5 Portions Of Fruit And Veg A Day. Don't Think It's Happened Yet!

ah Magical bu bble tell me mor3e pizza is a balancedmeal love it. lo; along with chocolate really being good for us. wonderful.

I'm going to stock on pizzas RIGHT NOW lol! Actually, it's one food item I've not made yet but I shall, once I remember to get some pizza dough!

@HATLEY: yes its a balanced meal, it has grain, fruit (tomato) veggies, meat, cheese. Very balanced and the more you add on top, the better it is. Make sure the dough is thin @JANEY: dont buy already made pizza dough, make your own, its really easy and tastes so much better.....you can do it girl its full of easy recipes on the net!

It makes a change you copying us rather than the other way round..but I get your point. I am sticking to my new cooking regime but if I want to bake a cake, I'll bake a cake and Cameron and his cronies won't be able to stop me lol.

Firstly there isn't a 'stupid rule' there is recommendation that we eat 5 portions of fruit or veg a day. It is an extremely sensible recommendation and the government do have the right to try to encourage healthy eating as it is them who have to fund the NHS to put problems caused to our health from not eating healthily.

Yesterday we bought tinned Bramley apple to go into a crumble with some lovely rolled oats (already had the plum version and it was awesome, although they were "the real thing" so to speak) and the tinned apple was actually 9p cheaper than 4 Bramleys! Way to go..so I've got some apple and blackberry too. Can't wait to try them out.

It is extremely easy to eat 5 portions a day and you are actually probably doing this without you realising you are! Tomato in ketchup or on pizza counts as a portion, vegetables in soups and sauces count, fruit juice classes as fruit - I reckon I probably have more like 10 - 12 a day. So far today I have already had 6 and have not had my main meal yet - sliced tomato with my bacon at breakfast,(1), a glass of orange juice with breakfast (1), 3 portions of different vegetables in a bowl of soup and an apple (1)

It really sounds like your fruit and vegie prices aren't that bad... you can buy around 30 tomatoes or 5kg of potatoes for the price of 1 fast food meal! And Potatoes are starchy and high carbs, but they're still included on the fruit and vegie list for the Canadian food guide. You just have to make sure you don't go too far with them.

Well, we eat loads of potatoes in various forms. The little salad ones (sometimes in less than a 1kg bag) can range anywhere up to about £1.35, depending on the time of year. The "mashers" or the more versatile spud can vary wildly in price and we have been known to pay nearly £2 for a 2kg bag! I've started to eat more tomatoes and have noticed the silly prices of those too, ranging from 85p to over a pound for about 6! My Dad grows them and sometimes I wish he was living next door as I'd get them for nothing. We could grow veg but we are very short of room. I decided early on that I preferred to grow plants/flowers rather than vegetables in my raised flower bed. They are much prettier to look at and I even have a Winter Jasmine that flowers in the colder months so there is always something interesting going on.

Potatoes are a starchy carbohydrate high food and is not included in the fruit and vegetables!

I agree that the 'five a day rule' is difficult for diabetics, especially for those who don't rely on injected insulin (Type 1). Diabetics, however, do need carbohydrates just as much as those with normal insulin functionality. It is the fast action of fructose and glucose which is dangerous for diabetics. As a diabetic, your choice of vegetables is more limited and it is necessary to take the 'glycemic index' into account. Foods with a high glycemic index are better because the conversion of starches to sugars is slower and can therefore be handled better by a body which has lost its capability of using insulin. Your body still needs the fibre and minerals which fruit and vegetables supply so one simply has to choose from the fruits and vegetables which are lower in fructose and glucose. This may tend to limit one to the green vegetables, such as lettuce, spinach and cabbage and its relatives and it would be wise to plan your intake to small amounts over the course of the day. Those Type 2 diabetics who need to inject insulin can, perhaps, eat a wider variety of fruits and vegetables because they are able to compensate by increasing the insulin dosage. There are insulin pumps which can measure blood sugar regularly and adjust the insulin level automatically, though they are not widely available yet.

There you go, I've started something interesting here...thanks guys.

Apple, orange, kiwi, and pear belong to fruit of low glycemic index.In addition,grapefruit can lower blood sugar.

Believe me, I don't worry about it but I do know of individuals who are obsessed with these things and are no healthier than you or I.

It is NOT A RULE !! It is a recommendation and a very sensible one at that. It's not even 'healthy eating' it is a normal way of eating - I would imagine that most people who think they're NOT eating their 5 a day actually are. Do you have tomato or mushrooms with your bacon?Do you have tomato ketchup on your food? Do you eat stews and casserole that contain carrots, do you have a drink of fruit juice or a smoothie, do you eat baked beans in tomato sauce - all of these things contribute to your fruit and veg intake.

Lol. I'm glad I'm not the only one.

I don't like enough vegetable to be a vegan so I admire you, being on a vegan diet. Some dim mothers think Jaffa Cakes are part of the 5 a day because they think they have proper oranges in them..well, they don't, it's a flavouring!

Very true.

Tinned mandarins are my absolute favourites! Not as good for you as the fresh variety I'm sure, but better than none I'm sure.

Well, I am eating more fruit now than I used to as I had lots of fruit when I was growing up and always enjoyed it. Someone in a box above has mentioned draining fruit from a tin and pouring that over a yogurt. I think it's a brilliant idea and I may try it sooner rather than later. I don't even know what's out there in the tinned varieties. I may be pleasantly surprised!

I'm not sure what constitutes a portion, to be honest but I have cut down considerably on potato portions. The main reason for this is our smaller steamer. It's impossible to put too many potatoes in the bottom, otherwise the water seeps into the next pan with the holes in it (and the peas) for steaming. Also, it's difficult getting the next pan onto the bottom one as the potatoes can get in the way if it's over-filled! I do get the larger pan out for mashed potato though. Gotta have some treats in my life!

I like potato too.Usually We add some flour ,a little salt and ginger dust to mashed potatoes made of boiled potatoes,shape it into ball-shaped stuffs that have a diameter of 3cm,then fry .It is delicious.

What a brilliant idea..tinned fruit! It's improved a lot hasn't it, over the years and yes, you're right, it's far cheaper than buying fresh, so to speak. I guess it lasts longer too, with it being in a tin? I may try what you have had and rinse the syrup off and bung the fruit in a plain yogurt. Sounds yummy..and good for you that you have improvised in this way.

Oh Thank you Janey for the best response. Yes, canned fruit lasts a long time. I don't know what the shelf life is, because we don't keep it around that long.. but I guess it would be good for over a year. I drain it and rinse it off to get the sugary syrup off from it and then mix it with yogurt.. I love it! We are going shopping tonight and we will get lots of canned fruit.. pears, peaches, and the like.. I also like frozen strawberries and mixed fruit. I make smoothies out of them with some sugar free drink like Crystal light and yogurt... it's really good and a treat too. I put a little Splenda in there for sweetener.. and wow! Soooo good!

My Dad grows his own tomatoes and he gives a lot of them away for free. I reckon he should charge!

Oh yes my grandpa was like him, he had a farm and he cultivate pineaple, bot, sweet potato, plantain, oranges, tamarindo, mangoes, lemons, coffe, and more. And he had a lot animals he raised pigs, turkeys, hen, chicken, chick, rooster, sheep, guinea pig, and a lot of more, and he used to share with his friends, he was a very good man like your Dad!!

Yes, government campaigns are ALWAYS annoying, I agree with you on that!

Wow, 5 is the minimum? I never knew that.

Yes, full of carbs I believe. However, without them I'd have no energy to do anything lol. Oh, and they're full of Vitamin C which is a good thing too..and the fibre, which makes me "go." Haha!

Thanks! I made (some more) almond biscuits earlier and they aren't half yummy. More almondy than sugary which can't be a bad thing. I know what you mean about customers wanting certain foods all year round. I actually refuse to eat any apple that ISN'T from the UK as it goes against the grain. It's tough not eating them the rest of the year but I just love English apples and cannot stand to see "Granny Smiths: Country of Origin: South Africa." Does my head in.

Good for you.

I guess it's due to the fact we want bananas and such-like all year round. However, some supermarkets try to highlight seasonal produce grown in this country..rhubarb, for example. This doesn't happen everywhere though and I reckon it should. Keeps our growers happy for a start.

Could be..over here transport costs will, no doubt play a part due to fuel being way higher than it used to be. If Beeching hadn't shut down all those Train Stations in the 60s it could all go by rail!