Help i need specific info please...

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Sandytoes71
Sandytoes71 Posts: 463 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Ok can someone tell me how many servings of fruits and veggies EACH per day is recommended? Im looking online and getting conflicting info :( Also, i dont really have a problem getting in a good amt of veggies, but the fruit is hard, especially with bought fruit going bad. I am interested in dried, no sugar added, no preservatives dried fruit that i can find at a basic grocery store. Does anyone eat dried fruit? Oh, and what constitutes a serving of fruit? One site said that an apple is a serving, a banana is a serving etc... THAT is alot of fruit per day if im supposed to have at least 5 servings a day. And one site said the new reccommendations say NINE servings a day! Thanks :)

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  • jadowns
    jadowns Posts: 167 Member
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    If you eat dried fruit 1/4 cup counts as 1 serving. Because of all the conflicting information out there, it makes sense to me to make my own plan. I recommend 2-4 servings of fruit a day and 6-10 servings of veggies. One serving of fruit could be a small apple, 1/2 banana, 1/4 cup dried fruit, plum, 1/2 grapefruit etc. One serving of veggies would be a 1/4 cup steamed or cooked, and 1/2 cup raw, examples: 1/2 cucumber, one raw carrot, 1/2 cup broccoli etc.
  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,464 Member
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    Check the FDA.gov or CDC.gov site. These are US govt sites, so I'm making an assumption that you are in US. They make the official recommendations and most other places go by that and give examples. Yes you need to eat A LOT of fruit AND veggies. They have different vitamins and benefits. That's why.

    Yes, I eat some dried fruit, but I have to watch for added sugar.
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
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    @jadowns you are so very kind to work that out.

    Remember OP that fruit juices count as servings too.
  • melimomTARDIS
    melimomTARDIS Posts: 1,941 Member
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    I eat fruit or veg with almost all my meals, and I count juice/dried fruit/whole fruit popsicles as a serving. I usually get a single serve of fruit each day, and 6 or so serves of veggies.
  • melimomTARDIS
    melimomTARDIS Posts: 1,941 Member
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    favorite dried fruits- craisins reduced sugar (these have a ton of added fiber, and taste great) and sunmaid raisins.
  • amandadunwoody
    amandadunwoody Posts: 204 Member
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    Since you have trouble with keeping fresh on hand, buying fresh fruit and cutting it up and freezing it for smoothies is a great way to get the fresh fruit nutrition and not have to worry about it expiring. You can use just about any fruit for this, whatever you like in a smoothie! If you don't have a high power blender you might want to let what you plan to use thaw partially in the fridge. You can easily get 2-4 servings of fruit with a smoothie or 2.

    Another option if you don't have time/resources for making smoothies is canned. Make sure it's canned in juice, not syrup and watch your portions.
  • melimomTARDIS
    melimomTARDIS Posts: 1,941 Member
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    no sugar added apple sauce cups "motts natural" etc... are 50 calories each. easy peasy.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    edited August 2015
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    Sandytoes71 wrote: »
    Ok can someone tell me how many servings of fruits and veggies EACH per day is recommended? Im looking online and getting conflicting info :( Also, i dont really have a problem getting in a good amt of veggies, but the fruit is hard, especially with bought fruit going bad. I am interested in dried, no sugar added, no preservatives dried fruit that i can find at a basic grocery store. Does anyone eat dried fruit? Oh, and what constitutes a serving of fruit? One site said that an apple is a serving, a banana is a serving etc... THAT is alot of fruit per day if im supposed to have at least 5 servings a day. And one site said the new reccommendations say NINE servings a day! Thanks :)

    I think those (5 servings, or 9--I'm assuming you are talking about the UK recs) are total (fruits and vegetables), and it's really better to have more vegetables than fruit. Fruit I usually see 1-3 servings recommended (if you get enough veg, I don't think fruit matters so much, but it's delicious, so there's that). This site says there's a benefit to 8 or more servings of vegetables AND fruit (that's what I aim for, but mostly vegetables), and that leafy greens are especially important: http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/what-should-you-eat/vegetables-and-fruits/

    I eat dried fruit sometimes (not in the summer because fresh is so plentiful), and the main thing is be careful because it's calorie dense.
  • Sandytoes71
    Sandytoes71 Posts: 463 Member
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    I think those (5 servings, or 9--I'm assuming you are talking about the UK recs) are total (fruits and vegetables), and it's really better to have more vegetables than fruit. Fruit I usually see 1-3 servings recommended (if you get enough veg, I don't think fruit matters so much, but it's delicious, so there's that). This site says there's a benefit to 8 or more servings of vegetables AND fruit (that's what I aim for, but mostly vegetables), and that leafy greens are especially important: http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/what-should-you-eat/vegetables-and-fruits/

    I eat dried fruit sometimes (not in the summer because fresh is so plentiful), and the main thing is be careful because it's calorie dense.[/quote]

    Im in the U.S., but u think it's 5-9 servings total of both together? Now THAT sounds completely doable :) . Thank u! And yes I looked at dried fruit today and they were very calorie dense :( Even the ones with no added sugar and organic :(
  • Sandytoes71
    Sandytoes71 Posts: 463 Member
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    Thank u all so much for the info :)
  • melimomTARDIS
    melimomTARDIS Posts: 1,941 Member
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    yeah its total!

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