to think that eating your "Five a Day" is BULLSHIT

[superv1xen]

and probably just so the government can persuade us to shell out on overpriced fruit and veg from supermarkets

the reason i think it is bullshit is because i decided after a christmas of stuffing myself with junk food and drinking most evenings a bit more than usual i was going to detox and since early january i have been making a converted effort to eat at least 5 portions of fruit and veg a day. as prior to this i was lucky to manage one or 2. mainly because of the cost but also because i dont like it :o

well after my weeks of diligent healthy eating, i have not noticed ANY difference, womens mags would have you believe you will have "glowing skin" if you eat lots of fruit and veg and all sorts of other wonderful benefits.

but no. i feel and look as shit as i ever have.

or does it take longer than a month to work? :o

I'm in awe of the people who manage to eat 10 portions of fruit&veg a day

I have days when I'll have an avocado with lunch, a pear or couple of tangerines during the day and perhaps mash and green beans with dinner.

That's a good day.

Today I had eggs and toast for lunch and then chicken soup for dinner (cooked with onions, leeks and carrots, but only carrots were served with it).

So maybe I had half a portion.

I don't eat breakfast, can't stand food in the morning.I don't really snack. I hate fruit juice. Lentils- nice in a soup once in a while, but other than that, not my cup of tea.

I like cucumber, tomatoes, raddishes etc, but in winter they taste like crap.

Not sure I can deal with preparing veg for lunch and dinner.Hmm.

Calcium is good for us, Jajas! I rationalise my habit by telling myself I am staving off osteoporosis.

Actually, my really dreadful habit is even worse than cream cheese. It's celery with Primula cheese/shrimp spread. But god, I adore it.

Not sure I can deal with preparing veg for lunch and dinner.Hmm.

Frozen veg? It is perfectly nice. You can even get those little individual steamer bags if you won't want lots (and can afford them).

And how about a grilled tomato or some mushrooms with the eggs and toast?

But frozen veg is horrible, except peas and green beans.

Like the tomato and mushroom idea. But are there any nutrients in tomatoes at this time of the year? They taste like water.

Puts on Yorkshire accent even though is Irish
In my day . . . .when I was growing up in the seventies we ate three meals a day with potatoes and puddings. I don't think people worried so much about antioxidants and superfoods and all that bollocks. Not saying that people didn't eat badly but there was just less panic and worry about food. But there was also a lot less processed food.

My dear late mum would refuse to buy me Coco Pops saying 'There's more feckin' nourishment in the box' and made her own bread and stuff, so my sister and I grew up eating real food and it's led to a lifetime of stable weight and good health.

My stomach tightens when I look into a trolley in a supermarket and it's full of shit processed food and ready meals. You just know the kids have a lifetime of problems ahead of them because they won't know what real cheese or real tomato sauce tastes like - just the processed version. The combination of little money and total inability to cook is toxic as well.

The more veg the better. You are completely wrong. If all you care about is your skin then don't bother.

it is easy

a fruit for breakfast

glass of juice

carrots and beans for tea

fruit after

bean salad on baked potato for lunch

coleslaw for the cabbage

extra mushrooms in your spag bol

beans in your chilli

finish off the children's cold broccoli

it is easy

tinned tomatoes and frozen green veg are fine, more than fine

I don't know if anybody has mentioned but baked beans count as a portion of veg as well.

They even claim that spaghetti hoops count as one portion on the tin, presumably due to the sauce rather than spaghetti!

How cheap are those?!

spaghettie hoops..you've got to be desperate to count those

if you can't be bothered with the veg you could at least move over to brown rice and pasta

I've noticed that on the spaghetti hoops, but really.......

Everything in moderation and all that. Once in a while won't hurt. Besides, tomatoes are better for you processed so you don't have to worry about tomatoes with a lack of flavour!.

And I think Heinz spaghetti are multi-grain too.

Not suggesting you can live off spaghetti hoops but all those saying how hard it is to eat your five portions - how hard can it be when there is a portion even in junk like hoops?

I had bowel surgery 7 years ago and had to follow a "low residue" diet for about 2 years, i.e. no roughage...bye bye fruit and veg. I was very worried about this and saw a dietician who told me not to worry and just make sure I took a good multi vitamin and iron tablet every day! So there you go.
Back on "normal" food now, avoid most fruit except berries, but can now eat loads of veg!

Yes, but the point is that spaghetti hoops or baked beans are still a cooked meal, which for many working people means they can only be eated for supper. And supper is the one meal where it's easy to get some veg into it anyway.

Baked beans are good for breakfast, though. Not sure about spaghetti hoops!

I think those who are whinging that they can't fit it in are being a bit pathetic!

Spag bol = tomatoes, onions, mushrooms, spinach + chopped peppers along with your mince and garlic and stuff.

Chilli = as above but with kidney beans, which also count.

The same veg can be used without adding meat as a lovely pasta sauce.

Sausage and mash can be served with 2 or 3 veg at least.

Vegetable soup can contain loads, and is easy to make.

And this evening for 'pudding' my kids had apples and grapes chopped up in a bowl with a dollop of natural yoghurt and some honey.

None of the above meals take longer than half an hour to prepare...about the same length of time it takes a ready meal to do in the oven.

And I tend to shop fortnigtly...fresh stuff one week, frozen/tinned/dried the next. More hardy stuff like apples/oranges/root vegetables will keep for over a week if kept in the fridge anyway.

I don't eat 5 a day in the winter. I'm just not inspired to eat fruit, and don't like buying the expensive imported stuff. I probably eat more than 5 a day in the summer.

My late granny once said to me "I can't be doing with this five a day thing. I eat an apple, an orange and a banana and then can't think of anything else to have".

Yes, Spag bol might include tomatoes, onions, mushrooms, spinach + chopped peppers, but you're not eating a whole portion of each of those in one meal, are you?

My point is that you can eat a certain amount of food at each meal, and that there's a limit to how much of that can be fruit or veg. If you include additional chopped peppers in your spag bol, then you're probably just eating less tomato, or less mushrooms. The amount of veg is the same.

A lot of people who work out of the house also don't have access to facilities to eat a hot meal at lunchtime, which throws you back on the sandwich (or cold fried chickpeas).

The problem is that people assume that if they eat 5 portions of fruit/veg a day without considering the rest of their diet then they'll be healthy. That is total rubbish. It is only beneficial to eat fruit and veg when it is in conjunction with other food groups.

It also gives the impression that fruit and veg is the healthiest food there is. That's not true either. Fruit should only be eaten in moderation because it contains so much sugar. Equally, a lot of common veg like potatoes do little more than fill you up with starch that then breaks down into even more sugar.

In conclusion; yes, it's bullshit. You're much better off eating a balanced diet without any hydrogenated or trans fats and plenty of fresh ingredients.

I would guess that around half of your average dinner plate needs to be made up of vegetables to get 2 portions, when you're talking about cabbage, carrots, mushrooms, peas, sweetcorn, green beans etc.

My best portion booster meal is cauli and broccoli cheese, served with green beans and peas. Fortunately, DS gobbles it up.

I also add lentils to most slow cooking meat dishes to boost the portions.

Top shepherds pie with mashed root veg, rather than potatoes. Tastes nicer too.

I love veg roasted with garlic, olive oil and herbs, pop some chicken thighs in and that's meal in itself.

There's a great recipe on BBC Good Food for healthy egg and chips. Basically chopped potatoes cooked in the oven, with shallots, oregano and mushrooms, crack in a few eggs for the last 3 minutes. Serve with baked beans and tomatoes. Delicious and quick and 3 portions!

YANBU

I hate all this 5 a day crap and I don't encourage it in this house. I do, however, encourage a good balanced diet without counting how many portions of this or that.

Wholegrains contain, apparently, more antioxidants that fruit or veg but the government don't bang on about them do they?

Everwhere I have ever worked has had a microwave, so leftovers for lunch is easy! (And I've worked in a lot of places)

Alternatively, get a wide necked flask! Keeps food warm all day.

But I'm sure you'll come up with excuses not to do these things, too!

My point is, if you want a cheese sandwich every day, have it, but don't say it's your only choice. I do have days without enough veg, but at least I can admit to myself that it's because I'm being fussy/lazy that day.

It's all about the fibre though isn't it? Not the vitamins/nutrients.
It's about, well, bulking out your poo.

That's why a smoothie/juice only counts once. That's why spuds don't count, as they are starchy carbs.

If it was about vitamins, surely the gov message would be "take a vit tab a day". In this way they would earn more too, as they are subject to VAT.

Someone hit the nail on the head earlier up the thread. "if I ate my 5-a-day, I'd have no room for anything else". Yes, you eat less fatty/sugary shit as an added bonus.

YABU

OP - you are an idiot. Of course fruit and veg are good for you, and of course it is eady to include them in your diet.