Common knowledge is that we should all eat our five a day. A great way is to mix it up with all kinds of different fruit and vegetables each day. However, it’s not as easy as it sounds.
First of all, why 5 portions a day?
To get the correct amount of vitamins and minerals, we need to eat different varieties of fruit and veg. The reason for this is because they add different nutritional values to our diet. By mixing coloured fruit and veg to you’re diet, you are ensuring that you are getting the best from your diet.
What can I have?
Frozen, fresh, dried, chilled and tinned fruit and vegetables all count, as well as unsweetened fruit juices and smoothies.
What is in a portion?
Usually, a handful of vegetables or a single piece of fruit count as one portion. With larger fruits such as grapefruit or melons only half will count as a portion. However, with smaller fruits like plums or satsumas are classed as half a portion, try to eat two or more.
A 150ml glass of vegetable or fruit juice will count as one of your five-a-day.
Great ways to meet the target:
Breakfast
Start your day off with a glass of unsweetened juice or a fruit smoothie. If not, try adding fresh or dried fruit to your cereal. Or have classic beans on toast, which also go towards your 5-a-day.
Morning snack
Try chopped vegetables with a salsa dip to keep you full up until lunch. Or grab some fruit; an apple will stop sugar cravings.
Lunch
Veggie soups and salads are a great way to fill up on vegetables and also by adding some salad into your favourite sandwich. When having a cooked lunch, try to make it so that you have at least two vegetables on the side.
Afternoon snack
A fruit salad or a handful of dried fruit is perfect to pick at whilst sitting at your desk or watching TV.
Dinner
With any meal there should be a minimum of two different vegetables. A stir fry is an easy meal to get loads of crunchy vegetables mixed in. Corn-on-the-cob is a tasty way to have something different on your plate, or simply add a handful of vegetables into pasta dish and soups.
Pudding
Make your own ice lollies out of pure fruit juice for a sweet treat. Or add some fresh or tinned fruit onto desserts. If you’re feeling like you need a boost use fresh fruit to dip into a chocolate sauce!
Soup Soup Soup. Its defo the easiest way to get your veggie intake. Make a big pot in the slow cooker, then freeze up the portions and take one to work each day. You can fit 4 of your 5 a day in a portion of vegetable soup then just have a piece of fruit whenever you can. Easy. Having soup each day has changed my life – for the better.