Eating the rainbow, colour me confused!

[RainbowConfusion]

I am absolutely certain that I am overthinking this, but am interested in some opinions!

I live alone currently, and am trying to eat more fresh foods. So far, so good. I will usually have salad wraps with fish or chicken or mixed root veg with roast chicken. Simple enough, and tasty.

Thing is, there is all of this new info encouraging us to consume more colourful veg, but in attempting to do so, I often end up with a good bit of waste as I can't eat all of it before it begins to go off. I am happy to keep some frozen veg although not all of it (especially salad) can be frozen, and the texture isn't as nice with many veggies.
So far I have frozen green beans, sprouts and peas , but not had much success with others.

How much colour variety do we realistically need? And is this per day or week?

I am trying not to produce waste or spend too much, so am a little confused.

Say I buy a bunch of salad items (leaves, radish, tomato, cucumber, etc) and root veg (carrots, potato, parsnip, sprouts), most will begin to go crappy before I get to them.
Maybe eat salad for half the week and root veg for the latter half?

If you live alone, just put me out of my misery and tell me how you do it, lol

I live alone and do
eat soft fruit and salad start of the week
frozen berries and steam bags of veg always in the freezer
root veg end of the week, apples, bananas, pears etc
tinned fruit in juice, tinned sweetcorn
batch cook - anything I make I add veg to and end of the week I’ll do something like a pasta bake or soup to use up end of cheese, meat and veg

Are you storing things properly? As, if so, everything you’ve listed should last quite some time.

Best advice I can give would be to go online and look up specific storage advice for all your (individual) fruit and vegetables. You’ll be surprised at the difference it makes.

I think so, but most won't last up to a week even in the fridge. I will decant some and store in paper lined tubs, etc.
I tend to do well with non leafy salad veg, longevity-wise (cucumber, radish and peppers last a while)
Carrots, leaves and potatoes seem to spoil fast.

How often do you shop?

I actually miss my old carefree single life.
My "system" was that I'd pop to the shop every day after work, choose whatever I fancied each day, go home and cook it when I got in. So my salad was always fresh, potatoes always new, beetroots/carrots/broccoli always ready to cook there and then that night. I never needed much storage space for veg items, I only stored tinned stuff or frozen things.

But I am aware this system isn't exactly workable for most! It's only because I literally walked past the shops (a Tesco or Sainsbury's) on my way back. I lived in city.

So no idea of your location or lifestyle but maybe just shop more frequently and buy less stuff each time?

I only do a weekly shop now because I have a family and moved to a rural location.

Potatoes should last for weeks if stored in a cool, dark place. Are you trying to store them in the fridge? Similarly carrots store well

Lots of things shouldn’t be stored in the fridge. Potatoes for example should be stored unwashed (and away from onions) in a paper bag in a cool dry dark cupboard. They can last months.

For carrots, remove the leaves, dry them, wrap in a paper towel and then put in an airtight container or plastic bag. Should last a few weeks in the veg crisper.

And so on.

Cucumber also lasts better out of the fridge

Tinned sweet corn is good, tinned mixed pulses, shredded red cabbage in your salad, it lasts ages in the fridge, take carrots out the bag they sweat. Carrots don't keep so well this time of year though.

Pickled beetroot is good

Every morning I have overnight oats which I make with a variety of frozen fruits - mixed berries, plus I buy the tropical mix (mango, pineapple etc)
For lunch I tend to do roast veg (mixed peppers, aubergine, red onion, butternut, courgette, tomatoes, seasoned with garlic, balsamic vinegar sometimes, or morrocan seasonings) and I have that with hummus and a sprinkle of feta. I make it in the air fryer and do enough for 3 days. Sometimes mix in a pouch of lentils.
Other days I make a crunchy salad with raw broccoli, spring onion, chickpeas, apples, carrot, dried cranberries, with a honey mustard dressing (google exact recipes if you need to)
Dinner I have various meals that include a few veg.
For snacks, other fruits like satsumas, apple, pear, grapes.

Supermarket potatoes only last me about 3-4 days before sprouting - regardless of how they are stored. Drives me insane.

Yes, my potatoes sprout and go soft whether i store them in the fridge or in a cupboard

I suppose one of my issues is using online delivery (I don't drive). I use Ocado with the minimum £40 basket.
I did a comparison shopping over the week more locally and ended up spending more.

I probably need to do some thinking about this ...

I think what my OP was trying to say is do we need SO much veg?

For most of my life, I ate roughly 6 per day and some fruit. I was healthy and never had any issues.

I bought it in and it lasted me a week because there wasn't so much of it! I could cycle through it easily without waste.

So much stuff comes in large packs now, and I rarely get to finish it all, especially if I am trying to cram in lots of different types and colours through the week. For instance, I only get through a small amount of potatoes, radish and leaves, there's just so many of them! I make a mixed salad that last me three days and there is a shit load left over for the bin

Life seemed so simple in the past.

Try pickled or fermented veg - pickled cabbage and beetroot, sauerkraut etc. lasts ages

Just do what works best for you, especially if you were happy with how you were eating before.

Lakeland sell “ keep fresh “ bags that extend the life of veggies. You need to have the patience to take everything out of the plastic packaging it comes in and clip in those. I’d also suggest a potato bag if you don’t have one. Potatoes should be lasting way longer than 3 or 4 days. Lakeland also sell those but you can probably find cheaper ones around.

Are they in a paper bag in a dark, cool, dry cupboard, though? And away from onions? Every single one of those factors matters.

I also only do Ocado shops, and I’ve never had this issue with fruit and vegetables. I really think you just need to crack storage and you’ll be good.

However, I ‘eat the rainbow’, but, if you feel it’s not practical for you, go back to how you were eating before! It sounds fine.

I find that storing salad veg and soft fruits (strawberries, raspberries, blueberries) in glass containers in the fridge, keeps them in good condition for much, much longer.

Potatoes are the bane of my life - as PP said, they start sprouting within 3 or 4 days.

I remember being on a training course at work and the trainer said we should eat the rainbow each day. My manager exclaimed "a bag of Skittles".

I online shop at sainsburys and buy one courgette and one carrot a week only get more if i have meal planned something that needs more.

I buy cabbage (red or white) instead of salad leaves - they can be used raw in salad but last longer.

herbs in pots in window sill or on balcony.
sprouting seeds (brokkoli, beetroot, peas, mustard, cress, rocket...)
salad leaves (mustard, rocket, spinach, lettuce)

veg in tins/jars is still veg. I love red cabbage and beetroot from a jar and add it to my sandwiches.

and don't overthink it. you are doing well.

It sounds like you're massively overthinking, to be honest.

All this "eat the rainbow" or "eat 30 plants a week" nonsense isn't really based on much, it's just the latest catchphrase to get us to eat as healthily as possible.

I mean - why 30 plants? Why not 25, or 35? Why eat the rainbow and not even more colours? Why seven colours and not five? If you look at it logically, it makes no sense.

I just eat the fruits and veggies that I like, that I can afford and that won't go to waste. Generally that's berries, bananas, cucumbers, red peppers, aubergines, potatoes, rocket, sweetcorn, peas, carrots, tomatoes, mushrooms and green beans.

Excellent tips everyone, thanks so much!

So, in some instances, is that the only veg you buy all week?

This sounds amazing

It's not just veg but eating a rainbow of fruit too. And I interpret that to be within the 5 a day message for portions of fruit and veg /salad.