Depending on where you’re looking, you’ll see different advice on how much fruit and veg you should be eating a day.
- Some resources focus on portions, with the most common being 5 to 7 a day. (For more advice on what constitutes a portion of fruit and veg, check out this guidance from the Association of UK Dieticians.)
- Women’s Health ‘Thought Leaders’ such as Sara Gottfried suggest eating 1lb/454g of veggies daily.
- And other schools of thought suggest eating 30 different types of veggies each week because of the different benefits that different plants bring.
How many would you say you consistently eat on average? And how varied is your intake? Be honest.
Many people find it difficult to hit the daily minimum of 5, but it has such worthwhile benefits. Who doesn’t want to:
- improve their mental health?
- reduce constipation (which we know is terrible for the pelvic floor)?
- reduce the risk of obesity, heart disease, cancer, etc.?
- decrease carbon emissions (compared to meat production and consumption)?
So challenge yourself this coming week to change this. You could…
- Take up one of the challenges above in terms of quantity, variety or weight of veggies and see how you get on. What matters if the focus and progress, not whether you achieve it or not. And here’s a great document to help with inspiration.
- Look at your plate at every meal and just add one more portion of fruit and veg than you would normally.
- Aim for at least 3 different colours on your plate at every meal (which will make it look more attractive too).
- Sneak veggies into any smoothies that you’re making. Spinach is a great one to add.
- Make a snacking plate available for the whole family with a selection of protein, veggies, fruits and snacks on that’s really visible and encourages the whole family to graze on better choices.
And let me know how you get on!