Join me for a Five-a-Day Five-Week Challenge?

[FishWithABicycle]

Would anyone else like to join a thread to keep track of whether we managed to eat our five-a-day servings of fruit and veg?

I think I'm normally not too bad but yesterday (admittedly a special case as it was Father's Day) I really didn't. Maybe a daily post here will help keep track and perhaps make me think about some of my food choices a bit better. Anyone else like to try this along with me?

So: yesterday was pretty poor. No fruit or veg at all at breakfast (cereal with milk). Lunch out at a pizzeria - my pizza had spinach on it so poss half a portion there. Supper was a small bowl of pasta and pesto with a handful of cherry tomatos - 1 potion. Score 1.5/5

Let's see how we go in future...

[cheminotte]

nicole - Sorry to rain on your parade but I think smoothies like juice can only ever be counted as one portion.

I had a big veg stirfry last night for my tea..Forgot about strawberries and have just discovered they have gone mouldy!

Today - berries in my porridge (1), snack pack of chopped apple (1), 1/2 plate of salad (2 hopefully).
As an aside I gave ds1 pasta with mixed frozen veg for tea last night. It was a little individually packaged portion, 180g and counted as 2 portions. I would have assumed only one so I may be underestimating portions when its not as simple as 1 apple or 1 banana.
He didn't finish it all by the way but was happy as an alternative to tomato sauce.

[FishWithABicycle]

I love the sound of doughnut-shaped nectarines nicole I bet they were lush.

I knew that you were only allowed one of your 5-a-day to be juice but I thought smoothies can count so long as the whole fruit/vegetable goes in? I would query a smoothie being 4 portions though unless you are having more than a pint of it - having 4 ingredients doesn't make it 4 portions (I think there needs to be between 80g and 120g of each different fruit or vegetable, depending on moisture content (something more watery needs 120g to be a portion) and 400g of vegetable matter would make a huge amount of smoothie given that you need to add a bit of liquid too usually.

I finished up yesterday with a couscous dish made with quite a lot of courgettes and a few other veg. If we can be charitable and claim 2 portions there I think I made 5 yesterday. Possibly 4.5 if I'm being too generous about the couscous.

Today I had no fruit at all at breakfast, a big salad for lunch with various leaves and an avocado, so we'll call that 2 portions, and supper was a couple of sausages with decent-sized servings of broccoli and carrots and a couple of french beans (too small to be a portion by themselves) all tossed in tarragon butter - another 2 portions so today's score is 4. I could grab some fruit now and make it 5 but I'm not hungry and don't want to just eat for the sake of it!

I'm beginning to have to throw away bits and bobs of fruit from the 5-a-day shopping spree I indulged in last Wednesday - I got several things on 2-for-1 offers which were actually beyond my capacity to consume before they went off

[Jinsei]

Hello OP. I've been trying to eat my 5 a day this week too - I have another thread going at the moment about my "two-week healthy challenge".

I'm eating more fruit than veg at the moment, which isn't great, but I figure it's better than the junk I usually eat, and at least I'm getting my five a day!

I've been adding raisins and blueberries to my morning porridge. Then I'm taking loads of carrot sticks and cherry tomatoes to snack on at work, as well as an apple and grapes in my lunchbox. Finally, I'm trying to have at least two portions of veg with my evening meal - relatively easy as we are veggie - and more fruit for afters. Tonight I had strawberries. :)

[nicoleshitsinger]

My smoothies are just blended whole vegetables and fruit - plus added water/coconut milk. I don't juice them.

"I would query a smoothie being 4 portions though unless you are having more than a pint of it"

The smoothie I made yesterday had the following in it: a whole banana (1 portion), three lumps of frozen spinach (1 portion - as recommended on the bag), half a large avocado (1 portion I think - it was quite a lot of avocado meat), two large pieces of pineapple. Just blended with water - nothing added or taken away. There was a lot of it, I'll admit, but not a pint. Managed to drink it in one sitting without feeling sick or too full or anything.

[nicoleshitsinger]

Tonight is vegetable chilli - not sure how many portions of fruit and veg, but it contains

a bag of frozen black eyed peas
one celery stalk
about 8 tomatoes
5 small carrots
one onion
one green pepper. But it's enough for me and DH, maybe for more than one meal.

[nicoleshitsinger]

Sipping a smoothie now actually and it's the best yet:

squeeze of lime
handful of frozen raspberries
small banana
3 florets of frozen broccoli (one portion - I weighed it out)
coconut milk

It's cold and creamy and you can't really taste the broccoli.

I bought a super powerful stick blender in Lidl the other day for about £9 and it absolutely pulverises everything.

[FishWithABicycle]

Delighted that more people are joining the thread - welcome everybody!

Today was so manic at work I didn't have time to eat anything at all till 2pm, when I managed to scoff some of the salad I had with me (less than half) while walking from one meeting to the next.

2 portions of veg with supper (broccoli & carrot)

so realy only managed 2.5 portions so far. I may need to have a smoothie for pudding to have any hope at all of reaching 5

[Jinsei]

Hello all. I had raisins and blueberries with my breakfast, raw carrots and cherry tomatoes for a mid morning snack, then an apple and some grapes at lunchtime. For dinner, I had vegetable risotto with onion, lots of spinach and mushrooms, followed by strawberries for dessert.

Not sure about portion sizes but I reckon with all of that that I've had my 5 portions today!

[FishWithABicycle]

Sounds good Jinsei

I'm trying to come to terms with a smoothie at the moment. I made it with a banana, a nectarine, half an avocado, a slice of melon, kale (just a handful), mint, and lemon juice. I'm not at all sure I like it and don't think I'll finish it. If I do finish it I'll exceed my 5-a-day but I'm not sure the end justifies the means!

[Jinsei]

Must admit, I'm not a huge fan of smoothies - don't like the texture usually. I prefer to just eat the fruit and veg as they are.

[FishWithABicycle]

I think my smoothie would have been nicer it I had a more powerful whizzer like nicole's and so had a better texture. I gave up after about a quarter of it so didn't make 5 yesterday.

Today I had mango & pineapple at breakfast (but not a full serving of each, just one between them)
Sweetcorn & a decent-sized-side-salad at lunch was 2 servings worth
Peas, chickpeas and mushrooms and tomatos in a curry for supper, another 2 servings
So managed my 5 - phew!

[Jinsei]

Hi there. I think I've managed my five portions today.

Breakfast and lunch quite similar to yesterday - blueberries and raisins with porridge, snack of cherry tomatoes and carrot sticks, apple and grapes at lunchtime. Then this evening, I had pasta with tomato, basil and avocado plus a glass of juice.

[BlackeyedSusan]

I fnd that raisins, sultanas , dried apricots and dried dates on cereal help as the portions are smaller. (30g of raisins)

one medium tomato and two inches of cucumber count as on portion each... according to the list I have... (and I count them as veggies though they are technically fruits)

[cheminotte]

Not a good day yesterday -2 satsumas at work, a few cherry tomatoes and a bit of cucumber with my sandwich tea. Thursday is always rushed as I go to a class at 7 so have to quickly eat something in about 20 mins before bathtime. Then a bowl of chopped apple and pear (1 of each) with yogurt when when I got back. So maybe 3 1/2 portions but mostly fruit.

[cheminotte]

nicole - sorry if I was wrong about smoothies. I thought the process of blending changed the chemical structure of the fruit / veg making it less beneficial to the body. That may well be something I've read on here though, so please don't ask me to quote my sources!

[FishWithABicycle]

Weekend so full I haven't had time to post. I wonder if I can remember...

Friday - zero score at breakfast. Avocado and a satsuma with lunch. At supper had pies that had veggies in them plus broccoli carrots and green beans as side veg, and then raspberries with pudding - I'm sure I exceeded 5 with that lot!

Saturday - orange juice with breakfast. Lunch at a cafe had a reasonable portion of salad with some felafel (do chickpeas in felafel & houmous count towards 5-a-day? - will assume not so count one serving). Takeaway indian for supper - I had spinach in saag paneer and curry included lots of aubergines and other veg, think I can count 2 there. Strawberries for pudding so that makes 5 I think.

Today - Fruity muesli at breakfast which I've been counting as half a portion. At lunch I had some carrot sticks and some raw broccoli dipped in houmous and an apricot and nectarine fruit salad after. Supper I've just had some leftover curry from last night's takeaway but probably only one portion of veg in there - I think I'm only on 3.5 so far, possibly 4 if being generous with the points. Will eat an apple and make it possibly just scrape to a 5...

[BlackeyedSusan]

try weighing the portions to be able to get an estimate of how much one portion is.

[poshpjs]

Fruit juice is not going to count any more- too high in sugar. new guidelines are coming out on this.

Can you aim for 2 portions of fruit a day- that should be easy- an apple, banana, orange, or seasonal fruit, eaten as a snack or after a meal?

The 3 veg at least with your main meal?

If you manage some salad as a side dish with your lunch or in a sandwich that's another portion.

[FishWithABicycle]

Fruit juice not going to count any more seems very arbitrary - orange juice is no higher in sugar than eating an orange after all (not that juice is normally one of mine).

5 veg and 2 fruit is going to be very difficult to manage - I generally only make it to 5 due to fruit being among the 5.

Meanwhile:

Monday - I'm assuming that the apricot puree in the middle of apricot wheats cereal isn't fruity enough to count so probably zero score then. Lunch was an avocado with pasta salad and a couple of cherry tomatos with a nectarine after so lets call that 2 servings (not enough tomato to make it three). Dinner out at a pub where I had a mezze platter that easily exceeded 2 portions of veg with all counted, so happy to claim 5 was reached.

Tuesday - Fruity muesli at breakfast plus a small (less than 1 portion) fresh apricot makes 1 portion. Lunch of dahl with a good portion's worth of cherry tomatos is another. Dinner of a veg stew that had a good 2 portions of veg in it, then pudding was a portion of mango with icecream. 5 reached again.

Today I had fruity muesli again with a much larger fruit plate of mango pineapple and nectarine - 1.5 portions I'd say. Lunch was a big salad - 2 portions happily. Dinner not made yet but is going to be a pasta bake which will contain plenty of broccoli and courgettes so another 2 portions

Given that I'm already getting more than 2-a-day of fruit I could only make this 5+2 new guideline by adding more veg - not fruit.

Is there a non-smoothie related way of getting vegetables in at breakfast time?

Looking back over this thread, I usually have 1 portion of veg at lunch and 2 at dinner and would have to make that 2 at lunch and 3 at dinner to meet the target. But the meals I have are nicely balanced between protein, carb and veg - if I up the veg I either have to eat more (not a good plan) or make the meals unpleasantly unbalanced with a far higher veg-to-other-stuff ratio which would make them much less appealing.

[poshpjs]

sorry but that is not right about juice= 1 orange.
To get the same amount of juice in 1 glass you'd need to eat around 4-5 oranges. No one does this normally in one meal and it raises blood sugar just like any other sugar. If you eat the actual fruit you are also digesting some fibre too.
This was in the news last week but it's been discussed now for about a year.

Main meals should be more protein and more veg and fewer carbs. eg 40% protein, 40% veg, 20% carbs.

A portion is a large handful.

I don't think you can count fruity cereal as a portion of fruit- there won't be enough and if it's mainly raisins or other dried fruit that is very high in sugar.

On an average day I might have 2 pieces of fruit , plus salad for lunch including peppers, celery, watercress, lettuce, maybe a small avocado 3 x a week, or homemade veggie soup for lunch, mushroom omelette, then for my main meal I might have 3 from: carrots, green beans, cabbage, broccoli, peas, roast veg ( aubergine, peppers, butternut squash, sweet potatoes) , spinach, mushrooms, courgettes, .....

Does this help?

[poshpjs]

Frit juice not part of 5 a day

[poshpjs]

What do you consider a portion?

Portion sizes

This is good and there is a big difference between raw and cooked- and tablespoons are not desert spoons - they are twice that size.