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?

I did make a nice salad for lunch though. Feta to get my cheese fix instead of a cheese sandwich - a thick bed of rocket, numerous cherry tomatoes, half a bell pepper, olives, with a glug of olive oil and balsamic dressing.

It was filling at the time but I do feel a bit peckish now three hours later, whereas the sandwich would've kept me going for ages. But I don't have the stomach space for BOTH the sandwich and a side salad in one fell swoop

How about a pitta bread or a small wrap to go with it? I'll be honest I don't find salad on its own particularly filling, but with just something small and usually carby it keeps me going.

I did 8.5 today. 8 is my average.

I use this one as a base. It's actually quite easy to get to 5 if you have different veggies and fruits.

www.bbcgoodfood.com/howto/guide/what-counts-five-day

We make ‘base sauce’ as an easier way to get veggies in regularly. To make 6 portions - 3 carrots, 5 celery stalks, 2 fennel bulbs, 2 onions, 3 red peppers. Fry all in loads of olive oil until well browned then add four cartons of tomatoes or fresh if you have.

You can then use as a base sauce for chilli, lasagne, spaghetti bolognese, or even as a beef casserole base with added wine 🍷👍

I struggle to have 5.

Today I had baked oats with yoghurt, peanut butter on toast, raspberries, Sweet potato/chickpea curry with rice. If canned tomatoes count then I might have scraped 5 today?? If I'd thought about it I could have put a banana on the oats or toast. Doh.

I really need to get better.

I'm a fan of the open sandwich with a few bits on the side as well. Bit messier, but I can stick to my "half the food by volume should be veg" rule

If I have a smoothie with beetroot, a carrot, plum, apple and a big chunk of cucumber, why is that not 5 portions of veg and fruit??

Because it is a smoothie.

@Sarahlou63, liquidized food isn't digested in the same way.
When you chew food, it gets the digestion started. People who wolf their food down without chewing it tend to be chubbier than those who eat slowly, especially if they wash the unchewed food down with a drink.

If you like beans or lentils, make them part of your salad - more filling and still one of your five. I like chickpeas or puy lentils.

So pureeing babies food is only one portion?

You eat baby food @OverTheRainbow88?

If you have a salad consisting of a cereal bowl sized amount of lettuce, 2 medium tomatoes, half a pepper, 5cm of sliced cucumber and 2 asparagus spears that is 6 positions in one meal according to NHS guidelines, you really don’t need to eat kilos of the stuff. Add a small glass of juice and 7 strawberries as a snack and you’re up to 8.

Hahaha no I don’t!! But my babies did, and my youngest is still shite with eating veg but will eat a pouch of ellas kitchen veg!!

And a bottle of appleteiser is a portion.

Sarahlou fruit and veg are good for you in different ways - they're recommended not just because of the vitamins and other nutrients that they contain, but also their fibre content which is good for your digestion, fills you up (displacing less healthy food from your diet), and means the sugar is released more slowly. The trouble with smoothies is that while you get the nutrients, you don't get anything like so much fibre, so the second set of benefits are drastically reduced and overall it isn't as good for your health.

Always more than 5 a day and it’s super easy.
-I have banana and berries with my breakfast.
-Spinach lettuce cucumber peppers carrots tomato with my lunch basically as a side salad.
-Satsuma or mango or grapes, etc, for a snack with Greek yogurt in afternoon.
-And at least two different kinds of vegetables for dinner. If you’re making a carb heavy dinner like spaghetti then half the usual portion and add in extra vegetables or a side salad.

Halve*

@MikeUniformMike - thanks, that's a good explanation.

I'm no expert on digestion or nutrition, but I'm a skinny in a family of tubbies. Even as a small child I ate very slowly and they wolf their food, downing it with tea.

Googled the why a smoothie is only 1 portion and it said because the pulp is removed, and they can be high in sugar.

www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/smoothies-can-only-be-one-of-five-a-day-public-health-england-warns-a6936646.html

www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-eatwell-guide

Small glass of juice for breakfast and chopped fruit on cereal or with yoghurt = 2
Salad for lunch and piece fruit after = 2 more
Dinner with 2 veg or more salad
Easy !

I have some cheats:

• I buy the easy-chopped stir-fry mixes (I don't use the ready-made sauces. Ginger, garlic and soy sauce is fine)
• I buy big packs of frozen berries. Defrost and add to natural yoghurt for breakfast, with pumpkin seeds for crunch. Or have frozen, like mini ice lollies. Or add to g&t instead of ice.
• For a light meal or snack, cauliflower, broccoli or kale in the oven with salt, paprika and loads of oil.

Ready-chopped, that should have said.

Possibly the g&t suggestion isn't in the spirit of healthy eating.

This is how I view my homemade smoothies. Yes of course it's better to eat the contents of a smoothie but if it's a case of is it better to drink the contents or not have them at all then of course it's better to drink them blended up. This morning I had a smoothie consisting of blueberries, raspberries, some mango, a nectarine, easy peeler and a high protein yogurt. That was my breakfast. I actually hate yogurt and hardly ever eat fruit except for on holidays, I don't know why. I recently had a full medical and my cholesterol was really, really good and I never get colds etc so I think for me a big smoothie once a day is beneficial. I also eat a lot of veg and salad for lunch and dinner. I'll have a salmon salad and add a portions of peas or broccoli and so on.