To think that the vast majority of people can't afford or won't buy 7 portions of fruit and veg a day

[LaurieFairyCake]

After listening to the debate on radio 5 yesterday Richard Bacon was making the point that it was easy as the portions were small.

No, they're really, really not!

I've just looked at the Daily Mail run down of how much you have to eat and I think it's actually prohibitive financially.

2 nectarines,
3 heaped tablespoons of sweetcorn,
Quarter of a big broccoli or cauliflower,
3 heaped tablespoons of mangetout
7 spears of asparagus
Half a pepper

All one portion

Seriously no one can afford that. In Aldi it's only 4 spears in a portion to buy for 79p so I need £1.60 to buy one portion of asparagus - obviously I wouldn't as I'm not an eejit.

Eating seasonally not so easy either as you can only get your nutrition from one thing twice in a day. So only two apples.

I reckon shopping in Aldi I'm going to need to spend about £8 a day for a family of 3 adult eaters for fruit and veg. So that's £56 a week just on fruit and veg.

Just say no to fruit. Eat carrots.

you can freeze melon in chunks or slices and eat straight from the freezer. Yum.

When i was losing weight i used to freeze white seedless grapes and then suck them like boiled sweets straight from the freezer. Also a good trick if you are trying to give up smoking and not put any weight on by snacking.

nicky

it is 3 tablespoons of peas, corn etc not 1, portion size is said to be 80g but being precise it varies depending on nutrition of the food a kiwi is small but 1 portion probably the same size as satsuma but 2 of those are a portion,

different veg are more or less it is 4 tablespoons of kale a 1/4 cucumber
I would think a whole banana was 2 portions for a toddler but 1 for an average adult but I think that reduced veg are not always accessible to many people

I live rurally I am fortunate I have a car and within 20 miles (40 miles round trip but can combine with work) i can access aldi, co-op waitrose and a small tescos, butchers fish shop, green grocers and farm foods

aldi has cheapest fresh fruit and veg; waitrose have best bargains if there at right time, farmfoods has cheapest frozen peas etc

for many people using only public transport the only choice is the co-op supermarket, the local butchers or farmfoods that is within 10 miles

within walking distance is a corner shop Spar 1.5miles away

TeacupDrama

it is 3 tablespoons of peas, corn etc not 1

You're getting mixed up between a couple of things. I was talking about the same portion sizes that this report was talking about which you will have seen in the link that I provided.

The figures for this study come from the ''Health Survey for England''. The answers supplied for this report reflect the answers given in that survey. In that survey, one portion is one heaped tablespoon of veg - not three tablespoons.

So, when this report talks about 7+ portions they are talking about their own definition of portions.

Not everyone has a car, not everyone lives near a German discounter, not everyone has a lot of time to spend shopping in a lot of different places, not everyone has reasonably-priced Asian grocery shops nearby, not everyone has a local supermarket which dramatically reduces prices on good, edible food regularly, not everyone has a local market or farmers' market or farm shop, and if they do have one it might not be frequent or sell a lot of veg, or discount items at certain times of day

Nothing can be perfect for each person can it?

You missed out not everyone has a garden or allotment so they can grow their own fruit and veg, not everyone has a pot with soil in that they can put on their windowsill to grow something, not everyone can walk so they can't get to the shops..........

Buy your veg first. Then your proteins and carbs. Fruit & veg are the most important thing.

It isn't the governments fault that eating 7 portions of fruit&veg a day is healthy! What do you want them to do, OP? Change it so you only have to eat 3?

Agree with fayrae

It is not always that easy for people have the options either. I am on a low income so I have to spend a lot of time chasing special offers or getting stuff cheap where I can, other people around just get everything from the supermarket and then complain how expensive it is.

People are just giving their ideas, one may work for one person, it may not work for another.

By the way, go for the basil pot, love that you could make a lovely canned tomato and basil sauce to go with pasta or on the base of a pizza

But people can't know who has access to what shop, can they? They are just talking about their own experiences. It is not blindness

Every book is not written in Braille is it? Just a selection. Do you think it is blindness that there is not the same choice for blind people than there is for the seeing?

Probably not the best example

What is the issue with frozen fruit and veg? I thought it was supposed to be fine.

well they are always changing their minds about what we eat and drink so best just have what you fancy

People assume it means eat as they do already plus more veg. If you eat more veg, you tend to eat less meat which is expensive. Of course, if you live in a place where fresh food is hard ot come by, then you have other difficulties. But I don't think that amount of veg is necessarily expensive.

well they are always changing their minds about what we eat and drink so best just have what you fancy

That is what my morbidly obese stepfather says

I would rather not follow yours or his advice thanks!

But if what you fancy is a tub of ice cream...?

I quite fancy tubs of ice cream, fish and chips, burgers and fry ups - doesn't mean I eat them or I would end up the size of a house

well they are always changing their minds about what we eat and drink

I'm not sure I've ever seen 'them' change their minds about vegetables being good for you though.

Fruit and veg have always been on the healthy food list. I

Agree with Errol and nkf

You have picked pricey stuff!
You could have:
One glass of juice, berries on cereal, Snack of carrot sticks, half a can of beans with lunch, snack of a banana, some broccoli and peas for dinner.
No I don't do it but it can be done and you don't have to spend much, if you are eating more fruit and veg which is fairly cheap you'll be eating less meat and carbs which are pricier.
And a portion of broccoli is not as much as you're saying btw, 90g is only two biggish florets.

Our old local market in London had huge amounts of fruit and veg really cheap. Two big bunches of bananas for a quid, two large broc heads for the same etc.

But.

It all had to be eaten sharpish. And there was no parking nearby so it was a bus ride home during which you would experience mad hate from nearly every other ground floor passenger for getting on with huge amounts of shopping. And it was all bloody heavy.