To think a portion of fruit and veg isn't that big

[Rufusgy]

Constantly people say how the portion of fruit or veg needed is big and people don't often get one in a meal. I've just created a dish with at least four portions with my tomato pasta lunch.

200g of tomatoes
2 large onions
80g button mushrooms
100 mung bean fettuccine

Then also but not enough for a portion
2 cloves of garlic
Bunch of basil
1 tbps tumeric
1 TSP Kayne pepper
A pinch off kelp
Handful of k olives

Onions were saluted in water too, no fat here. All this fits in one bowl and was just right for my lunch.

It doesn't look that nice and I would think it tastes mainly of onions, I love onion, I eat onion in anything I can add it to, but 2 whole, large onions in one meal is too much, it would also only count as 1 of your 5 a day.

It also looks expensive. Poverty is the main reason why most people don't get 5 a day, it is cheaper to buy a jar of sugar and salt laden pasta sauce than it is to make your own with fresh fruit and veg. Chicken nuggets and frozen chips is cheaper to make than a chicken salad with rice.

It also looks time consuming. A lot of people work...

You are simplifying the issue too much, there are many reasons why people don't get enough fruit and veg, that they don't understand portion sizes isn't usually top of the list.

It looks quite watery, is it supposed to be like that?

Ah, I see why you've used the rather odd spice combo.

Turmeric = cancer-fighting!
Cayenne = artery-cleaning!

Pinch of kelp = protein! iodine! superfood!
Mung bean fettucine = clean!

I'm guessing you're no stranger to Holland and Barrett.

I think it looks quite nice and am also intrigued by the mung bean fettucine. I may try some. DH doesn't mind GF pasta but I do so end up doing two pans: GF for him and ordinary for me and DS.

What's the pinch of kelp about? Is it for flavour?

Does Kim know you have kayne's pepper?

looks revolting tbh. bet it comes out looking exactly as it went in.

two whole onions? no vampires visiting you fir a week.

intrigued by the pasta though I'd give that a go

Are you my cat? She just created something that looks like that, on the kitchen floor.

What is a 'clean eater'?

Keyne pepper ?

Do you think you'll be doing big bowel movements of your scales with that?

Posting pictures of your weird lunch surely takes attention seeking to a whole new level.

Is it more attention-seeking that running away from scary signs?

Clean eating is someone who only eats, whole, unprocessed foods, eg lean meats and fish, wholegrains and veg.

I'm not sure you're supposed to add bits of this, that and everything to one meal, I thought the point of it was that eating the "clean" food meant you got everything you need without the need of supplements.

Clean eaters are the kind of people who post photos of their dinner on instagram followed by lots of breathless hashtags like

#eatclean #cleanforlife #fitfam #paleo# #sugarfree #grainfree # firforlife #yum #health #lovethislife

Ah, right.

Does it count as unprocessed if you gussy it up with pinches of kelp, I wonder? Or what counts as 'processing'? Cos I doubt the food can tell if it was 'processed' by horny-handed artisan kelp-harvesters or in a factory.

Blech! Far too much hot spicing.

And if you are usually eating foods with 'no fat' you will make yourself seriously ill. A lack of vitamins ADEK can cause all sorts of conditions, from increased risk of depression to some types of cancer, and that is without considering the increased risk of type 2 diabetes if you make up the kcal shortfall with carbs or kidney troubles and osteoporosis if you make it up with proteins.

I'd have shoved that in a carrier bag and binned it

Spot on squoosh

If you like faux pasta maybe you could make a lasagna but use onion layers instead of pasta sheets and onions instead of tomatoes and onions instead of white sauce?

Is mung bean fettucine clean or processed?

I think only white foods are dirtied by processing.

Green food seems to be immune

I work on the basis of trying to get at least 10 portions of F&V per day - but 1 portion is a handful of berries or nuts, or a handful of veg. I count a whole apple as a portion but probably should be 2.

A lot of my meals, when I am eating healthily, tend to be stirfry type dishes, with a handful of this and a handful of that from the fridge - so not a whole "5-a-day" portion in the dish, but plenty of 10 a day ones. (Pasta or rice dishes, or perhaps a sautéed veg dish as a side to meat and spuds meals).

I also aim for lots of colours - so a dish of onion, garlic, mushrooms, courgette, red pepper, yellow pepper and some peas counts as 7 if I put 2-3 tablespoons on my plate. Add a tin of tomatoes (to make it a pasta sauce) and it becomes 8.

And my lunch salads are (all raw):
2 carrots - chopped in big chunks
Half an avocado
Half a red or yellow pepper, or a mix
4-6 cherry tomatoes
Handful of sugarsnap peas
Maybe 4 leaves Cos lettuce
6-8 olives (sometimes just 1 colour, sometimes a mix)
A couple of radishes if I have any
That makes 8+ servings in my counting.

I only ever count 1 portion of nuts though, no matter how many or variety of types I have in a day (almonds, cashews, peanuts, hazelnuts and pistachios are all likely enough).

And no matter how big a glass, fresh fruit juice is only 1 as well.

so a dish of onion, garlic, mushrooms, courgette, red pepper, yellow pepper and some peas counts as 7 if I put 2-3 tablespoons on my plate

Sorry, am I misunderstanding? You count 2-3 tbsps of this veg mix as 7 portions?

Is that right? I thought you needed 3 tbsps of peas for one portion. So, by my reckoning, this is nowhere near 7 portions.

I think she means three tablespoons of each veg.

I read that as 7 colours not 7 portions

Biddypop your counting isn't the same as official advice, which is that a portion is 80 g.

Does your lunchtime salad add up to 640g+?

6-8 olives, 4 lettuce leaves or a couple of raddishes wouldn't be a full portion, but 2 carrots or half a pepper might. But you're having plenty of veg and healthy fats, which can only be good.

21 tbsp of veg for dinner? Plus a tin of tomatoes? Plus pasta?

Do I have incorrectly-sized tablespoons in my kitchen?

When the advice went from 5-a-day, to 7-a-day, to Biddy's system of 10-a-day, did portion sizes change?

not a whole "5-a-day" portion in the dish, but plenty of 10 a day ones

Suggests that 10-a-day portions are smaller? Is the idea of multiple, smaller portions more appealing to the general public?

2 onions

You're going on about these portions as though yours are normal. 2 onions is a cereal bowl of onions (at least) that's grim. Your plate must've been the size of a serving tray.

But, in regards to what you're actually saying, people on here all the time say "I had soup
Made from onion tomato and carrots, that's 3 portions" NO. That's no portions