Author Topic: Eat 5 serves of vegetables and 2 serves of fruit a day  (Read 39440 times)

Fresh Bread

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Eat 5 serves of vegetables and 2 serves of fruit a day
« on: October 05, 2017, 10:04:20 PM »
I've been lacking energy and motivation and my jeans are getting tight so unless I want to outsource all my chores and buy a new wardrobe I reckon it's time to sort out my diet. You are what you eat, right?

The dietary advice here* includes the "five and two" motto, which helps with a balanced diet and might even reduce the risk of some cancers**. I think if I get the veggies and fruit sorted, there will be less space and fewer cravings for junk and filler food, and everything else will fall into place.

Five serves of veggies seems so much! What even constitutes one serve? I figured other people might be thinking the same so if I record what I'm making/ eating it might help someone else.

Also, how much will this cost? Will my food budget go up or down? It's quite cheap to eat carby fillers but fruit & veg in season can be very cheap too, so we'll see... We currently spend up to $130 a week (Aussie food prices are high) excluding one meal out per week.

Disclaimer: We (myself and DH) did use to eat a lot more healthily because we used to get an organic box of fruit and veg delivered weekly that basically forced us to eat well. But it was really expensive and we have started to grow a few leafy greens ourselves, so I cancelled it. So we don't have that obstacle where we don't actually like veggies.

*Australian Government's Eat for Health website: https://www.eatforhealth.gov.au/food-essentials/how-much-do-we-need-each-day/recommended-number-serves-adults
**http://www.cancerresearchuk.org/about-cancer/causes-of-cancer/diet-and-cancer/how-healthy-eating-prevents-cancer

ketchup

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Re: Eat 5 serves of vegetables and 2 serves of fruit a day
« Reply #1 on: October 05, 2017, 10:27:47 PM »
Typically what I see defined as a "serving" is one cup of raw vegetables, half a cup cooked vegetables, two cups of leafy greens (measured raw), or an apple-sized amount of fruit.

It's really not that much.

Breakfast: eggs and stir-fried onions, red pepper, and green pepper (1 cup cooked vegetables; two "servings")
Lunch: baked chicken with 1lb steamed frozen broccoli/cauliflower mix (3-4 cups as measured raw, 3-4 "servings")
snack: 1/2 cup blueberries (1 "serving")
Dinner: big salmon salad with four cups of greens, a sliced avocado, red onion, shallot, and grated carrot (2 "servings" of greens, 1 "serving" of fruit in the avocado, 1 cup other vegetables)

There you go, eight servings of vegetables, two servings of fruit, and a very nutritious day.

It can be expensive if you're not careful, but it can also be very reasonable if you are careful.  I have no idea what prices are like in Australia, but here in the US, the "cheapest healthiest" vegetables are usually cabbage, onion, carrots, and romaine lettuce.  That doesn't mean you can't sometimes have arugula, asparagus, and organic raspberries, but that shit adds up if you have it all the time.

Fresh Bread

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Re: Eat 5 serves of vegetables and 2 serves of fruit a day
« Reply #2 on: October 05, 2017, 10:37:52 PM »
Thanks Ketchup! Morning times I'm going to struggle timewise to cook anything so I'm going to have to squeeze the veggies into two meals.

I'm going to follow this - https://www.eatforhealth.gov.au/food-essentials/how-much-do-we-need-each-day/serve-sizes
For veggies:
"A standard serve is about 75g (100–350kJ) or:

    ½ cup cooked green or orange vegetables (for example, broccoli, spinach, carrots or pumpkin)
    ½ cup cooked dried or canned beans, peas or lentils (preferably with no added salt)
    1 cup green leafy or raw salad vegetables
    ½ cup sweet corn
    ½ medium potato or other starchy vegetables (sweet potato, taro or cassava)
    1 medium tomato"

For fruit:
"A standard serve is about 150g (350kJ) or:

    1 medium apple, banana, orange or pear
    2 small apricots, kiwi fruits or plums
    1 cup diced or canned fruit (no added sugar)

Or only occasionally:

    125ml (½ cup) fruit juice (no added sugar)
    30g dried fruit (for example, 4 dried apricot halves, 1½ tablespoons of sultanas)"

Today I've had oats with a few sultanas and a cheese sandwich, so.... I guess tonight's homemade pizza needs to be loaded. Hmm. I'm going to try for a tomato, 1/2 cup each of pumpkin and corn, about 1/2 cup kale/spinach on top, and a cup and a half of salad on the side. That's five. We normally make dinner plate size pizzas so to carry all that veg I'd better make the base thicker ;)

Ta da:
« Last Edit: October 06, 2017, 05:20:42 AM by Freshwater »

Fresh Bread

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Re: Eat 5 serves of vegetables and 2 serves of fruit a day
« Reply #3 on: October 05, 2017, 10:50:26 PM »
Ketchup - I had to google arugula - we call it rocket here. I'm not a massive fan but it grows like a weed so easy to raise at home and add to salads or anything really. Just in small quantities..

Over here one of the big supermarkets does an 'odd bunch' range where they bag up the misshapen veg and sell it at very low prices. I think that plus usually seasonal veg (pears are less than $2 a kilo right now) will be key.  We also have a carrot glut so they are about $1 a kilo. Unfortunately we haven't had any rain for weeks which will raise prices on most things. In a drought frozen veg will be the best bet and our water tanks are full :)

HappierAtHome

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Re: Eat 5 serves of vegetables and 2 serves of fruit a day
« Reply #4 on: October 06, 2017, 06:11:26 AM »
I'm in! Thanks for starting the thread, Freshwater.

stashgrower

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Re: Eat 5 serves of vegetables and 2 serves of fruit a day
« Reply #5 on: October 06, 2017, 07:52:22 AM »
For food budget, my total is <$200/mo and that includes fresh, local, seasonal fruit and veg in a quantity that I believe* is healthy.

* I haven't counted if it's 5+2

ketchup

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Re: Eat 5 serves of vegetables and 2 serves of fruit a day
« Reply #6 on: October 06, 2017, 09:57:42 AM »
Ketchup - I had to google arugula - we call it rocket here. I'm not a massive fan but it grows like a weed so easy to raise at home and add to salads or anything really. Just in small quantities..

Over here one of the big supermarkets does an 'odd bunch' range where they bag up the misshapen veg and sell it at very low prices. I think that plus usually seasonal veg (pears are less than $2 a kilo right now) will be key.  We also have a carrot glut so they are about $1 a kilo. Unfortunately we haven't had any rain for weeks which will raise prices on most things. In a drought frozen veg will be the best bet and our water tanks are full :)
Arugula is very hip and trendy over here right now and it's priced accordingly which was why I mentioned it.  If you can grow it that easily at home, more power to you.

"Odd bunch" and in-season produce definitely sounds like the way to go!  I don't have an "odd bunch" equivalent over here, but buying in-season makes a big difference.  It's cheaper and tastes better.  In-season berries in particular are wonderful.

Fresh Bread

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Re: Eat 5 serves of vegetables and 2 serves of fruit a day
« Reply #7 on: October 06, 2017, 02:28:15 PM »
I'm in! Thanks for starting the thread, Freshwater.

Hooroo!

Fresh Bread

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Re: Eat 5 serves of vegetables and 2 serves of fruit a day
« Reply #8 on: October 06, 2017, 02:35:42 PM »
For food budget, my total is <$200/mo and that includes fresh, local, seasonal fruit and veg in a quantity that I believe* is healthy.

* I haven't counted if it's 5+2

Nice food spend - is that for a couple? I'm just in the middle of analysing our expenses for the last fin year. I don't actually know what we spend right now, it was $140 ish a week with the $40 veggie box during the first 6 months. When I'm working on being frugal I think it's $100 ish so still double yours :) Coffee beans at about $20 a month doesn't help.

Fresh Bread

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Re: Eat 5 serves of vegetables and 2 serves of fruit a day
« Reply #9 on: October 06, 2017, 03:14:52 PM »
So yesterday's pizza was delish (lots of veg combined with anchovies, mmm) but I couldn't eat it all, so I guess I didn't get my five serves after all. That's a lesson for next time - beware the carb to veg ratio. It would be easy to adapt for pasta dishes but on a pizza, I guess one more serve of veg needs to be pilled on - I think onion.

So yesterday I had about 4 serves of veg and 1 serve of fruit (half a pear and some sultanas). Good start.

stashgrower

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Re: Eat 5 serves of vegetables and 2 serves of fruit a day
« Reply #10 on: October 06, 2017, 08:42:16 PM »
Freshwater, that is for 1 person. The pizza looked so yummy and onion is a good tasty way to pile it on without bulk.

Fresh Bread

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Re: Eat 5 serves of vegetables and 2 serves of fruit a day
« Reply #11 on: October 06, 2017, 10:25:40 PM »
Freshwater, that is for 1 person. The pizza looked so yummy and onion is a good tasty way to pile it on without bulk.

Thanks!

What to shop for in Sydney right now

Carrots are still $1/ kg, and at Woolies so was Kent pumpkin. Sweet potato was on sale but was still $5/kg, that seems a lot when pumpkin is orange and sweet and only $1/kg. Truss tomatoes were on sale so got some of those too. Fruit wise, pears and mandarins are looking quite cheap still. The pears are $2.90/kg and mangoes are coming into season and are $2.50. I'll wait til they have some "tray for $10" deal at Harris farms before I buy though. Australian asparagus has arrived and I can't pass on that to go with tonight's bbq steak. Berries are on special but I never shell out for them fresh. I also scored a bag of marked down spinach for $1.50 in lieu of salad leaves but it will need eating fast.

The oddbunch fruit and veg at Woolies wasn't that great today because (unless I was reading the signs wrong) the price/kg looked the same for pears and tomatoes. Anyway I got apples and zucchini.

All up, I got $19 worth of fruit & veg and about 30-35 serves of veg and 10 of fruit maybe? We'll see how we go.

Fresh Bread

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Re: Eat 5 serves of vegetables and 2 serves of fruit a day
« Reply #12 on: October 07, 2017, 03:18:26 AM »
Avocados are a tricky one. What's a serve? And do we count it as a veggie or a fruit? I use it instead of butter, confusing.

This resource says one half counts as 2 whole serves of veg!
http://australianavocados.com.au/the-daily-spread/health-nutrition/australia’s-dietary-guidelines-–-avocados-front-and-centre

Good to know.

Today's result: 5 veg and 1 fruit

- Lunch was a pastrami roll with avo, beetroot slices and half a cup of salad. So about one veg serve in total.
- Dinner was steak with spinach/ salad leaves, asparagus, pumpkin & beetroot. Four serves of veg by my estimate.
- Afternoon snack was half an apple and the other half we've baked on the bbq with butter and cinnamon for dessert. I can't manage a whole apple in one go, the 2 fruit servings are hard!

kei te pai

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Re: Eat 5 serves of vegetables and 2 serves of fruit a day
« Reply #13 on: October 07, 2017, 03:33:10 AM »
Breakfast smoothie is an easy way to get more fruit. Slice banana and freeze ( store in ziploc bag after freezing so its free-flow) add to milk , yoghurt and 1/2 cup of frozen berries . A quick blast with stick blender and you are ready to go.

Fresh Bread

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Re: Eat 5 serves of vegetables and 2 serves of fruit a day
« Reply #14 on: October 07, 2017, 03:44:47 AM »
Breakfast smoothie is an easy way to get more fruit. Slice banana and freeze ( store in ziploc bag after freezing so its free-flow) add to milk , yoghurt and 1/2 cup of frozen berries . A quick blast with stick blender and you are ready to go.

Thanks! I can't eat raw banana (gives me a headache - I know, weird) but I could put some avo in there.

I was also thinking of trying to dice half an apple the evening before and putting it in my morning oats.

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Re: Eat 5 serves of vegetables and 2 serves of fruit a day
« Reply #15 on: October 07, 2017, 03:55:17 AM »
Good thread!

I started using "Dr Greger's Daily Dozen" app (both android & apple) as a 'checklist' for my daily intake. So good! Definitely recommend it!

Roger D

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Re: Eat 5 serves of vegetables and 2 serves of fruit a day
« Reply #16 on: October 07, 2017, 06:28:26 AM »
Five serves of veggies seems so much!

Don't sweat it!

The research shows that you get almost all of the health benefits from the first four items (e.g. three vegetables plus one fruit):



From the British Medical Journal:
Fruit and vegetable consumption and mortality from all causes

MrThatsDifferent

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Re: Eat 5 serves of vegetables and 2 serves of fruit a day
« Reply #17 on: October 07, 2017, 01:16:01 PM »
Make a fist, that generally is the size of a serving of anything. Get a Nutribullet, on sale at David Jones atm, you can add whatever you want to it, it uses up older veggies and you don’t lose anything, better than a juicer.

Fresh Bread

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Re: Eat 5 serves of vegetables and 2 serves of fruit a day
« Reply #18 on: October 08, 2017, 03:53:21 AM »
Good thread!

I started using "Dr Greger's Daily Dozen" app (both android & apple) as a 'checklist' for my daily intake. So good! Definitely recommend it!

I checked out the app but I need to read the book I think to understand the inclusions, I'm sure it would be interesting. I don't think I've ever eaten flaxseed. And why the Vit D supplement? I have blood tests that show I'm not deficient.

Fresh Bread

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Re: Eat 5 serves of vegetables and 2 serves of fruit a day
« Reply #19 on: October 08, 2017, 03:54:46 AM »
Five serves of veggies seems so much!
The research shows that you get almost all of the health benefits from the first four items

Aw..  you ruined my gauntlet ;)

Fresh Bread

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Re: Eat 5 serves of vegetables and 2 serves of fruit a day
« Reply #20 on: October 08, 2017, 03:58:40 AM »
Make a fist, that generally is the size of a serving of anything. Get a Nutribullet, on sale at David Jones atm, you can add whatever you want to it, it uses up older veggies and you don’t lose anything, better than a juicer.

I don't think I need another gadget and I like the texture of veggies tho? Thanks anyway.

Fresh Bread

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Re: Eat 5 serves of vegetables and 2 serves of fruit a day
« Reply #21 on: October 08, 2017, 04:08:23 AM »
Today's result: 6 veg and 1.33 fruit. Getting there.

I weighed my apples and they are 200g, but a serve is only 150g. Boom.

Morning snack: Half an apple
Lunch: Pastrami roll with 1/4 of an avo, a cup of spinach and beetroot slices (2 veg serves) followed by half an apple.
Dinner: Hot smoked trout with mashed potato, spinach, avo and tomato. Dinner was supposed to be a sort of nicoise salad but I didn't know we were out of potatoes. We had emergency frozen mash tho! (4 serves of veg)
Had ice cream instead of fruit for dessert :)
« Last Edit: October 08, 2017, 04:37:39 AM by Freshwater »

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Re: Eat 5 serves of vegetables and 2 serves of fruit a day
« Reply #22 on: October 08, 2017, 04:46:14 AM »
Hey Freshwater,

Have you considered smoothies? I luckily live near a big discount grocer in Qld, that often has bulk sales on in-season stuff (like bananas 40c/kilo, kiwi 10c each, crazy cheap) - anytime spinach, kale, carrot, cucumber, banana, mango or other fruit is super cheap, I buy, chop and freeze in sandwich bags (chop cucumber small) - we have daily smoothies for breakfast - this morning I had banana, kale, cucumber and strawberry (with a scoop of protein powder, a blended weetbix and soy milk) -  equivalent of two fruit and a veggie, filling, fast, cheap and delicious! You can add in a bit of honey if needed. But use a good blender, nothing worse than lumps of kale in your drink............

Fresh Bread

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Re: Eat 5 serves of vegetables and 2 serves of fruit a day
« Reply #23 on: October 10, 2017, 12:07:50 AM »
Hey Freshwater,

Have you considered smoothies? I luckily live near a big discount grocer in Qld, that often has bulk sales on in-season stuff (like bananas 40c/kilo, kiwi 10c each, crazy cheap) - anytime spinach, kale, carrot, cucumber, banana, mango or other fruit is super cheap, I buy, chop and freeze in sandwich bags (chop cucumber small) - we have daily smoothies for breakfast - this morning I had banana, kale, cucumber and strawberry (with a scoop of protein powder, a blended weetbix and soy milk) -  equivalent of two fruit and a veggie, filling, fast, cheap and delicious! You can add in a bit of honey if needed. But use a good blender, nothing worse than lumps of kale in your drink............

I'm going to try Harris Farm markets to see what they have in the odd picks section and how cheap it is. And then there's a new fruitmarket opened up nearby so I'm going to check in there too. Somewhere I will find some good deals on fruit in bulk and then do what you do. I really like the chunks tho so I will put it on my coconut oats.

Yesterday: 4 serves of veg and 2 serves of fruit
I got there with the fruit (had very old frozen berries on oats) but then the veg went a bit wrong. I had 3 serves in a lunch omelette so that went well, but then I undercatered the veg for dinner's enchiladas. There was probably 4 serves of veg but spread across 8 enchiladas. I should have squished in more and got more salad to have on the side.

Today we will have leftover enchiladas but with roasted pumpkin and peas, corn and whatever else from the freezer to bulk up the veg. Fruit is not happening today so tomorrow I'm going out to get frozen berries and maybe kiwi fruit so I have a few more interesting options than apples, apples, apples. My pears from the weekend shop are not ripe yet. I'm going to get more salad leaves too because that is a simple way to add a serve without extra work.
« Last Edit: October 10, 2017, 12:09:41 AM by Freshwater »

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Re: Eat 5 serves of vegetables and 2 serves of fruit a day
« Reply #24 on: October 13, 2017, 02:02:41 PM »
Good thread!

I started using "Dr Greger's Daily Dozen" app (both android & apple) as a 'checklist' for my daily intake. So good! Definitely recommend it!

I checked out the app but I need to read the book I think to understand the inclusions, I'm sure it would be interesting. I don't think I've ever eaten flaxseed. And why the Vit D supplement? I have blood tests that show I'm not deficient
I don't take a Vit D supplement (or B12) so I just never tick off those guys on the checklist.
There's a few summaries out there on his Daily Dozen, which I'd recommend. He's really into cruciferous vegetables, for their health benefits, hence why they get their own place in the checklist!

I add flaxseed meal (or LSA) to my breakfast cereal. Or yoghurt for dessert  + flaxseed is delicious.

Friday: 5×veg + 3× fruit
Breakfast: cereal (maybe I should add banana or berries to this to make it healthier)
Lunch: quinoa, chicken, tomato, broccoli & green beans.
Snacks: Banana & mandarin
Dinner: quinoa, roast sweet potato, peppers, onions, kaleslaw, & baby spinach.
Dessert: greek yoghurt + strawberries

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Re: Eat 5 serves of vegetables and 2 serves of fruit a day
« Reply #25 on: October 13, 2017, 08:58:27 PM »
I'd like you to elaborate on why fruit is necessary and what life value it provides other than the pleasure of consuming sugar which doesn't benefit the body.

Fresh Bread

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Re: Eat 5 serves of vegetables and 2 serves of fruit a day
« Reply #26 on: October 13, 2017, 09:47:57 PM »
I'd like you to elaborate on why fruit is necessary and what life value it provides other than the pleasure of consuming sugar which doesn't benefit the body.

Hi, I'm just following the Aussie food guidelines, see link above. I'm not a food scientist myself.

HappierAtHome

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Re: Eat 5 serves of vegetables and 2 serves of fruit a day
« Reply #27 on: October 14, 2017, 12:27:11 AM »
This thread has been in the back of my mind while I'm meal planning, and I appear to have increased my vege intake. Woo!

boarder42

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Re: Eat 5 serves of vegetables and 2 serves of fruit a day
« Reply #28 on: October 14, 2017, 05:35:30 AM »
I'd like you to elaborate on why fruit is necessary and what life value it provides other than the pleasure of consuming sugar which doesn't benefit the body.

Hi, I'm just following the Aussie food guidelines, see link above. I'm not a food scientist myself.

If Aussie food guidelines are anything like the US. They are made by an incorrect organization. In the us they are made by the Dept of agriculture not the surgeon general or health Dept. 

Long story short do some research online fruit is full of sugar your body doesn't need and you can get all the nutrition your body needs from veggies usually in higher quantity per serving.

Fresh Bread

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Re: Eat 5 serves of vegetables and 2 serves of fruit a day
« Reply #29 on: October 14, 2017, 05:53:45 AM »
This thread has been in the back of my mind while I'm meal planning, and I appear to have increased my vege intake. Woo!

That's great! I had a bit of a rubbish Friday and seemed to eat a lot of biscuits but I'm on track overall and thinking more about nutrition.

My key takeaway after a week has been: it's hard to max out the veg when you're having a carb based meal eg risotto (Weds) and spaghetti bolognese (Thurs). In those cases the easiest thing to do is have a small portion of what you've made and a big side of salad.

However, having salad all week can mean more frequent trips to the shops and a higher spend overall, so I'm going to try to have a steady supply of young, green leaves in the garden.

If I make meals based around a protein, it's a piece of cake to do the veg requirement.

I really am not hitting the 2 pieces of fruit so I'm going to have more veg and try to have lots of different colour veg in a meal to get all the nutrients. I've bought frozen berries for my morning oats and weekend smoothies tho!

Fresh Bread

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Re: Eat 5 serves of vegetables and 2 serves of fruit a day
« Reply #30 on: October 14, 2017, 06:04:32 AM »
I'd like you to elaborate on why fruit is necessary and what life value it provides other than the pleasure of consuming sugar which doesn't benefit the body.

Hi, I'm just following the Aussie food guidelines, see link above. I'm not a food scientist myself.

If Aussie food guidelines are anything like the US. They are made by an incorrect organization. In the us they are made by the Dept of agriculture not the surgeon general or health Dept. 

Long story short do some research online fruit is full of sugar your body doesn't need and you can get all the nutrition your body needs from veggies usually in higher quantity per serving.

Our are made by the health dept, thanks for your concern though. I think I'll keep a bit of sugar in my life or I might turn sour or bitter :)

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Re: Eat 5 serves of vegetables and 2 serves of fruit a day
« Reply #31 on: October 14, 2017, 06:49:24 AM »
Thanks for your post.  I have slid into less healthy eating now that my child is away college...not overeating, just eating a sandwich instead of a proper meal.  It's funny that I find it much harder to be disciplined about healthy eating than healthy finances when it is probably more important for general happiness.

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Re: Eat 5 serves of vegetables and 2 serves of fruit a day
« Reply #32 on: October 14, 2017, 07:32:19 AM »
I love gauntlets and I've had to shake up my normal diet, so even though I typically flake out - I'm in! I've found chickpea patties make a nice snack from the fridge, not sure if chickpeas are "veg" or "protein" or both, but it's easy to add some frozen spinach and other veg when you make them. I have also started adding dried fruit to my morning porridge and used to add frozen berries. Er, are hash browns a veg serve? Guess I should probably bake a potato instead...

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Re: Eat 5 serves of vegetables and 2 serves of fruit a day
« Reply #33 on: October 14, 2017, 11:43:00 AM »
This is a great simple switch :) I just finally joined weight watchers and my main reason for doing it over free calorie counting with my fitness pal was that they let you eat all the fruit and veg (most types anyway) with no dings! I'm still probably stretching their rules by nibbling on other stuff but being able to eat as much as I want in those categories is helpful mentally, plus it means I'm not just mainlining sugar from refined sources like I used to be for snacks and meals! My office is filled with all sorts of processed and baked goods so trying to keep fruit and carrots around helps.


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Re: Eat 5 serves of vegetables and 2 serves of fruit a day
« Reply #34 on: October 14, 2017, 06:27:52 PM »
Today's plan: lunch will include a whole tomato and whole avocado (both sliced in some kind of sandwich); dinner will include two cups of cooked veges (enchiladas!). Not quite enough, I will need to eat some carrot sticks for a snack too I think :-)

Note: because I don't really love fruit, I sometimes count things that are technically fruit but we consider veges, as fruit (like tomatoes!).

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Re: Eat 5 serves of vegetables and 2 serves of fruit a day
« Reply #35 on: October 14, 2017, 07:29:11 PM »
Hello Dee, AV and Norabird!

Dee - I do toast if I'm on my own, which is not great. This week when it was just me because of this gauntlet I did a pumpkin risotto! It also meant I had leftovers for lunch the next day, so double win.

AV - I think chick peas count in the peas and beans section, so half a cup is a serve. I was so pleased to see lentils counted as veg as I eat them once of twice a week and usually think of them as meat substitute or a filler. I also put sultanas on my porridge but find it a bit sweet if I have a 'serving' of dried fruit so I'm going to do frozen more often.

Norabird - good luck with the weight loss! I'm also trying to fill myself with fresh goodies to stop myself craving biscuits/ chocolate.

Today's plan: lunch will include a whole tomato and whole avocado (both sliced in some kind of sandwich); dinner will include two cups of cooked veges (enchiladas!). Not quite enough, I will need to eat some carrot sticks for a snack too I think :-)

Note: because I don't really love fruit, I sometimes count things that are technically fruit but we consider veges, as fruit (like tomatoes!).

Yep I think I might go the tomato = fruit route too for my second piece. I like snacking on a whole tomato - I bite a hole and then suck out the seeds and then munch the rest. Not something you can do in company!

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Re: Eat 5 serves of vegetables and 2 serves of fruit a day
« Reply #36 on: October 14, 2017, 07:41:31 PM »
Today's meal prep task is chopping carrots for snacking and steaming, roasting mushrooms and stewing apples for the next few days. I would put it off and then they'd all go icky, but since this thread popped up in my feed I realised I can get it done today!

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Re: Eat 5 serves of vegetables and 2 serves of fruit a day
« Reply #37 on: October 14, 2017, 07:43:33 PM »
In fact, HaH, thinking about it - since a lot of veg are technically fruit we can insert lots of alternatives - avo, eggplant, pumpkin?

New secondary goal: Eat a rainbow!

http://www.nutritionaustralia.org/national/resource/eat-rainbow

The link says that to get the nutrients we need we should try to eat a range of colours in our fruit and veg.

I'd say green and orange are easy for me as all my favourites are there. The purple is the hardest as beetroot and red cabbage don't go with every meal (and they turn a slow cooker meal all purple!) so you're relying on berries there.  There's purple kale I guess, I could plant some...

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Re: Eat 5 serves of vegetables and 2 serves of fruit a day
« Reply #38 on: October 14, 2017, 07:46:40 PM »
Today's meal prep task is chopping carrots for snacking and steaming, roasting mushrooms and stewing apples for the next few days. I would put it off and then they'd all go icky, but since this thread popped up in my feed I realised I can get it done today!

I fucking hate mushrooms. But stewed apple, delish, what a great idea for puddings! Sometimes I slice an apple and bake it for 20min. If I'm feeling fancy I'll add butter and cinnamon and an oaty topping.

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Re: Eat 5 serves of vegetables and 2 serves of fruit a day
« Reply #39 on: October 14, 2017, 08:57:44 PM »
Today's meal prep task is chopping carrots for snacking and steaming, roasting mushrooms and stewing apples for the next few days. I would put it off and then they'd all go icky, but since this thread popped up in my feed I realised I can get it done today!

I fucking hate mushrooms. But stewed apple, delish, what a great idea for puddings! Sometimes I slice an apple and bake it for 20min. If I'm feeling fancy I'll add butter and cinnamon and an oaty topping.
Oooh, I need more details! Or a photo. Is it really as simple as chop & bake? Because that is my kind of cooking for sure. For the oaty topping, is it oats + butter + cinnamon mixed and spread over the apples? I ought to make Apple cake/ muffins too...

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Re: Eat 5 serves of vegetables and 2 serves of fruit a day
« Reply #40 on: October 14, 2017, 09:02:07 PM »
I will do it and put a photo up :)

Yesterday we had people over so today is about leftovers so nothing is wasted and less about counting serves. There is half a jug of Pimm's with fruit floating it tho. Alcohol soaked fruit for the win!

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Re: Eat 5 serves of vegetables and 2 serves of fruit a day
« Reply #41 on: October 15, 2017, 12:22:15 AM »
Thanks Freshwater! Apples are pretty cheap but I'm not great at eating them raw, so easy cooking ideas are great.

Carrots are chopped and apples are cooking :D

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Re: Eat 5 serves of vegetables and 2 serves of fruit a day
« Reply #42 on: October 15, 2017, 06:58:10 AM »
just jumping in because this gauntlet is exactly what I have been trying to do for improving health.
Yesterday -
blueberries in the pancakes
split pea soup with carrots, onion and celery
pear
2 cups of deep purple grapes from Niagara - not sure what type they were.  The colour was amazing.
salad rolls with spinach, kale, cilantro, carrot, red pepper, and stir fry with bok choi, onions, roasted red pepper - 1.5 c of cooked veg in total.
Non GMO popcorn
Peanuts
So how do the pulses work into the calculations?  While high in fiber, and nutrients they are also high in protein and carbs.

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Re: Eat 5 serves of vegetables and 2 serves of fruit a day
« Reply #43 on: October 15, 2017, 07:48:18 AM »
Thanks Freshwater! Apples are pretty cheap but I'm not great at eating them raw, so easy cooking ideas are great.

Carrots are chopped and apples are cooking :D
OK so we're good at prep, but I'm not so good at eating. I ate 2 kinds of fruit (sultanas with oats, banana in pancakes) which I think might have been 1 serve fruit based on the quantity. 2 potato hash browns for lunch - maybe 1 vegetable serve? Hoping to do a lot better tomorrow. Dried fruit with breakfast oats (1 fruit); carrots & hommus for morning tea (2 veg); lettuce with eggs and hash browns for lunch (2 veg); banana pancakes for afternoon tea (1 fruit); Steamed peas/ carrots/ broccoli with meat for dinner (3 veg). That makes an optimistic plan for 2 fruit and 7 veg, but I probably won't manage enough quantity for that.

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Re: Eat 5 serves of vegetables and 2 serves of fruit a day
« Reply #44 on: October 15, 2017, 10:32:30 PM »
I'm going to guess strawberry jam does not count towards my fruit intake... Time to make my lunch salad :)

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Re: Eat 5 serves of vegetables and 2 serves of fruit a day
« Reply #45 on: October 15, 2017, 10:58:32 PM »
I'm going to guess strawberry jam does not count towards my fruit intake... Time to make my lunch salad :)

Well it kind of does if it's made from strawberries but yeah, not a healthy way to take it! Yummy tho.

I haven't forgotten about the apple photo :)



Today all I've had so far is about half a cup of salad (1/2 a serve) on my chicken sandwich and about half an apple (it made me feel sick!). I'm planning a lentil bake for dinner which will sort it. Will probably do baked apple then for pudding. I don't like to put the oven on just to bake an apple so tonight's the night.

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Re: Eat 5 serves of vegetables and 2 serves of fruit a day
« Reply #46 on: October 16, 2017, 02:23:58 AM »
Ok AV, here's the apple.

I quartered one large apple, removed the core and then sliced it. Then I put the slices into two ramekins on a baking tray (to make it easier to put in the oven). In the past I've spread the slices on baking paper but this is a no waste version :) I bake them for about 15-20 mins at 180-200. Sometimes they are underdone but I don't mind that.

I couldn't add the pictures in the right order, but I've tried to show increasing levels of fancy that I do depending on whether I can be bothered.

Bottom right is plain. Top left I've added a small knob of butter and some cinamon. If I'm really going for it, I mix about a heaped tbsp of oats with some cinnamon and a teaspoon of brown sugar and sprinkle it over. It doesn't go proper crumble topping but it's good. It's nice served with a blob of yoghurt on top but tonight we've got icecream!

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Re: Eat 5 serves of vegetables and 2 serves of fruit a day
« Reply #47 on: October 16, 2017, 10:01:09 PM »
Thanks Freshwater, that's exactly what I needed! I have some pears I'll try it with. It looks delicious.

Today is going well in terms of variety! Applesauce & sultanas on breakfast, morning tea was a couple of banana & coconut pikelets with strawberry jam. Lunch is steamed broccoli and carrots (we're out of peas!) and a hash brown. That makes 3 fruit, 3 veg for my variety score- I suspect my volume score is around 1.5 fruit and 2 veg.

This might actually be the most fun gauntlet I've done, oddly enough. I'm enjoying being creative with my food.

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Re: Eat 5 serves of vegetables and 2 serves of fruit a day
« Reply #48 on: October 16, 2017, 10:42:10 PM »
Thanks Freshwater, that's exactly what I needed! I have some pears I'll try it with. It looks delicious.

Today is going well in terms of variety! Applesauce & sultanas on breakfast, morning tea was a couple of banana & coconut pikelets with strawberry jam. Lunch is steamed broccoli and carrots (we're out of peas!) and a hash brown. That makes 3 fruit, 3 veg for my variety score- I suspect my volume score is around 1.5 fruit and 2 veg.

This might actually be the most fun gauntlet I've done, oddly enough. I'm enjoying being creative with my food.

Same. One of my favourite things is making up a dinner when it looks like we have nothing to eat.

Is the applesauce the stewed apple you made? What do you do - just chop and cook down with water or do you add anything? I'm thinking I can do it for my oats as well. Not fruit related, but one of my favourite things on oats is sunflower seeds, I like the crunch.


I managed to eat a rainbow yesterday, and since today's dinner is leftovers, I will eat one today too. I only just scraped by on the purple because there happens to be shredded red cabbage in a bag of salad that DH got for his work sandwiches and brought home. If I'd remembered I could have put berries in the apple crumble. Serving wise I did 2 fruit, and 5 veg just about if you count handfuls of cocoa popcorn and falafel chips :)

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Re: Eat 5 serves of vegetables and 2 serves of fruit a day
« Reply #49 on: October 16, 2017, 11:36:49 PM »
Freshwater, yup that was the stewed apples. DH was making it for the baby. Peeled & chopped up apple, cooked in water until mushy. Then we scooped the apple pieces out with a slotted spoon, and put them in the blender. I was going to leave some in chunks for myself, but they were so soft we blended all of it. I think we did 1kg of granny smith. You could definitely add spices to it for a slightly different flavour.