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 started having a green smoothie every morning - celery, cucumber, pear, lettuce, lemon, spinach and coconut water with ice.

That way I at least get some veggies out of the way before the day starts.

Then I just do the best I can from there!

In the winter I do a lot of veggie soups which helps a lot as well.

Easily. I don't think I'd feel well without it. Isn't food bland without it? No tomato or lettuce in a sandwich? No berries on your cereal? Do you not snack on a pear/apple/plum? Some of our dinners are just made of veg. Not sure if olives with a glass of wine counts?

Yes. I eat between 5 and 12 portions daily. Most days around 8.

Yes even on a day when I haven't done that well

Always have a bit of fruit 1st thing- usually citrus (now so 6am)
Banana or Yoghurt with berries at 9
Lunch will always have a least 2 ( salad, soup or left overs heated up)
Another piece of fruit after lunch (often an apple)
If I am hungry before dinner I try to eat raw Carrots (maybe 2 a day)
Dinner will always have at least another 2
Last night was Asparagus rissotto (so Asparagus and onion)
Night before Lentil mousakka (lentils, tomatoes, onions, Aubergine)

So always 5 frequently closer to 10.

Yes, almost always unless I'm ill. Most of them at dinner. Berries for breakfast, a piece of fruit and maybe some salad or tomatoes at lunch, then three veg or more at night.

Yesterday is typical:
B: blueberries
L: apple
D: frittata with red and yellow peppers, red onions, peas, baby potatoes with skins on, salad of mixed leaves, tomatoes, radishes

Change your lunchtime diet a couple of days a week. Try humous with carrot and cucumber sticks for lunch. Or fresh avocado on toast. Have veg soup on cold days, greek salad on hot days. Add lettuce or watercress to sandwiches with cucumber and cherry tomatoes on the side.

If you are hungry between meals eat a banana. All adds up.

Yes - nearer 7/8 every day. I don't eat meat which helps - I depend more on fruit and veg. I have a mixed salad most days, plus either orange juice or a banana and some green veg at dinner. I used to overdose on fruit (I love it with Greek yoghurt and honey - heaven!) but I'm trying to cut down on sugar so rationing that.

There used to be an ad on telly which started 'It can be difficult to get your 5 a day.' No, it's dead easy but it is expensive!

Those people who are only eating 3 a day, can I ask what you are acting eating? I’m struggling to imagine what you eat.

Breakfast: Muesli & berries (1 portion)
Lunch: Cheese & tomato sandwich, yoghurt, apple (1 portion)
Dinner: Lasagne & broccoli (1 portion)

It’s not that strange.

We get boxes of fruit delivered to the office and it's so tempting I eat plenty of it. I generally prefer vegetables to fruit, so eat more of those at home. I'd say on balance I do eat at least 5 a day.

Yes, most days I probably average around 10-12 types but not all 'full' portions.

E.g. today will be stewed rhubarb with yoghurt, nuts & seeds & a banana for breakfast. Carrot, celery, cucumber & red pepper sticks with red pepper houmous for lunch & a few olives & cherry tomatoes. I've packed some satsumas, apple, grapes for snacks if still hungry. Dinner tonight is roasted veg (tomatoes, onion, courgette, aubergine, red pepper) with halloumi & pitta bread or tabbouleh. Last night (quick dinner!) we had filled pasta with a tomato-based sauce & added mushrooms & spinach.

It's easier if you actually enjoy eating them! There's not much I don't like F&V wise so I try to get a good variety to avoid getting bored. Try to have 1-2 portions with every meal - fruit with your yoghurt / cereal / porridge or avocado, mushrooms, tomatoes etc with your bacon / eggs / toast etc. Salad / coleslaw / pickled veg in your sandwiches / as a side. Fruit / veg sticks as a snack, etc. Add lots of chopped veg / lentils / beans to mince-based meals.

I find it harder if e.g. on holiday & eating out a lot, I always come home craving a big salad / roast dinner / something vaguely nutritious!

Lasange has tomatoes, onions, often Celery and Carrott too ? I would say there is another portion in there. Although my Lasange is vegetarian so has more again

Definitely not. I'm trying to be better

5 a fortnight or so more like

Most days I have more. Occasionally I only manage a smear of tomato sauce on pizza. But on average I easily eat 5.

Usually.

I don’t think Mumsnet is very average when it comes to this. Dh and I eat relatively well, but I don’t like fruit for breakfast. We maybe eat 3/4 portions of veg / fruit a day. And I think compared to most people we know and work with that’s actually very good!

A lot more than 5 most days. I’m vegan so it’s easily done as meals are veg based.

I don't eat any fruit or veg at breakfast

Usually a salad or stir fry for lunch with three different types of veg

Usually an apple

Then always two veg at dinner, even if it's just tomatoes and garlic pasta.

Yes I do, but I lean towards a vegetarian diet (eat fish, a bit of chicken and no red meat).

However this 'eat 5 a day' thing is now out of date. You should aim to eat 30 different plant-based foods a week! For the sake of your gut microbiome. Eating 5 veg a day if they are always the same clearly won't give you this.

Categories included as 'plant-based' are:

• vegetables
• fruits
• wholegrains
• legumes (beans and pulses)
• nuts and seeds
• herbs and spices.

Yes I normally do get 5 a day - on a good day about 8 .. what I am unsure of though is just how much of something you need to eat for it to count

Nope! Some days I might eat 7 or 8, some days I might eat 1 or 2. I don't monitor it, it's just balance. Fruit doesn't really agree with me and I don't enjoy it but I love vegetables, just not all day every day.

I'm about the same as you OP. Some days I get loads, very occasionally I get none, but mostly it's around 3. I think the portion sizes for making it "count" are what I struggle with.
As an example, yesterday, I had blueberries and raspberries in my breakfast but it was probably not even a full handful.
Some cucumber with lunch.
A couple of raw carrots. A couple of broccoli florets and a handful of sweetcorn with dinner.
Other days I might have a salad for lunch, or a stir fry for dinner and it would be much more on those days obviously.

I also fast, I usually aim for one meal a day, sometimes two and very rarely snack. I’m a vegetarian and enjoy vegetables so base meals around them. I think I generally eat a healthy and varied diet, but the very large portions required by the NHS to ‘count’ make getting above three impossible for me. I also eat nuts and seeds as a core part of my diet, which are incredibly nutritious. I always almost effortlessly hit the thirty plants per week target. The plant count is what I’ve had from these meals, as well as some additional granola, tea and coffee and I’m at 28 from Monday to Friday, and didn’t count any of the spices either, which also count to target. I’ll easily be higher after the weekend.

This week for example I had:

• sag dal (only one full portion from the beans), halloumi salad and masala omelette, (split dinner so two portions from pepper in the omelette, and spinach in the salad) vegetable egg fried rice (with peas, carrots, peppers, sweetcorn but not enough of any one to be full portion of any veg) *potato and egg salad with tandoori broccoli (one portion from broccoli, depends if they could from potatoes) *Indian beans and eggs (two, one from beans, one from sweet potatoes, maybe a third from tomatoes)

On holiday yes most definitely.
At home it’s a big effort and most days no.

Rarely tbh. I usually make it to 4, but not often 5. I know I need to do a bit better, as my weight has crept up in the last couple of years, but it is what it is.

So, yeah, similar:
Yoghurt with blueberries, 2x coffee
Toast with an apple
2x Ginger tea
Spag with tomato and garlic
Tiramisu