10 portions a day?!

[Houmouse]

I was reading an article the other day which claimed up to ten portions of fruit and veg a day was really beneficial to health(more veg, less fruit)
Does anyone manage this?
I can’t imagine how we would afford it if everyone in the family ate like this! We probably manage 6-7 most days, with 2-3 of those fruit.

No. And when I told a colorectal surgeon (who was examining me and asked about my diet) that I ate 7 portions a day he told me this was too much and I should reduce it.

I believe in small children excessive fibre can stress the digestive system and inhibit nutrient absorption. Was that where he was coming from?

Lol I'm sure it is "beneficial" but is it necessary? No :)

Just because something isn't colourful doesn't mean it isn't healthy. Meat, fish, potatoes, cereals, baked beans, mayonnaise, tomato ketchup, pasta sauce, cheese, milk, yogurt, nuts / nut butters, dark chocolate, eggs etc... these things are not typically classified as one of your five a day (with the exception of baked beans) but you can get just as much goodness from them as you can from a similar serving of fruit or veg, you're just getting diff nutrients. Just google the vitamins / minerals contained in XX food and you'll find that nearly everything has something to offer. Even when it's just chicken or egg.

Don't get me wrong I think we should all aim to get a little bit of colour in each day in the form of fruits or veggies, but VARIETY is key and IMO embracing moderation will do us all good in the LR.

10 portions a day of strictly fruits and veggies is a lot.

I eat between 7 and 10.

For example today
Nectarine 1 (though it was the giant one, so more like 2)
Courgette 2 (maybe 3 it's a big one)
Tomatoes 2
Cucumber 2
Cabbage 1
Bell pepper 1.5
Also had bit of dried goldenberry🤔 Don't what that would be.

I don't aim for 10. I found out once I eat it. I just like veg and fruit.

www.google.com/amp/s/www.bbcgoodfood.com/howto/guide/what-counts-five-day/amp

@SchrodingersImmigrant

I eat between 7 and 10.

For example today
Nectarine 1 (though it was the giant one, so more like 2)
Courgette 2 (maybe 3 it's a big one)
Tomatoes 2
Cucumber 2
Cabbage 1
Bell pepper 1.5
Also had bit of dried goldenberry🤔 Don't what that would be.

I don't aim for 10. I found out once I eat it. I just like veg and fruit.

You ate two whole cucumbers?!

😂 noooo. As in that's 2 portions. Sorry😂 The numbers are the "x a day" portion.

@waitingforautumn I wasn’t meaning strictly fruit and veg though! Just alongside the more calorie dense stuff we’d usually have. Although maybe switching bread, potatoes and pasta for sweet potato etc.
Anyway, I’ve tried it today and feel pleasantly full and satisfied😄 Had fruit and avocado with breakfast, a big plate of crudités with houmous at lunch. My tea was egg and soldiers with butter, with some extra veg on the side. I ate the veg first to make sure I filled up on that.
😂Imagine 2 cucumbers @SchrodingersImmigrant

I don’t think we could afford to eat like this every day though. Veg also takes up a lot of room in the fridge.

I now wonder if I can eat them. Like I know I can, but wonder how would I feel after😂

I always make sure I have veg on a plate, even if it's just a tomato or a piece of cucumber. Go for cheaper seasonal and certainly visit some foreign food markets. Good deal, good veg and fruit and often quite interesting selections.

Hmmm I suppose if you aim for ten then you are more likely to hit the five you need.

Breakfast - add banana and blueberries to cereal
Mid morning - carrot sticks and hummus
Lunch - portion of mixed veg soup
Mid afternoon - Apple
With dinner - roasted carrots, parsnips and broccoli

@BernadetteRostankowskiWolowitz

Hmmm I suppose if you aim for ten then you are more likely to hit the five you need.

Breakfast - add banana and blueberries to cereal
Mid morning - carrot sticks and hummus
Lunch - portion of mixed veg soup
Mid afternoon - Apple
With dinner - roasted carrots, parsnips and broccoli

This does sound like a really nice way to eat - I'm stuck in a bit of a convenience food rut atm so I think I'm a bit bitter towards anyone who manages to squeeze lots of veg into their day 😂 and not rely on wheat wheat and wheat as their energy source

@SchrodingersImmigrant

😂 noooo. As in that's 2 portions. Sorry😂 The numbers are the "x a day" portion.

Lolz!! Kudos to you - I'm irrationally averse to all the prep involved. I fear ambitiously buying too much fresh produce (it ain't cheap!) and it going to waste. I stick to the things I know we'll have so don't get the variety that more adventurous cooks / meal planners will have.

I also have some oral allergy thingy where my lips will swell up and get this deep tingle, my tongue burns and my mouth gets itchy if I eat stone fruits, apples, kiwis, and some forms of raw nuts it's so weird ! Cos of this I avoid fruit so lean towards veg and it does seem hard to get ten whole portions in when you don't have the fruit to make it up x

@BernadetteRostankowskiWolowitz is right

@waitingforautumn I throw veg on or next to anything.
Tuna melt? Veg on side.
Fish? Eh, throw in some extra mangetout beans/bok choi/few tomatoes.
Steak? Extra broccoli spears.
Stir-fry? Courgette instead of half the noodles. And some extra cabbage for good measure.
It becomes habit soon.
Curry? A can of spinach.

It does suck about the allergy. That makes it much harder! I would eat less portions if I couldn't eat fruit.

@SchrodingersImmigrant

😂 noooo. As in that's 2 portions. Sorry😂 The numbers are the "x a day" portion.

But they have to be different for them to count. 2 bananas doesn’t equal 2 portions

www.nidirect.gov.uk/articles/fruit-and-vegetables

Fruit and vegetables are part of a balanced, healthy diet. 'Five a day' highlights the health benefits of eating five 80g portions of fruit and vegetables every day. You need to eat five different portions of fruit and vegetables

I work it out over the week. I genuinely don't see the logic of not being able to do that so... It makes no difference to my body if I eat 160g of cucumber one day and none next or 80g of cucumber and 80g of cucumber.

Some days I have no cucumber. Some days I have 2. Imho what they aimed for by the "different" is so people wouldn't eat 5 tomatoes and said "done". Each veg and fruit has different goodness in it. As long as people keep switching them around it's logically ok.

Even if not, that's still 7 portions. Apparently dried fruits are 30g a portion so yay goldenberry!

Actually there is 1 thing I don't count like this, but just count as one.
Watermelon.
Because I eat ridiculous amount when in season.
Can't count 12 portions of watermelon a day😂

If anyone has problem with fibre intake, try psyllium husk. I like it with yogurt.

Our guidelines (DGE) say nothing about the need for "different" vegetables. They just say at least 500g vegetables and 200g fruit.
Apart from that we are supposed to eat what is in season and affordable and if possible didn't travel far.

I don't aim for any amount really but using yesterday as an example I had ...

Banana
Mango chunks

Apple slices

Watermelon

Broccoli spears
Purple sprouting broccoli
Brussel sprouts
Sweet potato

Celery
Tomato
Cucumber
Red pepper

And today so far I've had

Mango
Strawberries
Banana
Watermelon

Celery
Tomato
Onions
Lettuce leaves

So the above are added to my yogurt/porridge/ in the morning and then I always have a wrap or pitta stuffed with salad veg and then main meal stuff

It also helps that I'm vegetarian. It in definitely heavier on the fruit than the veg

Re cost, is it really so expensive to eat veg? (Fruit can be, yes.) But yesterday, I went to Tesco, bought a bag of organic carrots at say 75p, oranges (30p each), cucumber (about 50p). But the orange Choc biscuits (on offer, nutritionally pointless, not necessarily any tastier than the oranges themselves) were £1. I suppose those biscuits might last a week, so in that sense more economical, but they don’t sustain me, they are irrelevant treats. (Well, mostly, haha.) For the record I’m currently eating masses of fruit and veg and, amazingly, for the first time in perhaps ever, I have zero craving for junk. I didn’t buy the biscuits (halo emoji, etc).

@Doobiedooo veg and fruit can be really cheap if people go more seasonal, tinned and frozen.
The pack of biscuits might last a week but so would that carrot if someone eat the same amount of like they would do with the biscuits.

Spot on Schrodinger. Bag of new potatoes currently 50p, broccoli 50p, cos lettuce 50p. Or as you say, frozen can be even cheaper. Big meals. I think it’s more than it seems like a chore to eat these things vs say...

Bag of Kettle chips, £2, easily eat in one sitting or not? Snickers bar 70p, definitely eat fast. Maybe add a couple more chocolates in there? All adds up.

And quite possibly eaten in addition to your actual meal. Which is in turn an overpriced ready meal (£2-£7).

It’s tough when people are tired and can’t be arsed and then eat crap which makes them feel even more tired (speaking from experience!)

I scored 2 bags of young potatoes last time for 5p each in the yellow stickers😂

I always make sure to look into sales and get things which either last (potatoes, onions etc) or can be frozen (stir-fry etc). Or eaten in next 2 days. You can find incredible deals there. But even without it, seasonal is still quite cheap.

I think the idea is that if you are trying to fit in that much Fruit&Veg you simply won't have room to fit in any additional high calorie food.

I certainly don't manage 10 at the moment, but I did try for a bit and found I had to cut out bread and pasta and rice purely to be able to fit more veg onto the plate!

nb just having 10 different fruits or vegetables in small quantities doesn't count. A "serving" is 70g ish. My lunch was a veg stir fry that contained 5 different veg but there was only ~30g of each so the whole thing would count as only 2-3 servings of veg, not 5. Similarly my dinner will contain at least 4 different vegetables but will only count as 2-3 servings of veg, and I will probably have a banana for pudding, so 6-7 servings