5 a day

[jordielaz]

does anyone on here eat their '5 a day' fruit and veg. I like to think i have a healthy diet but i've been trying to eat the RDA of fruit and veg for the past week and its near impossible!

[LoftyLottie]

Natalie, I have always noticed that you cook nice meals from some of your postings. An honorary oldie!!

Ethandron, your version of cottage pie sounds good, but Mr LL wouldn't think so!!

You can do so much with veg!

Chicken stir fry tonight with the chicken marinated in soy, honey and sesame oil.

(with a fattening apple crumble to follow)

[LoftyLottie]

to Jordielaz.

We have gone off track a bit on your thread.

But seriously, why don't you try cooking some pasta meals or stir frys incorporating plenty of vegetables. Much easier and tastier that way than perhaps eating a piece of fruit or carrot when you don't really enjoy it.

[natalie_1982]

Lotty, it comes from being brought up on chicken nuggets and chips, burger and chips, chips and chips, sauage and chips, pizza and chips...... I hit adulthood and realised there must be more to life, and I was right!

[LoftyLottie]

You are fortunate Natalie that you had the wisdom to do this. Hopefully little Elmo will follow in your footsteps.

But you have proved my point about oldies. We were generally fed nutritious food as kids so the habits have stayed with us. Money was short, but veg were cheap so we got plenty!!

[natalie_1982]

I think it also depends where you grew up - my grandparents are in their 70s, they still grow eat their own food. The only thing they don't do nowadays, and that it down to their health, is catch and pluck the pheasants / rabbits themselves! They were brought up in the country, and still live there.

My other grandmother, however, also in her 70s was born and brought up (and still lives in) a city and her idea of cooking a "homemade" vegetable soup was opening a tin of potatoes, a tin of carrots, a tin of peas, etc etc and bunging it all in a pot together. I remember dinners of corned beef and fried eggs round at hers, but "proper" meat, veg and potato dinners at my other nan's!

[zzxxee]

days vary somedays it might just be 2 out of 5 some days more than 5 if im really down and having a choccy day none at all

[LoftyLottie]

My family were all Londoners though Natalie and all ate and cooked very well. I suppose it just depends. Cooking and good nutritious food was always a priority (although my lovely grandmother used to give me bread, butter and sugar for breakfast - quite common in the 50's).

Also my grandparents were greengrocers, so I suppose that might have something to do with the vegetable thing!!!

[LoftyLottie]

I think we all need Choccy days occasionally!!

[jordielaz]

I don't really see the significance of age when it comes to eating well or not. In fact whenever i'm in the supermarket its the pensioners who're buying up all the coconut balls, iced buns and ginger wine. And while i'm here my gran of 83 has just started buying Rustlers... so much for the WWII instilling good wholesome eating habits. AND while i'm here, i remeber Finfare and ScotMid in the 80s and it sold a right load of sh*t.
I cook everything from pretty much scratch - my problem is i dont really like fruit - it makes me feel bloated and it contains hunners of sugar anyway. After 3 pieces of fruit at work I just dont feel like eating anything else, which can't be healthy.

[puddicat]

jordielaz fruit has natural sugars though i can understand, i have a perchant for pineapple at the moment, the juicy prepacked stuff yum yum!!

[jordielaz]

PS. Does red wine count?

[jordielaz]

I've been told 'natural sugars' are no better than the other kind. and they'll still put the beef on you in the same way.

DOWN WITH EVIL FRUIT

[natalie_1982]

But vegetables contain natural sugars also? And surely it is better to eat a peice of fruit and have natural sugars and nutrients, than a packet of crisps or something similar where you may just as well be eating an old boot for all the good it is doing you.

I agree with you about 80s food though - it was appaulling, all additives and food colouring. I am sure half of it wouldn't be legal nowadays lol

[coccinelle]

yes, but now it's the hidden enzymes...

[jordielaz]

Just out of interest - i used to drink alot of orange juice and i turned a sort of orange/tango colour. Anyway i swapped to ribena and have now weedled myself off that onto green tea and red wine. Good eh!

[nickmk]

I have to make a point here that not many people realize. They recommend 5 pieces of fruit AND 5 pieces of vegetables.

[jordielaz]

Cripes - they'll need to give peeps a longer lunch hour then, to munch through all that rabbit food.

[spudqueen]

nickmk - where on earth did you get that information from? On the officieal Department of Health website it says five portions of fruit OR vegetables a day.
http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publichealth/Healthimp rovement/FiveADay/index.htm

And jordielaz - some days I struggle, eg yesterday I had a glass of orange juice and homemade vegetable soup for dinner, but then had chicken curry for tea, and no, I didn't eat any fruit during the day, so I only had 3 portions. Today I will manage 5, but not everyday. On the whole though I don't think I have a bad diet, so I don't worry about it too much.

[joannie10]

I try to. I help it along by nibbling on some chunks of cucumber and cherry tomatoes with my lunch.

[Velvetee]

A portion of fruit or veg would fit in the palm of your hand, so a plum maybe one portion, a banana 2 portions, 2 large florets of Brocolli would be one portion, as would 2 florets of cauliflower.

I don't know that they mean you need to eat 5 portions of fruit and 5 portions of veg. I would imagine the 5 portions would be a combination of the two.