Fruit Eaters of the World...Unite and Take Over - 10 / 10 club

[FrannyandZooey]

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.

Basic guidance on what constitutes a portion of fruit and veg here and more detailed information here

I think veg box buying can change the way you eat, if you are open to changes

if you are cooking more with fresh veg and ingredients like lentils, beans, rice and barley etc, you will be spending less on processed food and expensive things like meat and so on

I reckon when we stopped shopping at supermarkets and went almost completely organic, we had an adjustment period where we spent more and then it evened out

means you have to cook a lot more, though, or do cunning bulk cooking (my favourite trick)

Franny you are making me

Tortoise, I got a veg box for a while... it was good for making me get my 10 portions, but I found the fruit flies coming in on the box and the extra scrubbing a bit tedious. I miss having my veg delivered though, and seem to be going to the shops all the bloody time...

Overrun are you ok?

And where is Aviatrix?

Aviatrix has given up MN for Lent!

I'm not very good at cooking and DD1 and DS2 are very fussy! I just don#t know what to cook for them and we do eat too much crappy foods.

Fruit flies? really? that doesn't sound nice! We get enough flies here as it is! Live quite close to a farm.

I would get mine from Riverford veg. i have had a good look on the website and looks ok veg wise. I might try it. It does let you choose weekly,fortnightly etc. I will be asking on MN what things are and what to do with them next!

If you want menu makeovers or recipes or anything tortoise, we are all just poised here with eff all else to do, you know

My veg box is extremely muddy but no fruit flies. I would think that was a sign something had gone wrong, no?

I seriously need a menu make over!
DD1 3.10 will mainly live on fish fingers or sausages! Sometimes wil eat a little bit of chicken and likes ham. With Mash or chips. she will eat mixed veg ie peas,carrots and sweetcorn.
nearly eveything we eat is out of the freezer. I do make toad in the hole when DS's are here sometimes or egg and bacon pie.
I would love to get them off crappy foods. DS1 9.10 is very chubby compaired to skinny DS2 7.4.

Right I am off to bed in a minute

but will get thinking and do ideas tomorrow

everyone else please chip in

can you give us an example of a few day's meals and we will do our best to do a trinny and Suzannah on it (is there a food makeover programme? If not shall we start one?)

plus list all children's ages and what their favourites are pls

Hmmm, my IBS (well, the painful parts of it) are more triggered by stress. (Oh, I do puke copiously if I eat high-fat for more than a day or two. No idea what causes that!)

Today, I had:

• muesli
• alarming amounts of ratatouille
• several servings of salad
• um, some cake with dried cherries in it

Big committee meeting chez moi tonight at which I minuted. Gah.

Oh, yes, exercise. The usual walk.

Thanks.
Childrens ages on my profile!
Ummm basic meals are fish fingers,mash/chips and veg/beans, sausages,mash/chips and sometimes veg, Ham and mash/chips for DD1! DD2 will eat pizzas,fish fingers,fish cakes, veg fingers,chicken,ham,sausages,burgers,pies etc. Shes not fussy and will try new things.
Occasionally DD1 will eat a little pasta.
DS's only here for 2 dinners a week. DS2 goes of things easily.Mainly because his Dad gives him the same food too often. DS1 isn't to fussy. Neither keen on veg but have to eat a small portion for me. Not tried them on pasta for about 18mths (since they went to their Dads.Hopefully they will be back with me soon)so don't know if they will eat it.

Don't think i can add much more than that! Basically diet is crap!

TIA for any help,tips,recipes and advice.

Morning tortoise, I have a few ideas so far:

you could add different veg to the mash, such as carrots, sweet potato etc. This will make it more nutritious and won't change the taste much (will also make it a pretty colour )

If they enjoy mash you could try meals such as shepherds pie - I have a lentil version which is very tasty, or someone else might be able to help you with a meaty version? I have heard of people doing half and half lentils and meat when they are trying to switch over to healthier stuff...

Pizzas can be quite good if they are homemade or made with bases with good ingredients. You can sneak quite a few veg on top and the tomato sauce is also nutritious.

Do they like baked potatoes? Maybe serve them instead of chips? And you could try making home made oven wedges instead of chips - or sweet potato wedges.

IME children of 2 and 3 like things they can dip, and things they can play around with - so pittas and wraps are good. You can give them a selection of salad bits (grated carrot, red pepper, cucumber, beetroot, tomatoes) or just veggies like sweetcorn that they already like, grated cheese, meat if you want, and some dips like sour cream or hummus. Let them help themselves, and show them how to put it all together in a pitta bread or roll it up in a wrap. Messy but enjoyable.

More later, please tell me if any of these are along the right lines and ask for recipes if you need them...

DD (2.7) loves anything made with mince, ie spag bol, shepherd's pie etc. I can do recipes if you like. Pad out the mince with grated carrot (hadn't thought of lentils, will try that for pulse phobic dh)- cheaper, healthier, freezable and really tasty. Make sure they are wearing dark clothes or are wrapped from head to toe in clingfilm though otherwise the stains are a bugger to get out.

As Franny says, hide veg in the mash. Works a treat.

Broccoli and cauli are trees that she has to eat so she can run fast.

An extra spoonful for Mummy, one for Daddy, one for the cat, one for Granny, five more and you can go and play etc etc all work too.

She has also just graduated from apple slices to eating whole apples so she is now a Big Girl and likes to show off her new skill.

Chilli con carne also good - just leave out the chilli for the small ones. I make it without chilli powder, dish up a few dd sized portions for the freezer, then add hooooge amounts of hot pepper sauce. Good way of getting pulses into dd (and dh ).

Hello, although I really am here on false pretences again today, having had two coffees, two teas 4 custard creams and a piece of my friend's raspberry cake so far today. Thanks for IBS tips, have had what must have been it for years but only just diagnosed, so I don't really know what to do about it yet. Basically I feel yuck all the time, so will try anything. I'm sure eating crap is begging for it, though. Greensleeves, I usually enjoy your posts very much- I just popped in on what was obviously a very bad day for you!
Although I eat crap, my kids don't (double standards or what). Some meals mine like are thick liquidised soups- as long as you put in green beans and tatties you can throw anything else in- topped with olive oil and any grated cheese they will eat- casseroles with lentils or chick peas and half the usual amount of meat, and it's amazing what they will eat in pitta bread, or pockets, as they call them. Another good one is normal bread toped with tomato sauce and mozzarella, then baked like a pizza and served with salad, or steamed broccoli.

Yes I would try them with different veg tortoise - quite a few young children seem to like the taste of broccoli, more than you would expect. Will dd1 try things if she sees dd2 eating them? It's worth a go, perhaps... I go to a greengrocers and let ds choose a new fruit or veg each time and he gets really excited about trying them. It's a lot cheaper to get your f + v at a greengrocers compared to a supermarket and the staff will hopefully be friendly and make it more fun for the children.

How about making your own coleslaw to go with the burgers? It is so easy and the children can help - grate carrot and cabbage (red cabbage is good and I believe more nutritious than white?) and mix with mayonnaise. You can add raisins and grated apple as well to make it sweeter.

For the boys I thought they might like kebabs or stir fry? Quite tasty, butch meals For kebabs you just thread mushrooms, chunks of pepper and courgette onto skewers and I guess you would do some chunks of meat as well (sorry don't know what). Serve with rice or in a pitta. I think your dses might like stir fry with a spicy sauce and noodles, or a vegetable curry with naan bread?

Help me out chaps, I am struggling with coming up with ideas for healthy meaty dishes, but hopefully if we come up with even one new idea that works for tortoise then it will be worthwhile...

Oh and SK am very sorry to hear you are feeling so crappy. Do you notice a difference when you eat more healthily, or is it a bit random?

I have a very small insight into IBS, as I developed what seemed like IBS on and off for a few weeks until I tracked it down to being live yogurt that was setting me off. I think the hardest thing was the fear that it was going to start when there were no toilets handy

Reasonable start to the day, I did a bit more running than the 4.5 miles of last week. Guts went a bit wrong near the end, but still, a good run, with a nice burn in the middle.

I have to shower, get some work done, and then go get DS2 and walk him to DS1's school again. Hurrah.

No real fruit or veg yet, but will manage something. Probably a big salad for tea, at least.

Oh, god, have a big leaving do to go to tonight, it's DH's thing. No idea what to wear. DH has a bad habit of getting quite paralytic at these things (well, last one was ok, but one before, or two before? was very very bad. Six years ago? Eight?), so will have to be policing him too. Quite tiresome.

I think so, F and Z, but I have trouble keeping it up for long enough to get past the adjustment period, and I have an uncooperative DH who loves all the wrong things but sets great store by us eating together.
Chicken breasts coated with peanut butter and baked, with a side vegetable and mash, Tortoise? Meatballs - mince, egg and bread bashed up together- cooked in tomato sauce goes down well here too.

Thanks for all the ideas. I would like to try and make pizzas.

Not tied them on pittas. Only had them a few times myself! Never knew what to have in them. I really am a useless cook!

They had shepards/cottage pie as babies but went off it. I hate the smell so never cook it. XP2 when he lived here did mince.
Wedges are a good idea to try.
They are very good with fruit but just basic ones(apples,bananas,grapes,satsumas/clemintines).
I guess i'm putting my lack of trying different stuff on my DC. I did try them with kiwi once.

Only got a small greegrocers in town. Not a huge variety there but supermarket too far away!

Not tried making kebabs/stir frys. I have a lot to learn! The DS's might try them.

Doesn't have to be meaty stuff. I'm not a big meat eater.

Sorry your feeling grotty SK. Meatballs,good idea.
Any recipes would be good or cook books that are good that i could invest in?

Have had banana and raisins in flapjack so far today. Am suffering with terrible smelly wind(tmi) today though!

Annabel Karmel's cookery books helped me a lot, and Good Food for Kids by Dr Penny Stanway is also good.

I had some Annabel Karmel's books. sold them recently on Ebay because none of the recipies appealed to me!

They didn't to me either, but they did give me ideas, and sometimes I just took the plunge and made one anyway. There was a good one for barbecued chicken in the oven which my kids all still like.

Another nifty one was a philadelphia and tomato pasta sauce- piece of piss to make and easy protein.

Pittas are really easy to do a quick healthy tea with - I mostly do hummus and salad, but you can have beans (the sort in plain water), roast veg (just slice up things like mushrooms, aubergine, courgette and peppers, and put in the oven with a bit of olive oil splashed about, cook till tender and maybe a bit crispy round the edges), avocado, grated cheese, cold meat or sausages, tofu, the coleslaw I mentioned earlier, or most leftovers, really.

I think the children like them because it is fun to stuff the things inside like a pocket. I cut them in half along the middle for ds so he has 1 or 2 small pockets instead of a big unwieldy one.

Today has been ridiculous. Exercise:

• 4.5 miles + running
• usual walking about
• something like two hours' brisk walking/shopping

Food:

• muesli (1)
• 2 big carrots (2?)
• decent amount of pineapple (1)
• several massive servings of salad (lettuce, sprouts, carrot, yellow pepper, tomato, spring onion) (5? 6?)

Evening all

I have had muesli, small box of raisins, apple, pear, portion of cauliflower/kale/spud curry, rye bread, orange juice.... and have just had soup made of beetroot, red cabbage, ginger, lemongrass and garlic - yummy