Tag: 5-a-day

7 easy ways to eat your 5-a-day

In the UK it is recommended that we all eat at least 5 portions of fruit and veg every day. However, if you’re not used to consuming a range of fruit and vegetables regularly, that number can seem a little daunting. It’s for that reason I have pulled together a few practical tips that have helped me to up my fruit and veg intake over the years, and I hope they can help you too.

1. Blend it
Reach your 5-a-day by blending together different types of fruit and vegetables to make healthy and filling smoothies. Try banana, blueberries, spinach, almond milk, and (if you like) some porridge oats or protein powder. This makes a delicious breakfast, or a nutritious smoothie to enjoy pre or post exercising.

2. Buy it frozen
Have good intentions to eat your 5-a-day but your fruit and veg goes off? Buy it frozen and add your freezer veggies straight into stir fries, stews, curries or omelettes; or frozen fruit straight into smoothies, ‘ice cream’ (see below), yogurt or overnight oats.

3. Make soup
An easy way to enjoy lots of vegetables in one sitting is to make your own soup. Simply add your favourite veggies to a huge pot of stock (vegetable or chicken) and let them simmer away until you’re left with a yummy soup. You can then enjoy your soup chunky or use a blender to create a smooth soup. Save any leftovers in the fridge or freezer for a meal another day!

4. Think vegetable base
When cooking from scratch I used to focus on what carb or meat I had to make my meal. Nowadays I focus on the vegetables first to ensure my meal will be high in nutrients and will help me to reach that 5-a-day goal. For example, chargrilled vegetables (you can buy packs of these frozen) go great with a salmon fillet and some potatoes. Stir fries are a great dish for focussing on the vegetables first as there are so many tasty stir fry vegetable packs in supermarkets available. Pair with tofu, your favourite meat or fish, along with a few noodles or some rice.

5. Grate it up
There are some dishes I was previously used to cooking that contained very little veg, then I came across a lot of recipes that grated vegetables into them. I found doing this not only increased how many vegetables I would be consuming, but it didn’t alter the taste of my usual recipes all that much. For example, grated carrot, aubergine or courgette into spaghetti bolognese is delicious and a lot of the time I feel like I eat less mince and pasta now my sauce is full with filling veggies.

6. Snack on it
A really simple way to increase your fruit and veg intake is to snack on it. Vegetable crudities are great for dipping into houmous and are easy to travel with. Bananas, apples, oranges, pears are also easy to travel with and make a great snack – especially if you have a sweet tooth.

7. Make it a pudding
My favourite way to consume fruit is as a dessert. I love berries mixed in with greek style yogurt or my ultimate favourite is to make fruit ‘ice cream’ and sorbets. My favourite is to blend chopped up frozen bananas with a little milk, and sometimes a tiny bit of peanut butter. It creates an ice cream like dessert without all the fat and unnatural sugar.

Why 5-a-day?
Read more here:
www.nhs.uk/live-well/eat-well/why-5-a-day
www.nhs.uk/change4life/food-facts/five-a-day

Could a Japanese diet help you lose weight?

I’ve heard a rumour that Japan recommends 17 servings of fruit and vegetables every day – 13 portions of veggies and 4 portions of fruit. As I don’t always reach the UK’s recommended target of 5-a-day, I now feel a little pathetic on hearing their goal. So, I’ve challenged myself to up my fruit and veg intake and here’s how I’m getting on…

My experience of eating 17-a-day

Poo
Who needs Pootea when you’re eating this much fruit and veg! TMI – I’ve never been so regular! However, the initial increase was maybe a bit of a shock to my system and I did have a slight stomach ache after a few days – thankfully the discomfort didn’t last too long. Note to all, increase portions gradually.

Energy
I’ve felt so much better for eating more fruit and veg. I’ve always known they’re good for you, but the difference as been pretty incredible (after having a few weeks of not consuming as many as I would normally). I’m sure my skin has improved already, too.

Creative cooking
Given a target so high has made me more creative with how I prepare my portions of fruit and veg. Before my challenge I’d have an apple, banana and veg sticks. Now, I’m including more fruit and veg at every meal. Breakfast in particular has been a tasty eye-opener – I’ve enjoyed a mash up of onions, mushrooms, tomatoes and some kind of green veg, piled on top of a slice of toast with eggs. Lunch and dinnertime meals have been more filling with the addition of extra cooked veg and fruit has been great to snack on or treat as a ‘pudding’, thanks to the natural sugar in the stuff.

More full and less sugar
The increase has left me feeling more satisfied after my meals and less prone to snacking and craving sweet things. I’m not saying my sweet tooth has disappeared but come the evening I’ve realised I’ve gone all day without reaching for my usual chocolate fix. I then eat some chocolate!

Let’s go Japanese!
Whatever the number, there’s no doubting that fruit and veg in your diet is a positive thing for good health and weight loss – if that’s your goal. I’ve enjoyed the self-challenge to eat more of the stuff and will let you know on what the scales reveal next week!

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