It’s increasingly unaffordable to eat 5 a day

[HappySnake]

Is anyone else struggling with this currently? I know some veg is not too expensive, but I just find with fruit it’s so expensive now. My kids particularly like blueberries and strawberries - I’m spending about a fiver a day. I feel like others who are less well off financially must be finding it even more difficult.

Any tips on affordable fruit etc and how you ensure you get 5 a day would be welcome!

I'm sticking to apples, pears and bananas, carrots & cucumbers for snacks.

i've struggled with frozen berries unless they are going in a smoothie

Frozen raspberries with greek yogurt are very nice.

Markets if you have one can be cost effective but you do have to eat the fruit quickly. Supermarkets if you go regularly and get reduced stickered fruit and eat that day can reduce cost.

I don't have time for that so buy frozen for mango and pineapple plus berries except strawberries as unless I blend them they don't like them frozen (too slimy).

Buy as seasonal as you can will get more for less with fruit.

If you can stretch to a few pots and some soil plus some plants you can save money by planting your own berry plants in the longer term.

My strawberry plants, blueberry bushes in pots gave me loads last year. Raspberries can have a long fruiting season too but best planted in a bed for maximum yield and they can spread sideways a bit.

Has saved me loads as my kids will eat a punnet between them in minutes.

They don't need 5 fruits a day so up the veg options that are generally cheaper and offer limited fruit options per day.

Also tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, squash, pumpkin, green beans, peas, avocado, aubergine and sweetcorn are technically all fruit if they argue about not having enough fruit!

Grow your own raspberries if you can, best thing I did as my son’s favourite . I grew so much last year I had enough to make jam and raspberry wine!

Berries are terrifyingly expensive now op, I find it so sad (to all the people talking about how much op spends on berries, personally I think people choose their ‘thing’- some people get crisps or takeaways, or bottles of wine, some magazines etc etc - I am a fruit lover myself and try not to buy eg six packs of crisps which cost the same) We get a giant punnet of strawberries, one punnet of raspberries and two packets of grapes (has to be done, myself and ds will NEVER give them up!), then apples, satsumas and bananas

My 3 kids also love strawberries, blueberries and raspberries and if I bought them for them everyday it would cost an absolute fortune. They don’t need them everyday, I tend to buy a couple of punnets of each a week, plus they have apples, pears, bananas, oranges, tinned pineapple (very cheap plus handy to keep as it keeps for ages) and watermelon occasionally. Kiwis also a good one, it’s usually around £1 for 5 at aldi or Tesco. With cucumber and carrot sticks plus any veg they will eat they get their 5 a day most days.

We did buy a strawberry, raspberry and blueberry bush last year at the end of the season. I think I spent £5 on all of them. I’m
hoping they produce something this year, although that’s more just for the fun for the kids of growing them rather than the cost. We also started growing pea and bean plants last year, my middle child is a veg refuser but she was much more interested in trying things she had grown and will now eat peas so that was worth it.

OP, I spend £55 a week on all food for the two of us, and this week so far has included

Satsumas
Plums
Kiwis
Apples
Rhubarb,
Peppers
Lettuce
Radish
Tomatoes
Cucumber
Beetroot
Onions
Carrots
Celery
Peas
Sweetcorn
Spring onions
Broccoli
Broad beans
Kidney beans
Spinach
Rice
Oats
Potatoes
Sultanas

I aim for 30 a week and it doesn't really have to be expensive.

Uber Eats do “Fresh Mondays”, where they offer 50% off fruit and veg for delivery from retailers like Sainsbury’s, Waitrose and Morrisons. I usually stock up then, because I make a lot of fresh fruit smoothies 😊

That’s really impressive. Do you buy much if any meat?

I buy bags of "wonky" frozen berries from Tesco and have them with greek yoghurt or porridge. They defrost in two minutes in the microwave.

I’ve found the quality of Aldi and Lidl fruit to be dreadful in the past to be honest.

Ive not been for a year so may have to give them another chance.

Don't bother with fruit - it is mostly made up of sugar (fructose) and water, with some fibre. Not worth the money. It is a better alternative to buying sweets as a treat, but is unnecessary as part of a healthy diet.

Concentrate on the fresh veg - eat as much as possible, including leaves.

Get daily vitamin C tablets if you want the peace of mind.

We have filled our garden with edible plants including an apple, cherry, fig, and plum tree. If you're enthusiastic you can then preserve them to last all year. Or if you don't have a garden you could get an allotment, although that's a lot of work. Blueberries will do best in a large pot with the right kind of compost, strawberries do best in a special strawberry planter (but make sure you cut off the runners if you don't want them taking over the garden). You can grow herbs and tomatoes on a sunny windowsill.

As others have said frozen is the way to go with berries (and some veg). Depends on the fruit how nicely they defrost but generally they need a bit of cooking. I simmer frozen berries in maple syrup to have with greek yogurt every morning which is lush.

I get it because my children are the same but I only get two packs of berries a week, I offer with sliced apple or a plum. Often give carrot sticks, cucumber sticks and peppers. Much cheaper!

Do you have a garden? We planted a couple of raspberry canes and in summer we’re giving them away!

The rest of the year berries are a treat.

5 a day is the recommended minimum.

You should eat more, and most of it should be vegetables.

Try carrots, cabbage, lettuce, etc not expensive fruit, or grow your own blueberries and strawberries.

Frozen blueberries, put them in a pot warm them up add sugar and make a compote for yogurts, you can also buy smoothie mix which is cheap in Aldi.

Frozen fruit and vegetables are just as nutritional.
I use frozen veg for smoothies.
If I'm lucky my carer will bring me fruit from the local market. It's very cheap.. but markets seem to be dying now.

Frozen berries. Defrost in fridge overnight ( or microwave if going into porridge). Lots of seasonal fruit is cheap, Aldi and Lidl do good quality fruit ( better than Tesco who have sent moody fruit or fruit on the turn the last few deliveries to us). Salad stuff is getting more expensive. We don't always get tomatoes etc but there's usually cheap veg, you may just have to see what's on offer and plan around it. We have found our menus have adjusted because of the prices so we are just buying different things.

I’ve found the quality of Aldi and Lidl fruit to be dreadful in the past
I find it to be fine, but it might vary from store to store.

Are you storing fruit in the fridge or a warm room? Put fruit in a bowl, and 'veg' fruits (tomatoes, peppers, courgettes etc in a veg rack.

I use frozen strawberries in smoothies; while I'm preparing everything else I put a few strawberries in plastic bowl and pour hot water on them to defrost them a bit & wash them. Frozen ones make the smoothie like ice cream 😋

How many children if you are spending over £100 a month on berries? Farmfoods do lovely strawberries, as others have suggested eat what's in season or frozen..aldi super 6 there's really no need to spend that much unless it's a lot of children!

Carrots, tomatoes, cucumber? It doesn't have to be fruit. Cut 2.5cm from a big cucumber, and that is a portion. One big cucumber is about 89p, and provides multiple portions.

I disagree, 5 a day is actually really cheap. Carrots, cabbage, onions, peas, broccoli are very cheap, so are apples, bananas and satsumas. Making meals from scratch using fresh vegetables is a cheap way to get in 5 a day. You don’t have to buy expensive berries every day, they can occasional treats.