Do you get your 5 a day or more?

[AbsentmindedWoman]

I find it difficult to hit this target every day tbh. Today it's easy because I'm making vegetarian chilli for dinner and will likely have two platefuls.

Other than that, today I've eaten a cheese sandwich and a bowl of olives. So if, for example, tonight's dinner was salmon and asparagus - then I wouldn't get 5 portions today.

I like all fruit and veg just struggle with quantity required to hit the daily target, plus only eat fruit a couple of times a week because I have type 1 diabetes and it frequently is very difficult to dose insulin for without causing a spike or a drop.

So - how do you manage it?

@AbsentmindedWoman aren't some fruits that are low in fructose okay for you with your diabetes?

I thought most berries were okay, & apples and pears?

I mentioned berries because they are relatively low GI compared to some other fruit. But my dad is type 1 diabetic and eats plenty of other fruit and he manages fine.

Blueberries are one of my 'safe' fruits that I can eat and I bloody love them. Strawberries are tougher to work with though.

Low GI actually make life more difficult ime - the slow rise of blood sugar is great for all you people with a working pancreas, but when I am manually dosing for insulin, it can be harder to work out when the sugar/ carbs is going to hit, so harder to get the timing of the insulin exactly right. Especially because it's also compounded by other factors like what exercise I've done that morning, how hot it is, if I'm stressed, if I'm tired, etc etc.

Cool your dad can eat lots of fruit. I definitely can't. I work extremely hard to maintain blood sugars that at non-diabetic levels, with the aid of technology that is the closest thing to an artificial pancreas in the world. Eating more fruit would fuck that right up.

Your dad, as a man, won't have the variables of the follicular and luteal phases to contend with, as women of childbearing age do. His hormonal profile will be flatter, which gives him an advantage in his diabetes management.

@JinglingHellsBells

Apples have been sent by Satan to mess up my blood sugars and need about four hours of work to correct

Pears are sometimes ok! I love berries, and blueberries are one of the fruits I eat most because with some full fat greek yogurt they almost never cause me an issue.

I get really sad sometimes because I can't really ever have bananas these days. I used to love a banana sandwich!

I'm another one who thinks ten a day sounds a bit excessive and I am a veg loving vegan. Five a day is easy but I just don't see how 10 a day is possible unless you're constantly eating .

I’ve stopped eating high sugar fruits most of the time because I have PCOS and am therefore probably insulin resistant. As I’m nearly 40 it’s probably getting worse too, as I understand it. My fasting blood sugar is certainly nudging the high side, though not actually prediabetic.

I’m doing 16:8 fasting and low carb in the hopes of improving this, but for now bananas, melons, grapes, mangoes etc are all out, sadly.

On the other hand, I live in Portugal and the local fruit that I can eat is bloody delicious.

I dont know if eat 400g of veg or fruit a day as I eat small portions and dont snack. So today half a tin of beans on toast for breakfast, broccoli and blue cheese soup for lunch then stir fry which was half a portion of noodles and then egg broccoli carrots mushrooms peppers and peas. Most of my meals are half veg or salad and I am still clueless. I'll just have to start weighing it to find out!

I don't everyday, but similar to you, some days I'll have way over, so over the span of a week I have the recommended amount. I never used to, but I'm much more mindful with DS' meals with incorporating plenty of veg etc (not that he usually eats all of the veg...), and I quite like fruit now with my breakfast.

I have berries in my porridge, cucumber sticks and an apple at lunch and usually grapes mid afternoon. Then 1-2 types of veg at dinner (tonight had peas and sweetcorn). So I just about do the 5 most days but some days it’ll be more and some less. I think I’d struggle to do 10!

10 a day is easy. Eat fruit or veg with every meal. Start with the fruit or veg as it is easier to digest that way.

A portion isn't that big.

www.nhs.uk/live-well/eat-well/5-a-day-portion-sizes/

I get 4 or 5 MOST days, but certainly not all...

Today, banana and glass of OJ at breakfast.
Broccoli at dinner.
Just had an apple for supper.

So that's 4.

A portion isn't that big.

That is a matter of opinion, and not a universal truth though. Everyone likes different amounts of food. I've had a look at your link, and the portion sizes pretty much are similar to what I've read before.

It is a lot of food to squeeze in when you aren't hungry for a big chunk of your day!

I try to, especially during covid times, I try and get 2 Fruits into my breakfast-
Say like wheetbix with banana and strawberries so that’s already 2/5!

I think the key is buying tasty fruit, veg you like and prepare in tasty manner.
eg
my kids eat carrot/pepper sticks if served with a dip
pay more for decent apples
roast veg like carrots, green beans, cauli, parsnips
stuff peppers
rinse off tinned fruit to remove most of sugar
make veg soup/ratatouille/tomato based pasta sauce in bulk and freeze
Add dried fruit to porridge or cereal

Well today I had scrambled eggs with tomatoes followed by strawberries and an apple for breakfast, fish and a very large salad for lunch, grilled chicken with brocolli and spinach, followed by mixed berries and yoghurt for dinner.

Definitely start with eating x3 portions of veg with your dinner. As well as asparagus have broccoli and kale?
With the cheese sandwich have chopped up cucumber/ tomatoes on the side or a side salad

Fruits low in sugar: apricots, raspberries, dates?

I read an interesting article recently which stressed the importance of a variety of fruit/veg/legumes/nuts over the course of the week and we should be aiming to eat at least 30 different plant based foods.

Since then, I have been keeping track of what I'm eating and the highest weekly score I've got is 28!

If you cook curry with rice

Add chickpeas or peas and onions, or even grated carrots into the rice. Steam it while the rice is cooking. I tend to add vegetables inside my curry too.

If you’re making sandwiches for lunch, then put lettuce, or spinach, with tomato or cucumber..

I try to have either soup or salad for lunch that way I at least take in a fair bit.

Snacks, I snack on carrots with hummus. Or dates. Or apple slices with peanut butter. Or cucumber with cottage cheese.

I also have fruit snacks. I put fruits in my porridge or on my cereal. Banana or berries.

I try to have an orange half an hour before dinner as it opens up the appetite.

Today, I had a banana for breakfast, spinach and nuts and tomato olives and boiled eggs for lunch, apple slices with peanut butter for a snack, also an orange and a few dates, then I had a vegetarian curry that has carrots and potato and onions and red lentils and garlic.

I wouldnt say today is the best in terms of vegetable intake.

But ever since I turned into a flexitarian I’ve started to pay more attention to varying vegetables in my diet and it’s improved my awareness of how much/little I eat.

@MrsNotNice, when I eat a curry, I don't have rice with it.
I really don't see the point of eating rice or pasta.

Eating an extra three portions of veg with dinner is the best part of a whole other meal. It’s insane to force yourself to eat heaps of extra food when you’re not hungry and already eating veg, just to hit this target. I’m not a french bloody goose ffs.

@Frenchtoastie

Definitely start with eating x3 portions of veg with your dinner. As well as asparagus have broccoli and kale? With the cheese sandwich have chopped up cucumber/ tomatoes on the side or a side salad

Fruits low in sugar: apricots, raspberries, dates?

Well, we do eat broccoli/ kale/ spinach/ whatever at other times. When I gave the example of the asparagus, it's a large amount, about half a pound. So probably two portions of veg. I don't think I'd comfortably eat any more veg alongside that.

I used to make nice green smoothies and fell out of the habit so should do this again. Kale, mint leaves, half a kiwi and spirulina.

I also used to make kale crisps in the oven, they were nice!

Dates are a bit of a sore point I love the fat, tender, delicious, fresh dates (not the ones in the box with the little stick) but they are ANYTHING but low in sugar!

I do
I make a smoothie each morning with at least two portions of fruit. Lunch is usually a massive sa!ad, a good 2 portions and dinner another two portions of more. I didn't use to but for over a year have really made an effort to have my 5 a day. I'm now working on adding a lot of variety, I read somewhere about the benefits of eating 30 different fruit and veg a week.

The idea is you eat less of everything else and mostly veg. Not that you keep eating as you are and just add veg. For example last nights dinner a few years ago would have been a big piece of ham, loads of chips and a spoonful of peas. Now I have half as much ham, a spoonful of chips, and over half a plate of 3 different roast veg plus peas. No more food, but lots of different vegetables.

@MikeUniformMike same here. I almost never eat rice with curry/ dhal/ chilli either and I don't miss it.

Most of our curries are veg with beans and pulses, though we do have the odd fish curry here and there.

I think it's called 'Crowding ', as in you have so much fruit and veg there isn't much space left for the other foods.