Five portions a day?

squeaky

Ted_Hutchinson wrote:

DOH 5 a day Portion size

Well that's no good to anybody - it doesn't have chocolate in it

Actually, it doesn't have potato either

Lucie_2

squeaky wrote:

Well that's no good to anybody - it doesn't have chocolate in it

Surely fruit & nut must count for something????..........

Xbigman

I never count anything from a tin or processed IE cooked by someone else with added salt, sugar or chemicals.
So fresh/frozen plain fruit and veg. Smoothies count because you just smished them up, dried fruits count as long as there's no sugar or salt coating.

I don't count nuts or seeds as you need to eat 100g to get a portion, which is about a 1/4 of your daily calories in one hit and I only have 30g a day in total (brazils, Hazelnuts, walnuts and pumkin seeds).
Regards



X

moggins

I always thought as chocolate came from a bean it counted as a vegetable and therefore was good for you?

Magentasue

Lucie wrote:

Surely fruit & nut must count for something????..........

Yes, Lucie, it counts for chocolate. Now stop whinging and eat your greens!:D:D:D

Ticklemouse

I haven't looked at the website yet, but I was always under the impression that spuds didn't count, because we need them for 'other' things in our body Maybe it's to do with the starch? Anyway, I've always heard those on tv 'that know' say baked beans and dried fruit DO count. I don't understand the smoothie thing about however much you have only counting as 1 portion. I knew that about juice as you are not getting the fibre, but as a smoothie contains the whole fruit, why does it change?

I often go way over my 5 a day - by my reckoning.

Typical day:

Breakfast - porridge with added sultanas and 6 (min) prunes on top - 2 portions

Lunch HM veg soup - 2 to 3 portions

Tea - will have at least 3 portions assorted veg or eg spag bol with toms, onion, mushrooms, anything else I get in. Even my shepherds pie contains 4 different veg plus assorted beans plus 1 or 2 portions steamed veg.

Fruit to eat as snack and juice to drink as and when. However, I'm with MATH, I can't drink enough water. Tea, yes, H2O - nope.

Magentasue

It's easy to drink two litres of water a day. Just ignore that silly bit about not counting what you have in tea and coffee!

lipidicman

Xbigman wrote:

...dried fruits count as long as there's no sugar or salt coating...

Better if you can find them without - but the sugar doesnt take away the fact that it is a portion of fruit, you are just getting extra sugar. Cranberries for example are almost unpalatable without added sugar - but are pretty good for you

On another note: Two smoothies should count as two portions as long as they are made of different fruits!

I have actually found it quite easy. I mean Wow, a tablespoon of raisins is a whole portion - great on shredded wheat or bran flakes as an easy start to the day, add a glass of juice and you have two. I probably eat around ten satsumas a day at work (easy - dont need washing) and a couple of kiwis or an apple at night. A small box of apricots is an easy snack (I have ten rather than the three that makes a portion). Try a raw carrot or celery with sandwiches at lunch (they are my crisp substitutes) and put thick cucumber slices in your sandwiches (2-3" in total). Add some nuts and seeds and a little dark chocolate and red wine (both good for you in moderation).....man I'm hungry, I dont stop eating...I'm obsessed. Yet I dont put any weight on, maybe my friends are right....maybe I do have a tapeworm!

crana999

Smoothies only counting as one sounds like garbage to me, I even emailed the DOH site to ask why they said that as it made no sense.

If you're serving something like macaroni cheese it is fairly easy to just heat up some frozen/tinned peas or sweetcorn to have with it, or some boiled/steamed broccoli, carrots, or similar... or salad, even just sliced tomatoes. Makes the meal a bit nicer too

Ticklemouse

I read somewhere that because tea/coffee are diuretics, then you have to drink more, so for every 2 litres needed, then you have to drink, say, 2 1/2 litres. Also, if you eat foods high in water contents, then you can reduce the amount you drink. So, lots of watermelon for me

Actually, watermelon juice is lovely and refreshing, if a tad more expensive than water.