So, how many of you get 9 servings of fruit and vegetables a day?

cwolfman13 wrote: »

dfwesq wrote: »

Tacklewasher wrote: »

Could probably google it, but what counts as a serving?

This article has the info you need, I think. It's aimed at helping people eat at least 5 servings, but 9 or more is better.
http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/5ADAY/Pages/Whatcounts.aspx

cwolfman13 wrote: »

Gamliela wrote: »

cwolfman13 wrote: »

I eat 6-8 unless you count things like legumes, lentils, potatoes, etc...then it's more.

So that's interesting. Are the lentils, legumes, various potatoes part of the 9 count?

IDK...they grow and they're pretty nutritionally awesome. I eat either beans or lentils at some point most every day and potato varieties a 2-3 times per week.

According to the article I linked, you can count up to 80g per day of beans and other legumes/pulses. But not potatoes - for their purposes, anyway.

That's odd...potato varieties are a root vegetable and a nutritional powerhouses...I'm counting them.

I think it's just the fact that they are intrinsically evil, and multiple peer-reviewed studies show you are going to die if you eat them.

I do! I find it quite easy and I don't even eat salad often...

An apple, pear or orange with breakfast. A banana and spinach in my chocolate/banana/peanut butter protein smoothie. Beets, cranberries, banana, strawberries in my other favorite smoothie. Tomato and avocado on top of my avocado toast. Apple or berry crisp for dessert. Blueberries on top of my steel cut oatmeal. A homemade fruit sorbet (mango is my fav).

Mushrooms, green peppers and onions in my omelette. Zucchini in my zucchini "crab cakes". Cabbage, carrots and ginger in my veggie spring rolls. A side of frozen veggies (broccoli/cauliflower/carrots) with dinner. Celery, peas etc. in my soup. I could go on and on.

It took me many years to get to this point however. I've tried a lot of different recipes and experimented with new fruits and veggies over the years.

I'm looking forward to the summer fruit season!!!

Need2Exerc1se wrote: »

French_Peasant wrote: »

cwolfman13 wrote: »

dfwesq wrote: »

Tacklewasher wrote: »

Could probably google it, but what counts as a serving?

This article has the info you need, I think. It's aimed at helping people eat at least 5 servings, but 9 or more is better.
http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/5ADAY/Pages/Whatcounts.aspx

cwolfman13 wrote: »

Gamliela wrote: »

cwolfman13 wrote: »

I eat 6-8 unless you count things like legumes, lentils, potatoes, etc...then it's more.

So that's interesting. Are the lentils, legumes, various potatoes part of the 9 count?

IDK...they grow and they're pretty nutritionally awesome. I eat either beans or lentils at some point most every day and potato varieties a 2-3 times per week.

According to the article I linked, you can count up to 80g per day of beans and other legumes/pulses. But not potatoes - for their purposes, anyway.

That's odd...potato varieties are a root vegetable and a nutritional powerhouses...I'm counting them.

I think it's just the fact that they are intrinsically evil, and multiple peer-reviewed studies show you are going to die if you eat them.

It's French fries. They don't count it because they don't want people eating nothing but French fries and thinking they are getting the fruits and vegetables they need.

Yes, I noted the french fries above; I was just joking about the potatoes being evil.

French_Peasant wrote: »

dfwesq wrote: »

Tacklewasher wrote: »

Could probably google it, but what counts as a serving?

This article has the info you need, I think. It's aimed at helping people eat at least 5 servings, but 9 or more is better.
http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/5ADAY/Pages/Whatcounts.aspx

cwolfman13 wrote: »

Gamliela wrote: »

cwolfman13 wrote: »

I eat 6-8 unless you count things like legumes, lentils, potatoes, etc...then it's more.

So that's interesting. Are the lentils, legumes, various potatoes part of the 9 count?

IDK...they grow and they're pretty nutritionally awesome. I eat either beans or lentils at some point most every day and potato varieties a 2-3 times per week.

According to the article I linked, you can count up to 80g per day of beans and other legumes/pulses. But not potatoes - for their purposes, anyway.

Yep, they count as one serving (80 g or 1/2 cup). Regarding potatoes, the UK justification was that too many people are shoveling in the french fries, but that seems overeactionary, throwing the baby out with the bath water.

Also, dried fruits and veg like raisins are one serving per 1 ounce (it doesn't address much lighter freeze dried so I go by what is on the packaging). For me it was easiest to fit in 10+ servings a day when I had a balance: 1 juice, 1 legume, maybe a couple of dried veg, soup or salsa, and raw and cooked veg.

I think it's because of the fairly low goal they're trying to promote, just 5 servings. They probably want to make sure the 5 are higher in nutrition and relatively low in calories. Otherwise, a lot of people might count their extra-large fries as 3 of the 5 servings.

dfwesq wrote: »

cwolfman13 wrote: »

That's odd...potato varieties are a root vegetable and a nutritional powerhouses...I'm counting them.

Seems reasonable to me, as long as they're cooked in a healthy way (i.e., not french fries or chips) and you're eating a lot of other vegetables/fruits too.

Today's veg menu:

130 grams of homemade pinto beans
1 5.5 oz low sodium V8
100g beets
1/2 avocado
100g broccoli
1 baked sweet potato (smallish to medium)
1 apple
85 grams cherries
200g sauteed spinach

benjaminhk wrote: »

I ate an entire bag of mixed veggies with my lunch one day and I had the most painful gas all afternoon. I love veggies but eating a lot of them is overrated.

Increasing your fiber dramatically often has that effect on people, especially when they often don't get much. Many people find it better to gradually increase the amount of fiber they eat, it sometimes helps people avoid discomfort like that which you experienced.

janejellyroll wrote: »

benjaminhk wrote: »

I ate an entire bag of mixed veggies with my lunch one day and I had the most painful gas all afternoon. I love veggies but eating a lot of them is overrated.

Increasing your fiber dramatically often has that effect on people, especially when they often don't get much. Many people find it better to gradually increase the amount of fiber they eat, it sometimes helps people avoid discomfort like that which you experienced.

This is especially true with legumes of all types, which is why beans often give people serious gas. I always de-gas my beans before cooking (a 2 day process) and, if I'm eating them frequently, no gas or bloating whatsoever.

I've read that beans contain various sugars that require a specific enzyme to fully digest. If you don't eat them often, you don't have a lot of that enzyme in your digestive system, so when the beans reach your small intestine they begin to ferment (causing the gas). The more often you eat them, the more your body will produce the necessary enzymes and the less gas you will have.

Many people are intimidated by recommendations for a large number of fruit or veg servings, but a serving is actually not very big. Here are some nice images that show what a day's worth of produce servings might look like: http://www.thekitchn.com/10-photos-that-show-you-your-daily-recommended-servings-of-fruits-vegetables-207261

I don't know what 1 serving constitutes but I'm pretty sure yes... I eat a lot of vegetables and salads

dfwesq wrote: »

French_Peasant wrote: »

dfwesq wrote: »

Tacklewasher wrote: »

Could probably google it, but what counts as a serving?

This article has the info you need, I think. It's aimed at helping people eat at least 5 servings, but 9 or more is better.
http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/5ADAY/Pages/Whatcounts.aspx

cwolfman13 wrote: »

Gamliela wrote: »

cwolfman13 wrote: »

I eat 6-8 unless you count things like legumes, lentils, potatoes, etc...then it's more.

So that's interesting. Are the lentils, legumes, various potatoes part of the 9 count?

IDK...they grow and they're pretty nutritionally awesome. I eat either beans or lentils at some point most every day and potato varieties a 2-3 times per week.

According to the article I linked, you can count up to 80g per day of beans and other legumes/pulses. But not potatoes - for their purposes, anyway.

Yep, they count as one serving (80 g or 1/2 cup). Regarding potatoes, the UK justification was that too many people are shoveling in the french fries, but that seems overeactionary, throwing the baby out with the bath water.

Also, dried fruits and veg like raisins are one serving per 1 ounce (it doesn't address much lighter freeze dried so I go by what is on the packaging). For me it was easiest to fit in 10+ servings a day when I had a balance: 1 juice, 1 legume, maybe a couple of dried veg, soup or salsa, and raw and cooked veg.

I think it's because of the fairly low goal they're trying to promote, just 5 servings. They probably want to make sure the 5 are higher in nutrition and relatively low in calories. Otherwise, a lot of people might count their extra-large fries as 3 of the 5 servings.

The 5-a-day recommendations apply to the 10-a-day rule of thumb, too. In every article I have seen, on the BBC, Guardian, etc. it links back to the 5-a-day and no potatoes. Here is an example (where they even start confusing themselves in the copy whether they mean 5- or 10-a-day): http://www.bbc.com/news/health-39057146

Since they go to the trouble to stipulate just one serving of juice and one serving of beans, one would think one serving of non-fried, non-chip potatoes could possibly be accommodated too, at least in the 10-a-day, is my point. I admittedly have 0 experience thinking like a government entity, however, and I guess it makes sense to the bureaucrats. I just think that my lovingly grown, organic, heirloom "La Ratte" fingerling potatoes at least rank up there with "1 tablespoon tomato sauce" which is promoted under 5 a day. So someone could knock out their 5-a-day with a large slice of pizza or a can of Chef Boy-Ar-Dee, basically.