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