"Seven a day"

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.

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!

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.

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.

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

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.

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

rough guide

I usually count 80g as one portion Gilly

PS I thought it was creaking gates that got oiled first

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.

Potatoes don't count Margaret and you can only count things once POGS so you can only count 1 chocolate orange

Left out 1 courgette from my recipe ... oops!

Can anyone tell me .... do nuts count? Can find this answer online but they are 'vegetable' (as opposed to animal and mineral) aren't they? And how about seeds, eg pumpkin, sunflower?

"apple, blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, plums etc" - an expensive breakfast for many families I think.

DD1 told me it was the amount of fruit/veg that fits in the palm of your hand. If thats true them a child really doesn't need to eat 5 or 7 different types of fruit or veg
Potatoes are a vegetable for a start and with meat or fish I always do an onion. For my potassium levels ( because of BP meds) I eat 3-5 dried dates per day and when you consider the tins of tomatoes it is not so hard to hit the target of 5 per day.
Today we had pumpkin soup from the freezer. that must be 5 portions on its own.
The main reason for upping this to 7 per day is to frighten people and make them feel they are not keeping up and there fore responsible for their own ill health.
My mother always said it was the creaking gates that lived longest, and I'm sure we all know a 90+ year olds who never bothered much about diet and who were still battling on enjoying their tea and toast and their fish and chips.

Ah. 7 a day, lovely.

I can now have 5 Terry's chocolate oranges and 2 cherry bakewell's instead of 3 chocolate oranges and 2 cherry bakewell's.

One government policy I approve of.

Large onion = 2
800g tinned toms = 4
2 peppers = 4
2 carrots = 4
1 leek = 1
2 celery sticks = 1

That adds up to 16 / 4 = 4

I'm counting carrots as fairly big and decent sized leek and celery.

Ana my thoughts also.

rosequartz I also agree with you, it depends what you feel like eating. I have been known to have 10 in one day but yesterday only 1.

But that wouldn't give each person four portions of veg, Aka - not if three celery sticks is counted as one portion as per the list I read!

Granted not low-fibre Alie

Here's my basic recipe for pasta sauce. Cooked, seasoned, then blitzed. Nothing to stop you adding this to mince, tinned tuna, etc.

Serves four (with pasta) and gives you four portions of vegetables per person.

1 large onion, chopped
2 celery sticks, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
1 leek, chopped
2 peppers, deseeded and chopped
2 x 400g cans chopped tomatoes with garlic

And how on earth am I supposed to do this AND keep to a low fibre diet....?

Exactly rosequartz Sometimes my GC will eat a traditional dinner with meat and steamed vegetables, sometimes they will have salad, sometimes fruit salad too. Other times they might have a pasta or a curry or whatever. How on earth can anyone be expected to keep to a rigid 7 a day everyday?

Will this figure be 10 next year I wonder?

I would say we do, but counted over a week, rather than daily. Two bits of fruit with lunch, dried fruit with breakfast (got to have those Goji berries), several in veg soup for lunch about four times a week and two or three with dinner. Tends to be very seasonal with us because of the veg garden and definitely more fruit and salad in the summer, though we have kept the lamb's lettuce going this winter.
Only Level 30 of Candy Crush Aka? I am stuck on 530....
And completely off topic, OH has come in to tell me he can hear the first cuckoo....

How long before people start to get anaemia through not leaving room in their diet for a bit of meat? I know vegetarians usually can manage, but not everyone will do the research.

This kind of advice is bound to appeal to vegetarians who will insist it's not hard to achieve. That's because they don't eat meat!!

Will the advice change in a few year's time because of an increase in IBS and before anyone jumps on me I know of at least three people who have had to cut their intake of fruit for this reason.

There is confusion, too, about what constitutes a 'portion'. It's actually a lot more than some people believe - e.g. a medium banana, two tangerines, a heaped tablespoon of sultanas count as one each. I expect the amount is reduced for children.