Eat Yer Veggies Challenge, Anyone?

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cjsacto
cjsacto Posts: 1,421 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Recently, someone posted a checklist for healthy habits, and the one thing almost everyone said is that they can't/don't get five servings of fruits & veggies every day. I recently read something that said the recommendation should be raised to NINE servings a day! How will we manage that?

Just for a few days, I'd love to challenge anyone who would like to participate to set a goal for fruit & veggie servings per day and post what they ate. I can't be the arbiter as to what counts as a serving (pasta sauce? ravioli filling? Odwalla smoothie?) so everyone is responsible for making that decision, though it's fine to ask questions and get input.

So, choose the number of daily servings you'd like to get and set your goal!

Here's a sample format::

=============================

Goal: 5 Servings per Day

Mon: # Servings: 5
1. 1/2 C summer squash, roasted w/skin
2. 1 C raw spinach
3. 1/4 Hass avocado
4. 1 C blueberries (frozen)
5. 1 med. banana

Tue: # Servings: 5
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Wed: # of Servings: 5
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

=========================

Is anyone in? I think it can be helpful, both to track how many you are getting, and to give ideas to those who are having a hard time getting enough or getting a good variety of fruits and veggies. If you get more servings than your goal, just keep the numbers going and list them all.
«13456

Replies

  • nearptr
    nearptr Posts: 32
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    Much too easy, Looking at the last couple of days, it seems I average about 14...

    Alright, let me see what I've got for the 23rd...

    Broccoli 250g 2.75 servings
    Banana 110g 1.00 servings
    Orange 100g 2.00 servings
    Brussels sprouts 8.4oz 2.70 servings
    Potato 130g 0.85 servings
    Carrots 7oz 2.33 servings
    Cauliflower 2.3 cups 4.60 servings

    total: 16.23 servings
  • kcoftx
    kcoftx Posts: 765 Member
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    Today:

    1. 1 cup of spinach
    2. shredded carrots (approx. 1 oz. or so)
    3. 4 strips of bell pepper
    4. 1/2 cup of green beans
    5. 2 Tbsp. of green olives
    6. 2 Tbsp. of pickled jalapeños
    7. 5 mushrooms (not technically a fruit or veggie but I'm counting it)
    8. 5 raspberries (not a full serving but I ate it)
    9. garlic (probably not a full serving, but I put it in almost everything/onion family)
    10. potato (baked)

    I'm going to like this thread because I need ideas.
  • 5starshelly
    5starshelly Posts: 43 Member
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    I'll Play!
    Breakfast : #1 Blueberries
    #2 Potatoes
    Lunch: #3Cherry Tomatoes, #4an apple and #5a large green Bell Pepper
    Dinner: #6 Spinach
  • kcoftx
    kcoftx Posts: 765 Member
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    Some days I find I don't get many at all but today I did work on it.
  • ashleen7
    ashleen7 Posts: 258 Member
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    Potatoes don't count towards your five a day, they are counted towards your starches/carbohydrates. Not sure about sweet potatoes though, so someone who knows more than I do can let me know.
  • nearptr
    nearptr Posts: 32
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    @ashleen7:

    potatoes, sweet potatoes, turnips, parsnips, carrots, radishes, beets, and, in general, any plant root, is, indeed a vegetable, thank you very much :)

    --Mark
  • ashleen7
    ashleen7 Posts: 258 Member
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    @nearptr

    When we were taught about basic nutrition and the dreaded food pyramid in school it always listed potatoes etc to be eaten as a source of carbohydrates, then to eat other vegetables to reach your target. I never said they weren't vegetables at all. But that's here in Ireland so maybe food pyramids etc differ across the world.
  • nearptr
    nearptr Posts: 32
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    @nearptr

    When we were taught about basic nutrition and the dreaded food pyramid in school it always listed potatoes etc to be eaten as a source of carbohydrates, then to eat other vegetables to reach your target. I never said they weren't vegetables at all. But that's here in Ireland so maybe food pyramids etc differ across the world.

    I LOVE food pyramids!!! :D
  • ashleen7
    ashleen7 Posts: 258 Member
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    @nearptr

    When we were taught about basic nutrition and the dreaded food pyramid in school it always listed potatoes etc to be eaten as a source of carbohydrates, then to eat other vegetables to reach your target. I never said they weren't vegetables at all. But that's here in Ireland so maybe food pyramids etc differ across the world.

    I LOVE food pyramids!!! :D

    Yes how accurate they are when applied to every single person is just phenomenal!
  • nearptr
    nearptr Posts: 32
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    @nearptr

    When we were taught about basic nutrition and the dreaded food pyramid in school it always listed potatoes etc to be eaten as a source of carbohydrates, then to eat other vegetables to reach your target. I never said they weren't vegetables at all. But that's here in Ireland so maybe food pyramids etc differ across the world.

    I LOVE food pyramids!!! :D

    Yes how accurate they are when applied to every single person is just phenomenal!

    Around here, I've never actually seen a three-dimensional version, so they're really triangles, not pyramids. How different a place the world would be if those anonymous minds had conceived food rectangles (or cubes or prisms!). I suppose we shall know in a decade or two...
  • cjsacto
    cjsacto Posts: 1,421 Member
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    I believe the Food Pyramid has now gone the way of the Four Basic Food Groups of my childhood. In the US I the trend is towards a new graphic of how a dinner plate should look. (Not sure how widely used it is but I've seen it on the news.)
    http://www.theportionplate.com/?gclid=CNaDu9bdsrQCFYl7Qgodg3EALg
  • nearptr
    nearptr Posts: 32
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    I believe the Food Pyramid has now gone the way of the Four Basic Food Groups of my childhood. In the US I the trend is towards a new graphic of how a dinner plate should look. (Not sure how widely used it is but I've seen it on the news.)
    http://www.theportionplate.com/?gclid=CNaDu9bdsrQCFYl7Qgodg3EALg

    The Portion Plate! A registered trademark no less! What's with the DVD and the mouse and the baseball lol, and what is that, a deck of cards lol?

    Thanks for the link. Those poor kids.
  • nearptr
    nearptr Posts: 32
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    "all plates are dishwasher safe" lol
  • cjsacto
    cjsacto Posts: 1,421 Member
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    Wait - sorry, that's one commercial product. The objects were supposed to represent the size of a reasonable portion - a meat portion is the size of a deck of cards, etc.

    Here's the "My Plate" USDA site, that's the official one: http://www.choosemyplate.gov/

    This is what's on classroom posters these days: http://www.choosemyplate.gov/images/MyPlateImages/JPG/myplate_green.jpg
  • nearptr
    nearptr Posts: 32
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    Just a fork.
  • cjsacto
    cjsacto Posts: 1,421 Member
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    I can see the whole thing in my browser at the link, but I guess it is pretty large. I tried to paste here but it's too big and gets cut off. It's a plate with four sections and a little bowl off to the side for dairy.

    "Just a fork" lol, that'd be hilarious if it weren't so sad as far as teaching kids what to eat.
  • acpgee
    acpgee Posts: 7,717 Member
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    Will try to get to 9 in the future. Yesterday:

    100g seedless grapes
    1 Dried fig (so not a full serving)
    3 Chicken and vegetable gyoza (so not a full serving, contains something green that looks like chopped spinach)
    1 kiwi
    2 mandarin
    1 sharon fruit
    75g lentil soup (not a full serving, contains tomato and onion)
    50g edamame in shell (not a full serving)
    63g green salad
    150g baked squash

    So about 7 or so.
  • Bean5
    Bean5 Posts: 84 Member
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    Lol this reminds me of the "5 for 5" challenge I would have when my kids were smaller. 5 fruits and veggies for 5 consecutive days won the prize. Our rules were that fruit juice only counted for one serving, no matter how much you drink, and fries don't count at all. Let me tell you, bananas were the secret weapon to meeting this challenge.
  • mfp_1
    mfp_1 Posts: 516 Member
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    How do you measure squash with a cup?

    Is it dried powdered squash?
  • brevislux
    brevislux Posts: 1,093 Member
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    Today so far (it's noon):
    1. 7 strawberries.
    2. 1/2 dragon fruit.
    3. 1 orange

    This evening I'll add there:
    4. 1/4 cabbage
    5. 1 carrot
    6. 2 black olives
    7. 1/3 avocado
    8. 1/4 beet

    How would you know what counts as one serving exactly?

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