Come and cosy up with a steaming bowl of parsnip soup - 10 / 10 club November thread

[FrannyonFire]

For anyone who wants a boost to their general health. The suggested goals are:

EAT 10 PORTIONS OF FRUIT AND VEGETABLES EVERY DAY

(if you don't usually eat much fruit and veg I would build up gradually or you could upset your digestion)

DO (AT LEAST) 10 MINUTES OF EXERCISE EVERY DAY

(can be yoga, stretching or something more energetic. The plan is that the idea of doing 10 minutes is not too daunting, and having started you may well find you want to do more)

There are no restrictions on what you eat so long as you get your 10 fruit and veg as well. The focus is not on weight loss but on improving our energy levels and hopefully our general mood and well-being.

Sign up below and post here to tell us how you're getting on and how you are feeling.

Franny pmsl at the mothercare image, I agree you need to get yourself checked out, which is exactly what you would say to any one else. Now lecture over.
So far Museli, banana, and lots of lambs lettuce and broccoli for lunch. Had the veg with cheesy mashed potatoe, does it get any better for comfort/nursery food?
As predicted yesterday, our house if overflowing with veg. I haven't even started to unpack the box that was delivered today, it is just sitting in our hallway staring reproachfully at me.
is Charlee still posting? I notice from another thread, that she is having a lot of pain atm, hugs if you are still around Charlee.
Can't remember if I mentioned this but I was supposed to go into hospital today, but op got cancelled again. Still not much fresh veg in hospital food.
Also, if anyone fancies a laugh at my expense, I have a "A day from hell, yep another one.." thread in Chat, which Franny might particularly like, as she was so amused by the purple vomit story.

Hey Overrun you did mention you were going in for an op - was your asthma still giving you problems?

I have been overrun today with visitors who have gone, one of them taking dd. ds is asleep so I am going to do some stretches in bed relax and workout at the same time, i love it!

Ate some of my vegetarian "mince" lentil bulghar at lunch. Was enough to go around with the fresh bread from our downstairs bakery

Do we have to give up our bonfire names - I like mine too much, glad to see others hanging in there

Franny go to the doctor woman ( I have a lovely doctor, I can lend you if your ever in the neighourhood )

Thanks Paps, it was bed shortages, but would probably have been declared unfit anyway due to Asthma. Glad that you are not overrun anymore, spare a thought for me, as I always am
My dinner consists of Roast chicken, kale,leek and garlic mixture, mashed potatoes, and red onion gratin. Very tasty.
Add another apple and some poached plums for afters and I think that should take me to the magic ten.

Read your thread Overrun - it was a day from hell wasn't it? Poor you

Hello hello,
Have had a good day on the portions front. 3 apples, 2 bananas, dried blueberries. Kale/leek and onion gratin (leftovers) for lunch. Had Crown prince squash and lentil stew for dinner (had lots of carrots and leeks in)plus parsnip mash.
Didn't make my aerobics class though, so not quite a perfect day. Feeling good though.

Have been having smoothies with added iron supplement for bfast. Have got cheese and tomato and avacado sarnies for lunch today. Tae bo last night - so not too much of a disaster.

Been tempted by the bags of dries blueberries - but they all have added sugar - why?? I thought they were quite sweet naturally?

Tracyk, I know what you mean about these dried fruits, I think I was a bit niave about them before, but a lot of them have added sugar or even hydrongenated fats. My ds1 is a very picky eater, and won't eat much fresh fruit, so have always given him quite a bit of dried, but I am weaning him off now.
Didn't go to my yoga class again tonight, its too cold and dark. I need a daytime class really, I just don't think my will power is good enough.

I would just like to boast - dh and I have decided to improve our general fitness (well, he is very fit already, but I is a blob) so we are going to get up at 6.30 every weekday morning and go to the park and kick a football around with the boys/work on our allotment before ds1 goes to nursery. We did it this morning and it was bloody freezing at first but I do actually feel vaguely energised now . We are going to try and make sure we are in bed by 10.30 every night too.

I have had my blood pressure taken 3 times in 3 weeks and the bottom figure is still over 100 so my GP has put me on Ramprimil, he reckons I will probably be on it permanently. I am also severly anaemic and am making red blood cells that are really small. I am hoping if I lose weight slowly, do loads of cardio-type exercise and increase my iron level I might be able to ameliorate things even just a bit (GP said it would make some difference but probably not much )

So I really need this 10/10 thing!!

Franny, have you seen a quack about your breathing yet?

ah, erm, well I have had a busy week...

Have been feeling really tired actually, just runnning about too much generally, and being with people wears me out, although I enjoy it. I haven't had enough time to myself, and haven't been to the gym since Sunday.

Have eaten tons of fruit and veg but also quite a lot of shite.

Greeny sorry to hear about your health and Overrun as well. Glad to hear you are both looking after yourselves as much as possible - I am sure diet and exercise have a big impact on our general well being, so don't give up.

I am attempting to cram my 10 into a small period of time as dp is coming home with chips and a box of chocolates for me tonight

I have had melon, apple, pear, raisins, soya milk, hummus, cucumber, beetroot, celery, mange tout and pepper so far. I am never sure about the veg portions though - is it just the same as a cooked portion in some cases, like a couple of tablespoons? Because the portion tables say a small dessert bowl full of salad is one portion - why the difference?

Hello, this is a cool thread which I would like to join, as I am constantly ramming fruit and veg down my children buthave no motivation to eat them myself!

Greensleeves sorry to hear that you are under the weather, the allotment/park thing sounds bracing, but can see it would be fun too.
Not doing too badly on the portion front. 3 apples, banana (must get some more fruit in), calabrese with cheese and leek sausages (pretty ghastly they were too).
It's just the exercise that I can't hack. I just don't want to get up after my nice dinner and leave the children and go out into the night to exercise. Don't laugh but one thing that puts me off Yoga, is having to wash my feet before going, otherwise I get paranoid (or not) about smelly feet. This is enough to ruin my motivation.

overrun - can you not get some nice yoga socks/slipons - rather than bare feet? I'm sure Nike must do some.

SauerKraut, welcome, and just try to start small if you are feeling daunted by the idea of the 10 a day. Most of us found it useful to actually sit down and count portions every day, or plan the day's food out in advance, when we got started.

I know a couple of good tips to easily get a few portions under your belt, are to have a smoothie with several types of fruit in, or to choose a dip you like and sit and munch your way through a plate of raw veggies.

Overrrun I do know what you mean - this week nothing would have got me off the sofa in the evenings. What I have found does work is to see it as time for me and to go as soon as dp gets in from work, before eating. I know this won't work for everyone, but I start to look forward to it in the afternoon, and by the time dp gets home I am desperate to get out of the door

Evening chaps

I have eaten TONS of fruit and vegetables today, I will now attempt to list them: 2 tangerines, 3 apples, a large salad consisting of carrot sticks, radishes, cucumber, tomatoes, celery, onion, raw Romanesque cauliflower, 1 pint of pure tropical fruit juice (mango, pineapple, passion fruit and banana). I have also drunk at least 4 pints of water and 3 cups of green tea I have also had a wholemeal pitta bread, half a pot of houmous, half a tin of tuna, 4 Nairn's oatcakes and about 6 breadsticks. I am planning to consume some soup and another hunk of bread shortly.

Can I have my free organic hemp-and-sawdust reusable sanitary towel now, please?

Evening

Overrun, I so know what you mean about exercise. I have never been the exercising type, but with my pilates class I just go and that's it. Even if I don't feel like it, I make myself get ready for when dp gets home from work and I just go. As Franny says, in her superb post , I see it as me time, and I always feel glad I've gone. It is the only hour off I get (ahh... maybe that's why I get emotional at the end?!)

Greeny you are doing well aren't you! I have been a bit rubbish... well there have been good bits, made a chickpea curry which has lasted a couple of days. I have been eating fruit but I find I don't crave it as much as I do in the summer. I did make a lovely carrot cake last night though

Welcome SauerKraut - there are loads of ways of sneaking in f&v - my tip is to grate a carrot into any tomato based sauces/ soups. I find it adds a little something to chilli and bolognese.

Thanks tracyk, Franny and Tatties. No one else wears these sock things so might stick out a bit, but will look into it. I actually think my feet probably don't smell, or no worse than any one elses, but its another impediment.
I think that if I could just go when dh gets home from work then I too would manage it, as I am usually champing at the bit for some me time.
The problem is, that most classes don't start till 7 and I am lucky enough that dh gets home at just after 6, so we eat first. By this point I can't be ar$*&d
So far today, I had a lovely fry up for breakfast (whoops didn't mean to type that), and spinach,carrot and leek soup for lunch. I polished off virtually all the carrot and cucumber sticks left over at the childrens party I took ds1 to this afternoon.
Had a chinease for dinner, which had various veg in, in amongst the crispy duck and sea spiced scallops.
On a plus note, we have been reorganising our dining room and moving furniture so I will count that as my 10 mintutes
Hope you are all enjoying your saturday evenings

Thank you very much for the welcome and the tips. I have started with a bang- apple sauce on my breakfast porridge, an apple and a clementine for elevenses, dhal (do lentils count?) with veggie curry including carrots, potatoes, green beans, sweet potato, normal potato, onions, then for tea we had chicken with carrot and kohlrabi salad, lamb leaf lettuce, real beetroot,green beans and broccoli. Not bad, eh?! Hope my guts won't regret it after my recent diet of crap...

A new week and I hope we are all doing well. SauerKraut even your name is vegetable-based, you and Tatties are putting us all to shame

Yes lentils or beans count as one of the government's five a day, so I reckon they can count as 2 of our 10 a day if you like.

I went to the fridge just now to find my hummus had dried up over the weekend, so used cream cheese as a dip instead for celery, cucumber, beetroot etc.

I finally went to the doctor and she also thought it was exercise induced asthma and has given me an inhaler. I am going to experiment with it to see if it confirms her diagnosis and then decide whether to carry on using it or try something else as TooTicky advised.

She was quite thorough and even gave me an ECG (which ds loved, I can see I will spend the next few days having stickers put down my top) so you can stop mithering, Greeny

So it is, FrannyandZooey,and a much nicer reason for my name than the original one! Do you eat the beetroot raw with dips or does one always have to cook it, do you know? Doing quite well today too- had last night's dinner all over again for lunch!

Beetroot is good raw. I grate finely for salads. The swiss eat beetroot this way. I have put it raw grated in sandwiches.

Its also nice in stews, country style stirfrys.

I ate spinach pie for lunch - mmm pastry yummy

Glad to hear you had a checkup Franny (and it was not just Greeny! ) Is there something more natural you can try rather than the inhaler, breath through a lentil bag instead of brown paper?

Yay, I love your name Paps! Anyone got any ideas for a fruit and veg based name for me

ooh I know

back in a minute