Do you really get your five a day?

[chessica]

YABU - yes
YANBU - no

I aim to eat healthily where I can but realistically I probably only have 3 portions of fruit or veg most days. Some days more and some days I only have one.
In a normal day, I’ll have an apple, a bowl of berries/some grapes and then possibly a chickpea curry. Sometimes I add spinach to this and sometimes I don’t. Obviously that’s only 3 a day really as I’m not having that many berries or chickpeas.

I probably get 2-3 a day max.

I'm doing a version of keto at the moment, so yes. Feeling good but it is hard.

Brekkie - plain yoghurt and berries
Lunch - protein such as salmon with a large, mixed salad - spinach, tomatoes, cucumber, kimchi, olives, rocket, etc.
Dinner - protein (steak) with mushroom, onions, broccoli.

Plus cheese and nuts as snacks

No. Today, I've had lemon water, peanut butter on toast, half an apple, some tuna pasta (tinned tomato, garlic but such a small amount. 1/2 a can of toms for 4 people)

I don't think I'm that unhealthy but just dont always manage it. Some days are better than that.

Some days I'll get 10. Other days zilch. It's exhausting trying to keep up with all the veg eating!!!!

Barely. Some days I eat loads but most days I'd say I'm scraping by.

When I was younger I used to eat loads of veg, now I'm older and I don't have such a big appetite but still very active and meat protein makes up a higher proportion than it did before.

I say veg... because I don't like fruit

No. I do eat some fruit and veg each day but have IBS, so if I eata lot of it I can get uncontrollable squits. That makes me very wary.

I can go up to 10 quite easily. I eat salad as one of my meals. I grew up with massive garden and lots of homegrown stuff so I am very partial to veg and fruit. Even if I have to pay for it now...
Some protions are smaller than many people think.
www.google.com/amp/s/www.bbcgoodfood.com/premium/what-counts-five-day/amp

Almost always, and more. I even put kale on pizza.

Sometimes. I probably average out at 3-4ish.

Today I had an apple and a banana, then leeks, a beetroot salad and a cucumber, pepper, tomatoes and carrot salad for lunch, then rocket in my dinner.

Other days I'll have a cereal for breakfast, a cheese sandwich for lunch and then a dinner with probably 2 but sometime just one veg.

At least 5, usually more. I actually like fruit, veggies & salad so it’s not exactly a hardship. Raw veggies with hummus is something I eat almost every day.

God, no. Possibly 3-4 on a good day but it goes downhill at the weekend although I do put strawberries in my prosecco 😊

Yes most days. Today I’ve had about 6-7 portions I think! Berries and yoghurt for breakfast. Apple and satsuma, and pot of dried apricots and other dried fruit for snack. Leftover aubergine bake for lunch with big portion of salad. Fajitas for dinner with pepper, mushroom and onion.

Two of your examples are snacks of fruit - do you not eat any meals with veg in?

I wouldn't say I am particularly healthy but my lunch and dinner usually each have at least 2 or 3 portions of veg!

The competitive fruit/veg eaters are out in force tonight!

I sprinkle broccoli on my popcorn just to make sure I get my veg intake!

I'm 4-7 monday to friday, so counting that as a yes haha, but sometimes only 2 or 3 at the weekend!

Homemade chilli:
Thyme
Celery
Carrot
Garlic
Onion
Red pepper
Tomatoes
Mushroom
Kidney beans
Avocado

Lunch was salmon with potato salad and chives, beetroot and lettuce

I don't find it hard to eat 5 different fruit and veg each day and I definitely aim for more.

If I make a conscious effort, which I do most days but not always.

Some of us just eat like that. I grew up outside of UK, not sure if that makes a difference

But in the homemade chilli example you’re not eating 80g of each of those ingredients are you? Ditto the salads? So those meals are healthy, with a wide range of fruit / veg, but probably only a couple of actual portions?

Nope, hardly ever reach the full 5. We aren’t very big fruit eaters either so that doesn’t help.
However, here’s what I’ve had since Sunday as an average indication.

Sun - glass of orange juice, three veg with dinner = 4/5.

Mon - glass of apple juice. Sliced banana with Weetabix. Broccoli with dinner. 3/5.

Today - no juice or fruit but carrots and cabbage with dinner (we had cottage pie). 2/5.

No, well, I read something ages ago that you should be focusing on eating different types of food to help feed healthy gut bacteria.
So herbs and spices count, different veg, fruits etc
I try and eat lots of green veg but could be doing way better.

https://www.theguthealthdoctor.com/how-to-get-your-gut-loving-30-plant-points-a-week

Yes I do generally (some days are quite junk heavy though!).

I try and have fruit or veg with each meal (eg banana for breakfast, berries for lunch, sweetcorn and peas with dinner) but not always.

However the best way I get them into my diet is in meals. So if I made a curry I'd empty the fridge with whatever I could Chuck in. Carrots, onions, courgette, lentils, sweet potatoes, celery, basically anything that's not to over powering. Then probably have a side salad with it. I do it for any sort of sauce meal (bolognaise, cottage pie, soups). I then freeze a few portions so I've got healthy meals without the faff.

I find eating them individually feels like a chore if I had to eat 6-10 portions!

I easily eat 5 different fruits or vegetables a day, but I am not sure my portions are big enough to count. Eg salad in a sandwich would not be enough to count as a portion, would it? I thought it was supposed to be 80g or a handful? Ridiculous as it sounds, I struggle to eat large enough portions. Also, I am restricted by how much I can eat at the moment as I am low fodmaping (IBS sufferer).

Today I have had a banana and glass of fresh fruit juice as part of my breakfast
salad on a sandwich and a bowl of strawberries with lunch
evening meal was fajita chicken and salad in wraps
all sounds quite healthy but I’ve also eaten nearly a whole bag of minstrels throughout the day (the largest bag 😳)