10 a Day (800g) Veggie&Fruit Challenge Participants Check in!
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I hope none of you mind me taking part here even if I'm massively late.
It's my second day of challenging myself to eating 10 a day / 800g. So far it's not been too difficult. Today I had an apple and a satsuma for breakfast (I'll eat another one for dessert later because they're tiny). Then muesli with milk and a banana for lunch. And now I'm slurping my way through a giant bowl of middle eastern inspired stew consisting of tinned tomato, onion, peas, white beans, carrots, yellow pepper, mushrooms and swiss chard.
Yesterday it was a lemon muffin and two satsuma for breakfast (no, I didn't count the muffin lol), a large salad (lettuce, cucumber, green beans, white beans, tomato, carrot) with pickled herring on the side. Dinner was an omlet with onion, mushrooms and chard.
Definitely easier not to eat junk when you're completely filled up with veg.5 -
crzycatlady1 wrote: »lulalacroix wrote: »This week is tough because I'm moving states in 5 days and we are trying to eat whatever food is in the house without buying much else. Ugh. Maybe I should just prep a bunch of fruit and veg.
I already packed most of my tupperware.
Did that last month (one town over though lol), and yep-by the day before our move out we were eating dry cereal with our hands
Okay that makes me feel a little more sane. Lol. Regardless of fruit and veg, I swear to myself that I will not gain weight during this time. We will live in corporate housing for one month and I am bringing both scales. No excuses.1 -
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I really don't comprehend how corn counts but not my beloved potato. At least one small potato should count imo.1 -
Welcome aboard @MikaMojito!!
I don't get the rationale behind what counts and what doesn't either. I've never counted starchy stuff like corn, potato or kumara (sweet potato) in my 5+ a day, but that's possibly a many, many years old hangover from Weight Watchers, when those thing counted towards your 'bread' servings (this is pre Points systems).
I was just shy of 1600g yesterday, same stuff as other days cos I'm a creature of habit.
BTW I think you guys are doing great given that most of you are in late winter/early spring. I was actually wondering last night just how much my consumption falls in winter. I suspect I'll still hit the 800g a day, but once watermelon is out of season (and it may be short this year since our summer was so crap) that takes a fairly hefty chunk out for me. And the grapes I'm currently nomming on have a pathetically short season (they're the only table grapes that grow in NZ and they're freaking amazing, so I tend to go all out while I can get them), so they'll be gone soon1 -
I don't think this would be significantly easier in summer since I'm trying to only have 2-3 servings of fruit. Sure, in summer I could swap bananas and apples for peaches and berries and melon. The vegetables don't change that much though. In winter I do try to eat more carrots, parsnips, cabbage etc because I don't want everything I eat to be flown or shippen halfway across the world. But with this kind of amount of veg I can't skip tomatoes, cucumber etc. I just can't.2
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MikaMojito wrote: »I don't think this would be significantly easier in summer since I'm trying to only have 2-3 servings of fruit. Sure, in summer I could swap bananas and apples for peaches and berries and melon. The vegetables don't change that much though. In winter I do try to eat more carrots, parsnips, cabbage etc because I don't want everything I eat to be flown or shippen halfway across the world. But with this kind of amount of veg I can't skip tomatoes, cucumber etc. I just can't.
Yep it will really only be my fruit volume (so much watermelon for so few calories!!) that drops in winter. I confess to continuing to eat pretty much the same veggie-wise through winter. Hopefully once my summer eczema outbreak is over I can reintroduce tomatoes (and eggs!), I'm seriously gonna cry if I can never eat those things again. What is life without cherry tomatoes (which normally this time of year I'm snacking on by the punnet).0 -
MikaMojito wrote: »I hope none of you mind me taking part here even if I'm massively late.
It's my second day of challenging myself to eating 10 a day / 800g. So far it's not been too difficult. Today I had an apple and a satsuma for breakfast (I'll eat another one for dessert later because they're tiny). Then muesli with milk and a banana for lunch. And now I'm slurping my way through a giant bowl of middle eastern inspired stew consisting of tinned tomato, onion, peas, white beans, carrots, yellow pepper, mushrooms and swiss chard.
Yesterday it was a lemon muffin and two satsuma for breakfast (no, I didn't count the muffin lol), a large salad (lettuce, cucumber, green beans, white beans, tomato, carrot) with pickled herring on the side. Dinner was an omlet with onion, mushrooms and chard.
Definitely easier not to eat junk when you're completely filled up with veg.
Glad you're joining in! This is pretty laid back and some are done with the challenge, while others are going to keep at it for the month (and maybe longer?). I'm doing it in March, but just weekdays
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lulalacroix wrote: »
I really don't comprehend how corn counts but not my beloved potato. At least one small potato should count imo.
The national health authorities - I suspect - have a weird perspective. If the populace eats lots of something (think potatoes = chips/French-fries/crisps/etc.) then you don't need to encourage them to eat more. If the populace eats too much added sugar, then you maybe don't want to incentivize them to eat lots of fruit or sweet potatos (by any regional name), sweet corn (maybe the authorities think we'll count Fritos), etc. I think you'll see some oddball differences between national entities' recommendations on this basis.
So effing what!?!?!
My perspective: Eat fruit. Eat veg. Eat them mostly in a "fairly whole" state - raw, boiled, roasted, steamed, etc. - rather than mostly deep-fried or turned into a highly-processed (sweetened, salted, fried) snack food. Mix them up a lot, all different kinds. Try new ones. If you like them raw, try them roasted. If you like them steamed, try them raw. Be weird. Try braised romaine lettuce. Heck, try raw sweet potatoes (shredded fine, in salad, say).
Don't get too hung up on the national authorities. (They're basically right, but keep in mind what common behaviors they're likely trying to change, and how that affects what they recommend.)5 -
lulalacroix wrote: »
I really don't comprehend how corn counts but not my beloved potato. At least one small potato should count imo.
Here is why:
"Do potatoes count towards my 5 A DAY?
No. Potatoes are a starchy food and a great source of energy, fibre, B vitamins and potassium.
In the UK, we get a lot of our vitamin C from potatoes. Although they typically only contain around 11-16mg of vitamin C per 100g of potatoes, we generally eat a lot of them.
When eaten as part of a meal, potatoes are generally used in place of other sources of starch, such as bread, pasta or rice. Because of this, they don't count towards your 5 A DAY.
Other vegetables that don't count towards your 5 A DAY are yams, cassava and plantain. They are also usually eaten as starchy foods.
Sweet potatoes, parsnips, swedes and turnips do count towards your 5 A DAY, because they are usually eaten in addition to the starchy food part of the meal.
Potatoes play an important role in your diet, even if they aren't cooked with salt or fat, even if they don't count towards your 5 A DAY. It's best to eat them without any added salt or fat.
They're also a good source of fibre, so leave the skins on where possible, to keep in more of the fibre and vitamins. For example, if you're having boiled potatoes or a jacket potato, make sure you eat the skin too. "
That is a copy and paste directly from the article. I think they should count because they do bring the nutrition if prepared the right way. Even though the article that was posted in the original post says, "5 a day" this same guideline remains for the "10 A DAY". All they did was increase the serving requirement per day.1 -
@AnnPT77 @ThatUserNameIsAllReadyTaken
Thanks for explanations. I'm gonna say that the potato rule seems arbitrary to me and that on the days I actually eat one, I will add it to my count.
Add to be honest, since I've upped my veg so much, I really don't have room for my potato anymore.
I actually ate closer to 11 servings yesterday thanks to watermelon, but protein tanked. I really love eating this much plant food but still haven't figured out how to rework my complete diet with it.2 -
You're welcome!
I also struggle a little with getting my other elements. I think what I am going to do is change it up a little. I think having maybe two days a week which are mostly plant based, will be my 800 g of fruit and vegetables days, and the other days maybe I will just go for 600 g. That should make it easier to get in the fat and protein along with a large amount of vegetables and little fruit.0 -
Yeah maybe that would work better for me as well.0
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Avocado. Fruit/veg and fat . Try it mashed up with cottage cheese, a bit of garlic, a dash of tabasco and lime juice and a bit of salt with crudites. I call this lunch.1
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Nony_Mouse wrote: »Avocado. Fruit/veg and fat . Try it mashed up with cottage cheese, a bit of garlic, a dash of tabasco and lime juice and a bit of salt with crudites. I call this lunch.
Sorry but EWWWW! That sounds terrible! I do love cottage cheese so I just have that on the side, and I usually like my avocados sliced with a little salt. My husband may enjoy your concoction though. Maybe I'll put that in his lunch this week.1 -
I think the cottage cheese/avo combo sounds amazing.
I put some avo in my Greek yogurt/ranch dressing mix salad dressing this past week when they were on sale. Usually I add a teeny bit of olive oil.
I'm still working on being more veggie/fruit conscious. It's fun for me, actually. My worst day was yesterday, at only 900 some odd grams. I had a killer migraine.2 -
ThatUserNameIsAllReadyTaken wrote: »Nony_Mouse wrote: »Avocado. Fruit/veg and fat . Try it mashed up with cottage cheese, a bit of garlic, a dash of tabasco and lime juice and a bit of salt with crudites. I call this lunch.
Sorry but EWWWW! That sounds terrible! I do love cottage cheese so I just have that on the side, and I usually like my avocados sliced with a little salt. My husband may enjoy your concoction though. Maybe I'll put that in his lunch this week.
It's basically guacamole...0 -
I have never heard of adding cottage cheese to guacamole. LOL!0
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Well, I am trucking along. Yesterday I got 1170 g and today I have had somewhere over 1000. I crunched the numbers from the past 10 days and have taken in an average of 28.6 g fiber and 2003.9 gross calories, compared to 22.4 g fiber and 2217.2 gross calories from the previous 10 days. Definitely not scientific, but still a distinct improvement. Protein can be a challenge but I've gotten over 100 g I think every day but one. And for the most part I have been quite stuffed!
Below is a picture of what my meals are looking like these days. This had over 4 servings of veg/fruit and 31 g protein for 370 odd calories (without the milk). It was tasty with balsamic over everything except the apples!
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ThatUserNameIsAllReadyTaken wrote: »I have never heard of adding cottage cheese to guacamole. LOL!
I meant it's basically guacamole with cottage cheese added. Trust me, it works.0 -
Yesterday worked pretty well. I had a banana for breakfast and an apple during break. Helped myself to lettuce, tomato, cucumber, peppers and shredded cabbage from the salad bar. Dinner was glass noodles with mince, bok choi, peas, peppers and carrots.
Today again banana and apple in the morning. Again salad bar for lunch (carrot, cauliflower, tomato, peppers, cucumbers). Not sure what I'm having for dinner yet. I am seriously craving brokkoli and I fully intend to give into this craving. That leaves two servings I need to fill. Probably some lettuce as a side salad. Maybe some kohlrabi as a snack. And there will definitely be salmon today. I deserve a piece of salmon with my brokkoli for NOT eating schnitzel and fries at the school cafeteria today.3 -
Nony_Mouse wrote: »ThatUserNameIsAllReadyTaken wrote: »I have never heard of adding cottage cheese to guacamole. LOL!
I meant it's basically guacamole with cottage cheese added. Trust me, it works.
I know! I was just saying I have never heard of adding cottage cheese to guacamole! My step dad used to put cottage cheese in his salsa. He thought it was the best thing in the world.1 -
MikaMojito wrote: »Yesterday worked pretty well. I had a banana for breakfast and an apple during break. Helped myself to lettuce, tomato, cucumber, peppers and shredded cabbage from the salad bar. Dinner was glass noodles with mince, bok choi, peas, peppers and carrots.
Today again banana and apple in the morning. Again salad bar for lunch (carrot, cauliflower, tomato, peppers, cucumbers). Not sure what I'm having for dinner yet. I am seriously craving brokkoli and I fully intend to give into this craving. That leaves two servings I need to fill. Probably some lettuce as a side salad. Maybe some kohlrabi as a snack. And there will definitely be salmon today. I deserve a piece of salmon with my brokkoli for NOT eating schnitzel and fries at the school cafeteria today.
You need a huge pile of red cabbage to go with that schnitzel.
I, regrettably, have a huge pile of red cabbage I am working on this week with the couple of random cabbages I found in the back of my 2nd fridge (the beer fridge), but am schnitzelless, so it's not quite as delicious as it could be.1 -
Oven-roast some cabbage in 1/2-inch slices, or thereabouts, with a small bit of olive oil. Hot oven (425F), until the sides brown and few of the outer-edge bits are dark brown. Might take an hour. Flip them once or twice along the way. Optionally, eat with basamic vinegar & a bit of coarse salt, or perhaps a mustard vinaigrette (made with malt or beer vinegar for this, would be my choice). Pretty delicious!2
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ThatUserNameIsAllReadyTaken wrote: »Nony_Mouse wrote: »ThatUserNameIsAllReadyTaken wrote: »I have never heard of adding cottage cheese to guacamole. LOL!
I meant it's basically guacamole with cottage cheese added. Trust me, it works.
I know! I was just saying I have never heard of adding cottage cheese to guacamole! My step dad used to put cottage cheese in his salsa. He thought it was the best thing in the world.
It's possible I invented this masterpiece2 -
Oh, I lost track of how much watermelon I ate (hey, it's better than mindlessly eating potato chips!), but it would not surprise me at all if I hit 2kg between that and dinner.1
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Hmmm. I decided to treat myself and have sweet potato, brokkoli and onion with my salmon. I also realised that the amount of peppers I had in my salad in no way is enough to count, so that means I get dessert. Bought a pear.1
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Oven-roast some cabbage in 1/2-inch slices, or thereabouts, with a small bit of olive oil. Hot oven (425F), until the sides brown and few of the outer-edge bits are dark brown. Might take an hour. Flip them once or twice along the way. Optionally, eat with basamic vinegar & a bit of coarse salt, or perhaps a mustard vinaigrette (made with malt or beer vinegar for this, would be my choice). Pretty delicious!
Ooooh, that sounds amazing, Ann. I bet "cabbage steaks" would be really good grilled too. One of my favorite joints in Traverse City serves (or served....they are seasonal and change things up) grilled romaine hearts with a smoky chardonnay dressing, which was consciousness-expanding. It was as pleasurable as eating a steak, but a lot fewer calories (and alas, no protein). Jolly Pumpkin is in your neck of the woods too:
http://www.jollypumpkin.com/jp/ann-arbor-brewery
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Nony_Mouse wrote: »Oh, I lost track of how much watermelon I ate (hey, it's better than mindlessly eating potato chips!), but it would not surprise me at all if I hit 2kg between that and dinner.
You are officially the watermelon queen!
I eyed them at the market the other day, but they just had the icebox kind, and I am leery of buying them out of season if they are not split open. I probably shoulda grabbed one anyway.1 -
Nony_Mouse wrote: »ThatUserNameIsAllReadyTaken wrote: »Nony_Mouse wrote: »ThatUserNameIsAllReadyTaken wrote: »I have never heard of adding cottage cheese to guacamole. LOL!
I meant it's basically guacamole with cottage cheese added. Trust me, it works.
I know! I was just saying I have never heard of adding cottage cheese to guacamole! My step dad used to put cottage cheese in his salsa. He thought it was the best thing in the world.
It's possible I invented this masterpiece
Possibly! Just serve it to friends and tell them it's "Mouseamole! LOL!1
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