One portion of dried fruit counts but other types of fruit and vegetables should be eaten to meet the rest of the 5 a day target. For example three dried apricots or one tablespoon of raisins. This way of taking fruit is good because it can be eaten quickly and on the go and don’t need any preparation. (Food and Nutrition-Jenny Ridgwell)
One portion of vegetables is, for example, three tablespoonfuls of cooked carrots or peas or sweetcorn or one cereal bowl of mixed salad.
Beans and other pulse vegetables e.g. lentils and kidney beans count only as one portion each day no matter how much you eat of it. This is because although they contain fibre, they don’t give the same mixture of vitamins, minerals and other nutrients as fruit and vegetables do.
Another important fact is that potatoes are not considered as a portion of five fruit and vegetables. The reason for this is that they are known as ‘starchy foods’. Other examples of these kinds of foods are, yams cassava and plantain.
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A glass of 100% juice (fruit or vegetable) counts as one portion. But you can only count juice as one portion a day, however much you drink. This is because it has very little fibre. Also by juicing the fruit or vegetables it squashes the natural sugars out of the cells that normally contain them, which means that drinking juice in between meals isn’t good for your teeth. (Year 11 notes)
If someone doesn’t like eating fresh fruit or vegetables because they may not like the taste or texture they can still consume the right amount by eating them in different ways. They could do this by eating canned foods, although they are not as healthy as they are usually stored with syrup, they are a quick way of getting a portion as around 2-3 tablespoon are equal to one portion.
(Healthy Living Portion Size)
A good way of storing fruit and vegetables is frozen. Once they are frozen the foods retain most of their nutrients that can be lost if left fresh, but when preparing fruits or vegetables you need to be careful and try not to loose vitamins and other nutrients by cutting or cooking them. (Year 11 GCSE notes)
The fruit and vegetables in convenience foods-such as ready meals, sauces, puddings and soups all contribute to 5 a day but these kinds of foods can be high in added salt, sugar or fat. If too much of these are eaten it can effect your health in later years and can cause dental carries and obesity leading to heart attacks. Although fruit and vegetables can be obtained from them these kinds of foods should only be eaten in moderation. ()
Overall it is very important to include a wide range of fruit and vegetables in your diet to obtain essential vitamins and minerals and to try and aim eating at least five portions of it a day.
Cheryl Conway
12b