So I'm very satisfied that this is a case where convenience works, so long as you are happy with flavour, cooking etc. I am.

And good for you OP turning away substandard produce.

I do have a diagnosis of ADHD and find my problems with executive function are so much better when I eat a good, highly varied diet for fresh food that is actually one of the reasons we are careful to prioritise this kind of eating.

All the good habits help with ADHD of course, and ADHD makes it hard to stick with them, so I do think carefully about the art of the possible. Fruit and veg doesn't have to be fresh, though of course you may prefer it that way.

Ah yes I'm looking into adhd diagnosis - I see whole foods are far better but lack the executive function to plan sort this.

Most of the supermarket prepared veg I eat are chilled or frozen - maybe a fifth of my shopping and I top up at the greengrocers with enough avocados and other fruit to last me the week. I'm waiting for asparagus to come down in price to add that to my shopping. 🌹

Strawberry season is only longer because people grow them commercially in heated greenhouses. Often burning diesel to do so. The ridiculously early and late ones often taste bloody awful.

I’d really like to know how much goodness is left in the fruit and veg in supermarkets. Apart from the obvious soft fruit and salads there is no way it’s fresh fresh. I’d hazard a guess that frozen holds more nutritional value than stored well traveled veg.