anyone else trying to up their veg? just ordered 10 a day the easy way

[yumyumpoppycat]

I was flicking through book people catalogue and have just seen James wong has released a new book called 10 a day the easy way; I loved his last book and have been meaning to tackle my shocking 1 a day veg habbit so ordered it straight away to arrive this evening on amazon prime for 6.99. So excited

Been meaning to start a thread like this for a while as I can't decide what diet to do and keep chopping and changing but the main thing is that I know I need to eat more veg and no matter what the diet when my veg is up I am usually loosing weight. I have been on a couple of these threads and to be honest they don't tend to last BUT it does usually focus my mind on eating more veg at least for a while. Is anyone else on a diet but trying to eat more veg at the same time? I would like to lose a good 40 lbs and might have a stint at BSD while doing this but please don't be put off - any or no diet is welcome!

[yumyumpoppycat]

Well done plum. I have bee surprised that when I leave more chopped veg for my children on the table it will often gradually disappear. Cooked veg more of an issue though.

I haven't been super on it but think I have been making better choices - yesterday dp and I decided to get a meal deal and we went for mushroom stroganoff, greens and a fruit crumble which was prob the most veg filled option.

[PlumCakeChica]

Well I’ve been managing 6-8 portions, before I was about 5 a day.

I’ve also upped the kids veg and they haven’t moaned at all! I’ve haven’t used the book yet, just been more generous with veg when I’m plating up.

I’m snacking on cut up veg and cubes of cheese when cooking tea, rather than crackers just to squeeze in an extra couple of portions.

[yumyumpoppycat]

PS happy birthday to your DH!

[yumyumpoppycat]

Blue my day was almost snap good breakfast (greek yog with some flaxseeds, banana, figs, strawberries) but too busy for lunch so some choc and crisps crept in. We ordered small Pizza hut pizzas for the kids to have with a side of veg and dd gave me 2 pieces of hers! I think I have had about 6 portions of f&v in total (at a push) as managed to have some shallots, peas and avocado and veggie sausages with the pizza.

[bluechameleon]

I have not had a very healthy day. Breakfast was ok-ish - porridge with tinned peaches, half a bagel with peanut butter and sliced banana - probably 1 portion in total. Salad with tuna for lunch then grapes and blueberries - 3-4 portions. But then instead of eating the carrot and celery sticks with pea dip I had packed for an afternoon snack I ate a Lindt bunny. Dinner was Dominos (DH's choice for his birthday). I had a veggie pizza so probably 1 more portion but soooooo much fat!

[yumyumpoppycat]

Had quite a high cal day in the end today but have worked out and tweaked a plan on mfp tomorrow which should be about 1500 cals.

My dinner was huge with 5/6 portions of veg -shallots, kale, asparagus, peas, mushrooms and sweet potato fries. I thought it would be really expensive but have done some rough adding up and in terms of veg approx. £2 per person, about an additional 75p each for the protein (eggs/veggie sausages) so actually not that bad.

[yumyumpoppycat]

Hi Blue thanks I will look into that HFW book. I definitely need to shift my focus.

I was done 1lb this morning but today hasn't been perfect so I doubt I will have lost again tomorrow. I didn't get organised this morning and have breakfast and nearly bought a sandwich from greggs on my way to work but luckily I went for a fruit salad at the last minute - I didn't think I like kiwi which was in it but actually was really nice!

[bluechameleon]

I've been trying to up my veg intake for the last few months and it's been going pretty well. I aim to have at least half of my plate made up of veg for lunch and dinner. So for instance where previously I might have put a bit of veg into Bolognese then had it with spaghetti and cheese, now I'll put lots more in the sauce (usually onions, celery, peppers, courgette, carrot, leek) and fill half my plate with the sauce and spaghetti. Then I have a couple of types of boiled or roasted veg on the other half. Once you get used to planning meals like that it becomes automatic. I don't have the James Wong book, I'll give it a look next time I'm in a bookshop. My current favourite is Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall 'Much More Veg' - everything I've made from there has been delicious.

[yumyumpoppycat]

Ooh brilliant welcome Plum and riotlady

Plum that's the best thing about using this as an approach to dieting as we can up the kids veg at the same time so the whole thing feels less negative than a bog standard diet. My eldest is 13 he isn't too bad with eating veg if it is given to him but he will never grab a piece of fruit other than bananas. Middle child is pretty good with fruit and loves messing up the kitchen making her own smoothies, but less so for veg. As for the youngest I despair - earlier she was telling me she wished she was allergic to all veg other than cucumber and red pepper so she didn't have to eat them

Both my dds were telling them today that their granny gives them much better food than me because she peels their carrots and apples apparently I am very luck to have had such a nice mum (which is true).

Amazingly I have gone over 10 once you add in b/f, so my lunch was veggie bolognaise (3), banana as a snack (1), crudités and red pepper humous (3) and a small stir fry with pak choy and baby corn as well as more of the same veg eaten earlier - this kind of turned into soup as I added a lot of water for the noodles (2). Need to finish adding up cals but likely to be ok so long as I stay out of the kitchen. I am craving chocolate still though.

[PlumCakeChica]

Hello, also moving over from the other thread!
Book arrives tomorrow. I’d really like to vary the veg we eat (and lose ~10lbs)
I also have teen dc who ate lots of veg and fruit as smaller kids but are now reverting to a beige diet
Thought a book might encourage them back to a colourful diet.

[riotlady]

My book just arrived today, so I will give this a go! I always feel better when I eat more fruit and veg

[yumyumpoppycat]

Yes that exactly describes me, and is why I have a scary number of diet/ healthy eating books.

I had an ok day yesterday in terms of veg but all went wrong in the evening. I weighed in this morning and I am basically 13 stone at 5ft4. Crazy. I don't think I look 13 stone so that might mean there is lots of fat hiding round my organs which is bad. Hopefully it is muscle

So bf - I upturned 2 large field mushrooms, spread with tomato puree and garlic powder and topped with diced yellow pepper and 1 slice of cheddar between the 2 then baked in the oven for 10 mins and had with some salad leaves. It was 3 portions, but not a total success - mushrooms hadn't been washed but still released liquid and the tomato was way too strong - could be a nice breakfast option with some tweaks. I cooked it while making kids lunches and it could probably be prepared ahead ready to cook. I also had an apple so am now on 4.5 which is amazing!

I have some chopped veg and red pepper houmous in the fridge so when I am tempted to carry on with mothers day chocolates I will eat that instead.

[Howlongtillbedtime]

Thank you

I am for ever looking for the thing thAt will one day click !

[yumyumpoppycat]

Sorry it isn't his first book - this is the one www.amazon.co.uk/How-Eat-Better-Store-Superfood/dp/1784721913/ref=sr_1_1?s=gateway&keywords=how%20to%20eat%20well&qid=1554236052&sr=8-1&tag=mumsnet&ascsubtag=mnforum-21

[yumyumpoppycat]

hellooo

Howlong I really like the first book, I am not that good at following recipes so I preferred all the little tips which I could apply to my own food shopping, storage, prep etc. The second book is much more focused on recipes and some didn't really appeal. It depends if you want more information or more recipes. I need all the help I can get too so hopefully we can keep each other on the straight and narrow

Anna I have to say that those are the recipes that stood out for me - especially the mac and cheese - that looked seriously yum. Hmm shame about the weightloss stalling - I guess quite a few of the recipes will have to be weekend treats rather than day to day, and or combined with calorie counting. I thought the section about fruit was interesting as I have it drilled in to my brain to avoid fruit.

[Howlongtillbedtime]

yumyum
Would you recommend the book or is the other one better ?

I need to eat more veg and I definitely need to lose weight and need all the help I can get.

That crustless quiche sounds amazing. Will be giving that a go.

[AnnaMagnani]

Waves from the other thread.

I have bought the book and have really liked the recipes I've made so far: have done the mac and cheese and the rainbow tartiflette.

Was a bit sceptical about the mac and cheese as the sauce replaces most of the milk and cheese with whizzed up veg but it was really nice. You end up needing minimal cheese.

I think you could easily adapt the book to be vegetarian as most of the recipes can be done as veg alone but vegan might be a push - although he does often suggest nut milk instead of milk.

What it doesn't work as is a diet book - the portions are mahoosive and although I might not be gaining weight, I have most definitely stopped losing.

[yumyumpoppycat]

That sounds really delicious Tick thanks! I have had that salmon from Tesco before and it is really nice so would definitely be my choice. DP has decided to be a vegetarian at the moment - but just occurred to me I could make a half and half version so actually its a perfect option for us.

Actually that's a good point about the 10 a day book - a lot of the recipes have meat or fish in, many have dairy or eggs so not a good one for vegans - although obviously it's possible to tweak things to make it work.

[TickVG]

That's 4 servings btw works out for me at about 300cal per portion

[TickVG]

No it's more of an omelette/frittata. So for mine I fry up a load of veg (eg onion, garlic, mushrooms, broccoli and courgette). Then add some protein. At the moment I'm using a sweet chilli salmon that comes ready to eat from Tesco but you can add ham, chicken or just leave out the meat completely. Put it in a baking dish, spread 100g Philadelphia over with a spatula, then top with 6 beaten eggs. Cook in oven for 30 mins. It is super nice

[yumyumpoppycat]

No I have never made crustless quiche - is this the sort of thing? all recipes

Viques I suspected as much re the smoothie, bummer.I was weighing up the portion of fruit against the sugar and went with it thinking I would drink half (I had the whole thing of course), but I would prob be better choosing water and eating an extra piece of fruit at home. I need to bring packed lunch to work a bit more really.

[viques]

Well done yumyum. Watch out for the ready made smoothies though! I was idly reading the small print on one recently and realised to my horror that the recommended daily amount to consume was not the whole bottle , but a third of a bottle. And no, it wasn't a huge bottle either, it was a normal lunch deal size. Disgusting amount of sugar in it to, Ive stopped buying them.

[TickVG]

Have you tried making a crustless quiche? I find them very filling and you can get millions of veg in them. Plus they seem to make all veg taste nice. I make a big one at beginning of week and cut it up for lunches- serve with wilted spinach and chopped tomatoes on the side. I've even put in veg I don't particularly like eg sprouts and I still really enjoy it.

[yumyumpoppycat]

Thanks soulrunner - this is the kind of thing I need to do - also would be useful to have a help yourself tub of chopped veg in the fridge to put out for the kids at meal/snack times.


Very slow start weekend was a right off and I have just had a choc fest at the fridge door . Have done better on f&v today avocado and tenderleaves with eggs for breakfast, veggie sticks, salad and smoothie from boots meal deal, blackberries and an apple, dinner not cobbled together yet but hopefully another 2 portions so should be a solid 8 portions at least today (even if a bit high on cals)

[soulrunner]

And 100% agree with the ‘crowding out’ theory. When I am strict on 10 portions of veg and fruit plus 60g protein I drop poundage.