"Seven a day"

Okay so now I am puzzled Aka

So one onion is classed as 2 portions?
2 peppers as 4 portions etc.

How on earth are we supposed to know what vegetable contains what?
Why for example is 1 pepper = 2 portions and 2 celery sticks = 1 portion.

If I make a curry (using mushrooms, onions, peppers, celery, tinned tomatoes etc.) how do I work out what portion of veg each person is getting given that my DH would eat a bigger portion than my DGC ?

I still find it all a bit confusing and will continue to give my family a balanced diet.

PS I thought it was creaking gates that got oiled first

rough guide

I usually count 80g as one portion Gilly

PS if all that is in your curry I think you've got all bases covered Gilly

The list says 3 celery sticks = one portion, and one medium onion = one portion (it'd have to be a pretty huge one to count as two!). Where do you get the 2 carrots making four portions, Aka?

I know this is nit-picking, but I'm sure many people overestimate how many portions they and their family eat in a day.

(Your two carrots would have to fill 12 tablespoons once peeled and sliced!)

Was it not so long ago that it was revealed the five a day, along with the 14 units of alcohol recommendations, were just plucked from thin air with no scientific basis?

So seven a day is from even thinner air

As to vegetarians .... my sister is a strict veggie, no meat or fish, but I wouldn't say she eats a lot of actual vegetables. Lots of pasta, cheese, eggs, grains, pulses, etc., but certainly not five portions of veg daily, so they won't find it any easier to move up to seven a day.

One of the things we make from the veg garden is minestrone, with added beans and a bit of pasta to make a substantial meal. It normally has 10 or 12 different sorts of veg. We freeze large quantities and eat it all year round. In the UK I would have done the same from the veggie box. Ratatouille is another thing we make and freeze.

I've given up counting. I'm sure my consumption averages out at about the right amount. As I've reached 73, I'm probably doing something right!

Aka

I did count only once. 5 Terry's chocolate oranges and 2 cherry Bakewell's = 7.

Whilst I think it is reasonable for governments to give advice, I do think there are also hereditary factors that count just as much.

Some families have apparent healthy, long living members but poor diets, others have brilliant diets but they have known family health traits that sadly take them too early no matter what they eat.

So I say don't be daft and eat well, but don't die of worry thinking about it.

7 glasses of must contain a lot of grapes

Yes, I think so. I was reading a Mediterranean diet plan a few months ago, but can't find it now.

I have had to change my diet, so now for breakfast I make little pancake/fritter things from diced pepper, onion and lots of sweetcorn, very little batter, and serve with a poached egg on top. I make loads at a time and freeze them.

Lunch is a mixed salad of mainly veg and maybe a chopped pear or apple, with a small piece of chopped chicken, fish or hard-boiled egg or cheese. Grilled mixed veg is lovely in the winter, and veg soups with maybe some beans added.

Dinner is grilled meat or fish with a vegetable-based sauce with maybe some mushrooms. Maybe a very small amount or pasta or rice, or beans.

Fruit and yoghourt with nuts or sunflower seeds.

Dips as snacks, with tzatziki or houmous and lots of raw veg.

It's possible and very easy.

But I also eat cake occasionally!

I think the 7 a day is actually based on a huge bit of research, not thin air.
Sorry katyk I don't think wine counts at all. And fruit juices are falling into disrepute as well.

I'm sure KatyK was joking about the wine! Apparently fruit or veg juice only counts as one of your 5/7/10 a day however much of it you drink. It's obviously better to liquidize your own and retain the fibre content.

Yes I was joking of course! Got myself into trouble before joking about wine - must stop it ! I am a bit miffed re the fruit juices. I drink a fruit smoothie every morning and am now being told it is full of sugar. I used to make my own but got a bit lazy. I think I'll get back to doing that.

Vegetarian for over 35 years. My husband and I used to fill in the Oxford study and years ago we used to eat over ten portions of fruit and veg each a day. The study told you how to measure the veg. Also, with him being diabetic, he used to do nutrition courses and shown how to portion the plate so he had the right amount of fat, carbohydrates and protein.
I now do the million women study.
It did not stop him from dying of brain cancer over two years ago. Nothing to do with family health traits. Nobody in his family had any of the things that were wrong with him.

Janerowena I like the sound of your pancake/fritters .... I eat only savoury things for breakfast and currently have peppers & onions idling in the fridge.

Do you have a recipe?

There's always a lot of nonsense spouted about food.We are designed to be omnivorous [scoff anything] we are not meant to pick at apples and seeds like gerbils.You can overdo [and underdo] anything.Moderation in all things.Some meat and dairy, some fruit and veg, bread etc.if you listen to the 'experts' it's a recipe for madness, because they change their minds all the time; eggs are good for you[go to work on one!] eggs are bad for you,
drink milk! Don't drink much milk. Drink red wine! No red wine. Tea is good! tea is bad. forget it all and eat a reasonably balanced diet when you can, and don't worry about it for the times when you can't for any reason.
I would struggle eating 5 portions fruit/veg a day let alone 7.I don't actually like much fruit.You can feel smug and eat 10 portions of the stuff a day but it doesn't mean you will reach a very old age.We should all relax.

Yes roses. The stress if not managing to eat 7 or 10 or 12 a day could make you ill with worry.

janerowena I like the sound of your pancake fritters too. Fancy sharing the recipe?

Not sure if I can be bothered to measure everything out to determine what is or isn't a portion, but I suppose I could try adding them in more to my cooking.

Which makes me think, ready meals never come with enough veggies, do they? If that changed, that would help a great deal.

And it looks like the packaging of ready meals will need to be changed to account for the change: this contains ... of your 7 a day, etc

Been busy so only just getting back to you Anna. In answer, I tend to weight the veggies after peeling but before slicing and chopping. So if I'm catering for two people (which is most of the time) I'd look for a sort of n/80 where n is the total weight of the veg and 80 is a portion size in grams. It might be that there is bit less carrot and a bit more pepper, but that balances out. I can be a bit obsessive!
But once I've done a recipe a couple of times I just make a note on the page saying the approx number of portions. That way no stress and if I feel we're not getting enough (!) then I'll dig out a high % veg recipe, often a pasta or curry recipe.

Looking at the variety of fruits and vegetables suggested as examples of how to achieve one's seven a day, one wonders how anyone ever managed to stay healthy when fruit and veg was only seasonally available and when there was a much narrower range in any one place.

jane I too would like that recipe please.

But did they stay healthy Bags? Perhaps in the countryside but not in the towns I think.

Just added my total for the day.
Breakfast:
Two rounds of toast and marmalade - doesn't count
Two tangerines - One portion
Snack:
Two Hobnobs - don't count
Lunch:
Two rounds of bread and cheese with asparagus chutney - doesn't count
Four large cherry tomatoes - Nearly one portion
Dinner:
Gin and Tonic - no lemon, so that won't count
Half a lemon stuffed chicken breast - doesn't count
Three small new potatoes - doesn't count
Two Tablespoons peas - One point

So today I managed nearly three points. OK, so the G&T and Hobnobs were naughty - but was the rest so very bad?