"Seven a day"

Apologies for the apostrophe, it wasnae me it 'twas my iPad.

According to this nutritionist (Zoe Harcombe) the findings are deeply flawed!

www.zoeharcombe.com/2014/04/seven-a-day-fruit-and-veg/

All the facts and figures and research methodology and interpretation aside, I think this puts it well:

"This isn’t just about fruit and veg – it’s about a whole lifestyle of advantaged people and disadvantaged people. Do researchers really think that we could take a Glaswegian man or woman – with a life expectancy of 71.6 and 78 respectively – and give them the life expectancy of the men and women in Kensington and Chelsea – 85.1 and 89.8 respectively – with extra portions of fruit and vegetables? May I suggest that the fruit and veg intake is a marker of a healthy lifestyle and not the maker of one?"

My diet was dreadful today! Raw porridge with half a banana, Egg & chips pub lunch at knitting group. (That is just my once a month treat).
A small portion of spiced up cauliflower and smaller portion of frozen spinach (that was all that was left in the bag) and a tomato and onion salad and lentil dal with chapatties. Shameful really. Must do better.

In the absence of any proof to the contrary I'm going to unilaterally declare that nuts count as one of my 5-7-9 a day. And that includes chocolate Brazil's.

Well there's a certain logic in that thinking Absent

Did you see the programme last night in autism djen?

The reason potatoes ceased to be a vegetable according to government recommendations was because "people would think that they could just eat chips all the time". Our lords and masters have such a high opinion of us. Nevertheless, potatoes are vegetables.

Get a grip Nfk add a slice of lemon to that G&T.

Still trying to find out if nuts count....

When I gave my grandson his lunch today, he asked me where his vegetables were. They were in the kitchen on another plate. Red peppers, tomatoes, spinach, cucumber and olives.
He's autistic and has finally got over the idea of not having foods touch.
Still cannot mix them for him, though, and he goes round the plate in order.

Actually, just checked - I only had 2 tablespoons of peas not 3.
And noticed in passing a whole large parsnip is only one portion!

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?

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

jane I too would like that recipe please.

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.

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.

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

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

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.

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?

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

7 glasses of must contain a lot of grapes