How many [portions of fruit and veg] do you consume per day, on average?

[fruitnveg]

 

[Nigella's Cream Pie]

Crisps?

No, because potatoes don't count, strangely

 

[Norman Potting]

5 - the food police are at it again it seems.

 

[edna krabappel]

How does an Eskimo get his 5 a day?

I thought this was going to be a joke

 

[beorhthelm]

Does wine count?

Crisps?

Chocolate counts, right? Cocoa comes from a plant.

yes.

Or if hops count, about 8

if it weren't for their association with the effects of drinking, hops would be considered a health food. i'm surprised no ones come up with a hop tea of some sort.

 

[Rogero]

Do porky scratchings count because it's not meat is it?

 

[beorhthelm]

I'm pretty sure I've seen some juices claiming to constitute 2 of your 5 a day.

this would be smoothies where they have 4 or 5 ingredients, apples, oranges, bananas and a bunch of other fruit. the point of 5 a day was to encourage people to have a variety, and do so with a realistic target that people can adjust to easily. the food police now saying its not enough based on reading something into skewed stats is just going to spoil the message.

 

[upthealbion1970]

Chocolate counts, right? Cocoa comes from a plant.

As does sugar..... Does that make chocolate a super food?

 

[tinycowboy]

We were laughing at the Tropicana juice wording only this very weekend as fruit and veg seems to be an after thought to their "Just Eat More" instruction.

Well, it's a little half-hearted looking, isn't it? They should have inserted an asterisk after the word "more" and put a vertical footnote in point size 5 to the right of the barcode. You don't get any of this gubbins with Sunny D.

 

[edna krabappel]

Pffft. I've just had a pretty awesome cheese & crisp sandwich for lunch. It's precisely none of my 5 or 7 a day but it tasted lovely.

Crisp sandwiches are ace.

 

[Bozza]

30 posts and not a mention of the apply goodness of cider? What has NSC become?

 

[edna krabappel]

30 posts and not a mention of the apply goodness of cider? What has NSC become?

I was trying to be discreet about your drink problem

 

[brightn'ove]

Does ketchup count?

why is 5 A DAY always capitalised? seems quite condescending. "have you had your 5 A DAY?!?!?!"

who drinks only 150ml of juice? That is less than half of a can of cokes worth of liquid.

 

[Machiavelli]

who drinks only 150ml of juice?

I am guilty of doing this two days a week. On the other days, I tend to avoid it. I never drink Coke.
But I do like fermented and distilled products, and manage much more than 150ml most days.

 

[desprateseagull]

banana / raisins for breakfast (with porridge, or yoghurt).

then, erm.. does cider count too?

 

[Giraffe]

3-4 depending on whether I remember the banana that often sits in my office drawer or bag all day.

 

[Kumquat]

For what it's worth I actually worked on something called behavioural change policy for the last Government and we looked into the 5-a-day campaign. The reason it was set at 5-a-day was because it was seen as realistic and came from negotiations between the Department of Health and supermarkets. The latter were worried that if the figure was deemed unrealistic it would put off people from buying fruit and veg and the Govt concluded it was better to get people to eat more even if it wasn't the correct amount in nutrition terms. The actual recommended amount to eat is much higher. Canada for example I seem to remember from our research recommended 11 or 12 portions a day. At the end of the day, the more you eat is better for you.

Also on the cider argument we were actually told, depending on what cider it was, that in some cases, half a pint of cider in the morning is better for you than an apple. But obviously no Government would recommend it!

I would however recommend kumquats! Small and easy to eat.