Do you find it easy to eat your 5 potions of fruit and veg daily?

[CatteryCatss]

I have a yoghurt bowl for breakfast each day with at least 3 portions of fruit in (usually strawberries, raisins, raspberries and banana chips)

Then I’ll have around two portions of veg with whatever I’m having for dinner e.g. mixed salad and corn on the cob with a burger or green beans and carrots with cheesy pasta.

I think I’d really struggle if I ate my five portions individually, though!

Strawberries with the banana, sweet corn with the tuna, tomato and salad leaves in the wrap (could add sliced peppers and black olives), peas with your dinner gives you 9+

I’m ok as eat a lot of veg. I only eat one portion of fruit a day.

Freeze dried strawberries on my yogurt
Lettuce, tomato and olives with the falafel for lunch
Chicken breast with broccoli, carrots and mange tout for dinner

I average 17 different fruit and veg a day. I really couldn't imagine only having 5 portions.

Much easier today than usually now that our local discount supermarket has started selling AllPlants meals for 75p

I'm vegetarian so most of my meals are basically plants+. Yesterday we had my mum's recipe ratatouille which was 5 alone, I had leftover veg and tofu stir-fry for lunch and tonight is an allplants laksa, again with 5+. Imho the trick is not to sidedish it but for veg to be the main event.

I haven’t heard of that! The NHS website recommends 5 a day. Where did you get that info from please?

I thought the 35 plant based foods in a week had replaced the 5 per day. I think it is an easier concept as herbs, spices and pulses/beans all count. Ensures more variety and acknowledges that spices and herbs are important even if in tiny amounts.

@JennyForeigner I've had some all plants meals, I thought they only contained 2 portions?

I’m not a big fan of fruit but eat a lot of veg and salad.

breakfast: omelette with mushrooms, spinach, onions, peppers and olives.

lunch: a fish cake with a salad of lettuce, cucumber, olives, tomatoes.

dinner: chilli with passata which counts, mushrooms, onions, olives, kidney beans.

How do you make chia seed pudding? It often pops up on Instagram but not sure how to make it.

I just took it as general knowledge, definitely seen threads about this before, is'nt the 5 recommended because they used to think 7 was too high an expectation for people to manage? A quick google shows me lots of info eg https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-26818377 but its defo 7.

When I’m in work all day I do. I usually have a banana with breakfast, an apple on my break and pesto pasta with a pepper in for lunch. Then dinner, whatever we make would usually have onion/garlic/pepper/mushroom in, or a side salad, or sweetcorn etc.
But at weekends or when I’m off work, I don’t eat the fruit in the daytime the same, and wouldn’t always have any with lunch!

I admit I struggle. I have a habit of sharing fruit portions with my son so end up getting even less. I'm not sure I get 80g of each of the vege with dinner either.

Just need to be a bit greedier but I'm also broke. A regular packet of raspberries is like two servings at most isn't it?

I have a very small appetite (but I'm old and sedentary) but I eat, for example, an Apple and banana for breakfast, a small lamb steak with carrots, peas, cabbage and leaks. That was It for the day.

so I usually hit my five a day.

I'm great at sticking to my calories (1500) and my protein (100+g) but definitely don't get my 5 a day every day although it does vary.

Today I've had lettuce & cherry tomatoes in a wrap at lunchtime and raspberries in a protein shake mid afternoon. I don't eat breakfast and tea was rice and prawns that we made and ate in what felt like 3 minutes!

Tomorrow will be better as we're having a meat and veg tea and having eaten not much fruit and veg today, I'll try and fit in a few more tomorrow.

Don't ask what happens at weekends though...😬

I'm not sure I manage it in a week tbh. I have a lot of onions and garlic if that counts? And potatoes.

Thank you. I don’t eat lunch, so I think I’d struggle eating 7 portions each day. It gives me something to strive towards though, since I find 5 portions easy!

Like a pp I follow zoe and I try to get 30 a week. It includes 7 or 8 for breakfast as I’ve made jars of muesli and porridge with lots of grains, nuts and seeds and I’ll add fresh fruit and kefir yogurt.

ive also started to add lots of herbs and spices to things as they have benefits and a pot of soup of casserole with 7 or 8 types of veg. If it’s a meat dish like casserole or curry I’ll add lentils or beans or chickpeas and even if I just have a piece of toast I’ll either add kefir or hummus with a load of nuts or seeds.

I don’t weigh things and for the first time ever could see myself being vegetarian as I’ve cut down so much on meat. Dc aren’t ready for this diet yet and still eat a lot of fish so I do sometimes eat the same thing as them but I reckon they’re now eating up to 8 types of veg some days (although not always large enough to be a portion).

I tried counting with the Zoe method and got to 17 by lunchtime on Monday. It slows down a bit after that because breakfast is the same each day, but I've never got beyond Wednesday before hitting the target.

Depends what is classed as a portion of fruit n veg. Few slices of cucumber a few cherry toms or 1 whole tomato 1 carrot a quarter of a cabbage 2 strawberries or even half a mango? Haven’t got a clue. If it’s different fruit n veg then I probably do it but if it’s portions then I probably don’t.

Quite possibly, but when they cost 75p you can have two 😉

True! I just remember being surprised as assumed I was being very virtuous and there would be more veg in.

I don't, can't imagine eating that much anything in a day tbh

I find it easy if I think about it a bit. (eat a banana before my cup of tea in the morning etc) Doesn’t happen if I am in a rush though.

A handful - so an apple or tangerine, two tablespoons of peas, a heaped tablespoon of buttered swede, a small bowl of oats for porridge, five lettuce leaves, half a can of kidney beans. Etc.

I try to have a big bowl of veg soup every day. Piece of fruit at lunchtime. I also do a massive bowl of coleslaw and eat that too

Then 2 x veg with dinner, plus fruit for pudding

It is easier in summer