10 a day!!!!

If the price of fruit and were considerably lower and the price of pies and biscuits much higher, then we wouldn't have all this obesity problem.

My DS buys blueberries, mango, strawberries, pears, etc. for the children every week and it costs a fortune. Bananas are the cheapest by a long way.

It will get to the point that I'd rather pop a 10 a day pill than have to worry!

The problem is it's 10 different sorts of fruit/veg every day. I always make sure that DH and I have at least 5, but I must admit I'm scratching my head at 10.

Have just read about this and there's no way I could do it!

Me neither. It is going from the sublime to the ridiculous.

Well you need a variety as they all have slightly different nutrients but 10 a day sounds too nuch to cram in.

Think of the cost of the extra toilet paper needed.

For me it's going from the ridiculous to the you must be aving a larf!
I have only ever eaten about four pieces of fruit a week,and one sometimes two vegetables with a meal a day.I do have a small glass of orange juice a day.

Now 10 a day is quite a challenge, and finding, preparing and financing 10 different ones daily is too great a challenge to be achieved!

What utter rubbish, eat a balanced diet if you can, drink plenty of fluids, and keep as active as you are able, above all, stop worrying about what the experts say, they don't know everything.

I think most nutritionists try to separate fruit from vegetables as its the later that is actually of sounder nutritional value....eating a lot of fruit will still contain sugars. Over the years I've learned to 'bulk' standard recipes out with vegetables but I think there comes a point when you just crave a nice big slice of bread and butter rather than a plate full of leaves!

Give it time - it will be bad for us in the next batch of research !!

I agree with PRINTMISS

Some fruit is expensive, especially if bought in those little plastics boxes. But come on, most vegetables are dirt cheap. A huge cauliflower, enough to feed a family of 4, costs between £1-£1.50. Carrots, parsnips, turnips, swede, cabbage, onions, beetroot, etc. don't cost much, unless you want them ready prepared.

I'm not saying 10-a-day is achievable by a nation that struggled with 5-a-day but please, don't use the cost as an excuse.

Looking at some supermarket trolleys loaded with crisps, biscuits and other carbs it's obvious that it's easier to hand the children a bag of crisps than cut up a carrot ?

I have thinly spread butter on my bread, salad leaves and any such items I can find to stick in my sandwich.
We have a dutch cheese slicer which means you can have relatively little cheese in you sarnie just enough to taste so it is not too much fat.
This is where vegetable soups come in useful in getting veg into kids.

I begin to wonder how I've managed to live this long! Surely a balanced diet and moderation in all things is the way to go.

Just heard discussion on this on radio & headline is misleading. Apparently what you need is to up the number of grams of fruit/veg you eat each day. It's to do with the amount and proportion of these in your diet every day. So no need to panic yet :-)

its not too difficult,if you have a small fruit juice and a banana with your cereal ,an apple mid morning,home made veggie soup and salad at lunch carrot and celery sticks with a dip mid afternoon and two veg with dinner then a fruit platter with cheese you're on target.I was vegetarian for 12 years I enjoyed it,now I eat a small amount of meat and fish but mainly veg ,,though I might cut out meat again as I dont really like it

An a meteorite could slam into the earth and obliterate all living creatures next week.

Eat a balanced diet and enjoy life as you're only on this planet for such a short time in the scheme of things, who cares if you've had your 6 blueberries, 10 raspberries, a passion fruit and lychee salad today.

I think that a diet rich in vegetables fruit and nuts is actually the most natural diet for us, as our systems really don't cope well with the modern diet, particularly if it is processed. A bit of protein and fat can be thrown in.

Not that I particularly follow it, but we eat hardly anything that is processed, do eat at a minimum 5 fruit and veg a day - e.g. So far today 1 orange and a helping of apricots, with full fat yogurt.
Lunch is parsnip, broccoli and sugarsnap, with pork chop flavoured with chutney and cheese. Apple. Mid afternoon I tend to graze on a banana and grapes. Evening meal, salad so helping of tomato, lettuce, onion, cucumber, avocado, with smoked trout, olive oil and lemon dressing. followed by pear and easy peeler little orange. So really it is dead easy to keep to that sort of level. I dont get too precious about it, but make sure plants are added at every single meal and really you can't go wrong I think.

I compote fruit when it's in season and freeze it to eat with yoghurt for breakfast. we grow loads of veg and quite a lot of fruit, then forage for damsons and cherries, not difficult here. I process so much and freeze it. Loads of veggie soups in the freezer which I have for lunch. The cost of grow your own is minimal, also the markets are fantastic and cheaper than the supermarkets. OK so I live in southern France, but it can't be that difficult to do something approaching the same in England. Also unless it's in the freezer we eat according to the season.

I struggle with 5-a-day at times but 2 days ago I did a huge pot of soup with various veg lurking in the fridge. I started off with a Kn**r veggie stock pot and a handful of lentils, then added leeks, carrots, swede, parsnip, onion, celery, butternut squash, red and green peppers. 10 veg without even trying! There was enough seasoning for my taste in the stock pot. Simmered gently for a while then enjoyed a big bowlful for my main meal. Had another yesterday with some walnut bread for dipping! There's a final serving left in the fridge but I might liquidise and freeze that.

That's all fine occasionally but it would be so boring eating the same stuff everyday. My appetite has reduced since I've retired and I eat to live rather than live to eat. I consume organic produce as much as possible so what I do eat is as healthy as possible.

Some of the supermarkets have weekly specials on fruit and veg so depending on what you like it may not be as expensive as you think. I bought a large cauliflower this morning for 59p and the store had other fruit and veg at the same price

Fruit = natures sugar!

I think we should all try to eat more seasonally, then it's cheaper. Flying in blueberries from Chile are expensive and bad for the planet.

I make stock from leftover meat bones and then make vegetable soup. This week I have broccoli, kale and leeks - all seasonal and from the allotment.

I also have frozen berries and apples from last year's harvest and I made a smoothie with a banana (clearly neither seasonal nor British!), a bit of fruit juice and yoghurt, and a multi-vitamin.

I have stopped having things like macaroni cheese and instead have my cheese sauce with cabbage, cauliflower or broccoli.

If you eat fewer white carbs - bread, rice, pasta etc you can fit in more vegetables.
And (again not seasonal or British) sweet potatoes with Sunday roast rather than ordinary potatoes.

All these increase my intake of fruit and vegetables.

I can't help feeling that this could be a disincentive for those who are already struggling to cope with 5 a day. I love fruit and veg and so do most of the family, but it's already a battleground for some families and I just wonder if this will put them off even trying. Next week it'll probably be either a) Eat 15 a day, or b) Eat 1 a day and more red meat!

I realise that we need variety in our diet, but fail to see why only different fruit and veg count towards the total. For example, I could have 6 or so florets of brocolli, 2 large carrots and 3 tablespoons of peas with my shepherds pie. According to guidelines this counts as 3 portions, but in reality it is 5 or 6 in terms of quantity. However, I don't think that price is an excuse for not buying fruit and veg, Aldi always have specials for example, and if you avoid trendy fruits such as blueberries ( seriously over rated in my opinion) then you can feed a family well for very little. Frozen peas are very cheap as are carrots and Iceland do huge bags of frozen brocolli for £1.00, tip a tin of tomatoes into your casserole and that is one more!