To think that the middle classes have an unhealthy obsession with fruit?

[FunnysInTheGarden]

DS1 won't eat so much as a grape. So many other parents (and schools) seem to be obsessed with getting their children to eat fruit. AFAIR we ate biscuits as children, as a rule, and not raisins.

BTW the acid in fruit rots a childers teeth faster than you can say 'coke'

Rocklover - maybe try her with watermelon?

The thing is though, that any government guidance has to deal with broad brushstrokes, and for that, I think 5-a-day, whilst not perfect, is a reasonable attempt at communicating the most important message, which is that no fruit and veg at all is bad for you. I don't think the sample of people here who cook from scratch and make stealth veg pasta sauce is an accurate representation of what goes on all over the country.

There are people who can understand and act on more complex healthcare information, and they are also more likely to be the ones that will seek it out and be better informed than just 5-a-day anyway, but there are vast swathes of the population for whom 5-a-day is in itself pretty alien.

I suspect 5-a-day was aimed at the families for whom a normal diet would be Frosties for breakfast, a ham sandwich, crisps and chocolate at lunchtime and nuggets and chips and ice cream for tea. For those people, 5-a-day, or realyl any fruit or veg at all, would be a big step forward.

When you probe any of the guidance a bit further, it's pretty clear that they recommend a variety, and that green veg is particularly beneficial, but for those who are never going to go that step further, saying fruit is bad because it's full of sugar is not going to make them eat broccoli and spinach, it's going to make them think they might as well eat Mars Bars.

D

A few questions: do nuts count in the five a day? Houmous? Potatoes? Carrot cake?

I haven't been counting them.

It's true that many apples are floury and sometimes tasteless. I tend to stick to varieties like gala and granny smith, as they're crisp - gala are sweet, and GS good for cooking.

I also tend to lightly stew a load of different berries - blue, rasp, straw, black, etc, etc, and sometimes throw in other things, like some peeled, chopped granny smiths, then whizz them in the FP, portion them up, and then add them to cereal and Greek yoghurt for breakfast. The options are endless here - doesn't just have to be berries - stone fruits, pears, etc, etc.

It's also true that veg are a better way of focusing the 5 a day.

Ah, bollocks to fruit. I eat about 4 bits a year.

(not middle class though, so no obsession with healthy eating).

Dd eats a load of fruit though. Strange kid.

DO love veg though, so am not all bad.

DS eats no fruit to speak of, and when I see lunchbox or snack threads on MN I am always amazed that
-people expect a seriously hungry child to be satisfied by fruit - it doesn't have many calories for it's bulk, give them a cheese sandwich, fgs.

• the huge acidic sugar load that goes in in the form of grapes, satsumas, raisins

-some children don't have permanent diarrohea!

We eat loads of veg and pulses, and some fruit - as long as there is some vit C somewhere I think veg is better than fruit.

If houmous is part of your 5 day I am actually going to have a little orgasm.

DS (4) barely eats any fruit or veg. It's not taste he objects to, it's texture. He will eat (shop bought) puree pots for babies in any flavour.

Getting him to eat real apple and real baby sweetcorn are the biggest achievements so far and have at least made me feel socially accepted in public!

I saw a nutritionist when he was 2 as he also has allergies, and she said 5 a day was over-rated. Kids need as much protein as you can get down them, and calcium.

I love most fruits but I agree with what Blu just said - it doesn't fill you up as a snack. If I just had a bit of fruit for a snack I'd be hungry again straight away. (Find a packet of jaffa cakes does the trick!)

Shirley, it's your lucky day, because chickpeas count apparently (but can only only count as one portion per day, regardless how many you eat).

Potatoes don't count, but sweet potatoes do. Carrot cake would count if it contained a portion of carrot. Don't think nuts count.

I used to have a very detailed list of everything that counted and how much counted as a portion for each thing, but there is a quick rundown here.

MackeralOfFact.

Come over here right now, I want to kiss you.

I never knew that houmous was considered a vegetable (Chickpeas are more of a pulse though , are pulses part of...I don't care actually YAY HOUMOUS)

my dd2's diet has improved by approximately 50%. She loves houmous.

I tend to agree that we are too obsessed with fruit to the exclusion of veg. As you say the sugar levels in fruit are fairly high.

Personally I tend to prefer fruit when it has been allowed to ferment and been put in a bottle

Always liked fruit myself and as soon as I could cook would bash up my own psta sauce / snack from whatever was in my parent's garden.

boys will eat it, ds3 keenly but not ats chool- they get teased. DS1 has weight isues (under a psych for them, under not over) and I now definatly send in banana cake anyway. sadly, any fruit barring a smoothie (often send in one of thsoe innocent sachets) gets brought home uneaten, which is not gain for anyone barring the supermarket is it?

DS4 is very picky though adn will barely touch anything except carbs / beef, and only fruit in either a pureed sachet or juice / smoothie form, not dieal but we do our best I guess.

(personally, would love a palte filled with green veg at everymeal with just a bit of carb and or protein- is the way I try and eat and green beans win every time over fruit)

I don't really understand why potatoes don't count: they are vegetables, have plenty of fibre and lots of vitamines. On the link you provided it says it's because we usually eat them in place of other starchy food like pasta etc. And so?

I think they think that if they say potatoes count, winnybella, then the general public who are of course really stupid, will immediately gorge themselves on chips and crisps all day every day thinkig it's healthy

I mean, give us some bleedin credit.

I thought it may be that. But boiled, jacket or roasted potatoes (with sunflower or olive or any 'healthy' oil) are not bad for you .

I was never a fan of fruit, whats all this crap about fruit whats wrong with veg?.

It's all ways about the fruit.

My granny only had fruit in the house when someone was ill but there was always soup, stews, etc on the go. And cabbage brose (hot water left over from boiling cabbage mixed with oatmeal. My gran used to treat herself to a deluxe version, which had the cabbge left in it ).

She was pretty healthy, I think we all were. DD is not a lover of fruit (bananas by the bucketload but nothing else)but will shovel down a plate of lentil soup so as long as she'll consume either fruit or veg I'm not concerned.

Tinned spaghetti counts as one of your 5-a-day! well says so on the tin anyway . My DS loves it and rarely eats veg, so thats useful

The General Public ARE really stupid.

I can't understand how anyone can dislike fruit!

Fruit has always been part of my day to day diet. It is just totally normal to eat it.