Fruit and Vegetables

Fruit and vegetables are vital for eating and maintaining a healthy diet. The majority of people know that they should be eating 5 portions of fruit and veg a day, but there is still a lot of us who don’t eat enough. Fruit and veg can come fresh, frozen, dried, tinned or juiced

Fruit and veg should make up around 1/3 of the food you eat each day, which can be achieved easier than some might think. The following is a brief guide on how to get your 5-a-day into your daily diet.

Each of the following = 1 portion = 80g

  • 1 banana, pear, apple, orange or other similar sized fruit
  • 1 slice of large fruit, such as pineapple or melon
  • ½ a grapefruit or avocado
  • 2 plums or similar sized fruit
  • 1 handful of grapes, cherries or berries
  • a bowel full of salad
  • 3 heaped tablespoons of beans and pulses (counts as one portion per day no matter - how much you eat)
  • 3 heaped tablespoons of vegetables
  • 3 heaped tablespoons of fruit salad (fresh or tinned) or stewed fruit
  • 1 tablespoon of dried fruit
  • 6 slices of cucumber
  • 1 tomato
  • 1 carrot
  • 8 strawberries
  • 10 mushrooms pieces
  • 16 raspberries
  • 2 pieces of broccoli
  • a 150ml glass full of fruit juice (counts as one portion per day no matter how much you drink)

It is important to try add extra pieces of fruit and veg to your daily diet so that you reach your 5-a-day limit. This can be achieved in a number of ways, e.g. having fruit as snacks throughout the day, or having a bowel of salad as your lunch, etc.

The Importance of Fruit & Veg

Fruit and veg are very good source of many vitamins and minerals and are also very low in fat, but research suggests most of us still don’t eat enough.

More and more evidence is being produced that highlights that eating more fruit and veg will reduce the likeliness of chronic diseases such as coronary heart disease and some cancers developing.

Basics of nutrition

Fats | Salt | Starch | Fruit and Veg | Sugar | Water | Carbohydrates | Dairy & Milk | Protein