Five a Day.......And a game changer....a mandolin

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What about those rectangular containers with interchangeable blades for chopping? Safer than a mandolin because you push the item down from above. Just wondering whether anyone has one of those and how good they find it. (Apologies for slight digression...)

I've got something similar to this... love it and really easy to use.
I think mine was less than £20.

How safe is a mandolin? And is it more precise and efficient than a very sharp knife?

J52

Just had my 5 a day in a glass of Pimms, Cheers

As a portion is supposed to be 80g, I'm just picturing the size of your glass! 🍹
Cheers indeed!! 😂

OXO Good Grips mandolin has a slider you use to protect your fingers

I've heard horror stories about mandolins and fingers, so I stick with a knife, or my chopper thingy that works by pulling a string.

All mod cons here!

Nothing wrong with a good sharp knife as far as I'm concerned and I eat more than five a day probably nine and I'm 83 so can't be doing me any harm that's for sure.

Oh Warbler, my first thought on reading your post was why you made yourself eat an apple when you don’t like them?
There are plenty other fruits you could try. But there are also so many different varieties of apple I’m sure you could find one you liked.
Making veg soup is a great way to up your intake and also veg curry. Or extra veg added to stews.

Just had my 5 a day in a glass of Pimms, Cheers

I get an organic veg box every week and they're great for making you think outside the box, forgive the pun! I often put a bowl of salad on the table with say a pasta dish (that will already have veg in it) or even oven cooked fish and chips. I tend to like mine more chunky, likewise I usually chop with a knife for coleslaw. Grating courgette into a ragu increases the veg content but also somehow the texture as it cooks down.
I think the 30 a week includes herbs and spices, in fact anything plant based, the encouragement is to make sure there's at least 30 different ones, could be a challenge? This is to help promote gut health.

My son was a pub chef for many years and he told me that they were not allowed to use a mandolin as the danger of grated finger was too great.

Salti

I have a mandolin which I use occasionally, particularly when making chutney.

However I use my food processor more frequently for vegetables. It has two different sizes of grater, and a slicer as well as the obvious zapping feature.

I also have had problems using a mandolin and have thrown it away. But a grating disk in a food processor is really good, you can grate many things in advance, possibly rinsing them in lemony water before storing in the fridge.
Personally I simply slice fresh carrots, cucumber and peppers then dip them into some sort of houmous for my lunch. It only takes a moment and I much prefer it to a typical "salad".

DH bought me a Mandolin and a Chinese Cleaver as part of my Christmas present one year. Guess who secretly wanted them for his Dauphinoise potatoes and Chinese stir fries. He first used the mandolin with enthusiasm but without the safety guard. He was surprised by the speed the potato went down to the last slice. Ouch! We both use the mandolin now but always with the safety guard. I've never touched the Cleaver.

I tried a mandolin, it had a thing with spikes on to hold apples etc in place whilst I sliced them, but didn't have the strengh to force it into the apple. Too dangerous to use without the spikes. It went to the charity shop.

I, too, love a mandolin and have bought special pair of gloves to protect my fingers…game changer…found on Amazon

I can easily eat 5 a day of fruit and veg.

I usually have a chopped banana and a few grapes on Cornflakes for breakfast, a satsuma or apple as a snack, then whatever veg we have with dinner at night, followed by tinned fruit.

The slicer on the Magimix does quite well if there is quite a bit. Also chops all be it somewhat irregular But still got all my fingers and skin on my knuckles

Cannot find it as it is in a packing case somewhere but I love my mandolin. Have never lost a finger or its nail.

I am hopeless on fruit and veg. Made from grapes, does wine count?!!

V3ra thanks for the suggestion about courgette for coleslaw. We usually have a glut of them at this time of year. My OH slices thinly and puts into bowl with his soup and I use in various recipes but hadn't tried coleslaw.

Stir fries are a good way of getting more veg - a bit of chopping/slicing needed but mandolin would slice too thinly.

I have a mandolin which I use occasionally, particularly when making chutney.

However I use my food processor more frequently for vegetables. It has two different sizes of grater, and a slicer as well as the obvious zapping feature.

a stand alone cheese grater is good for veggies and apples

Skydancer I dice everything quite small and shred green leaves. Yes it does take quite a lot of effort but that is how we like it. I was living in Egypt when I knew this lady who introduced me to the joys of middle eastern food particularly vegetable based dishes so a good way to have your five a day. The fresh veg I used to buy in the markets there were always very young and fresh so lovely to eat raw.

What is meant by chopped salad? I mean it’s bound to be chopped isn’t it. This all sounds so time consuming.

Just used mandolin to finely slice cabbage and onion for coleslaw.

Farmor15 we now use grated courgette, unpeeled, instead of cabbage for coleslaw.
Very pretty to look at, quick and easy to do and lighter on the digestion.
I've never included onion but will give it a try, thank you 😋

Many years ago a Lebanese lady introduced me to chopped salads. We have them frequently, just any fresh veg. Today it consisted of very small courgette and French beans from the garden with tomatoes, cucumber, fennel, roasted red pepper and half an avocado with olive oil seasoning and a dash of balsamic.

We went to a garden centre that has a fantastic food hall and bought my favourite fruit, English cherries and plums, gosh they were delicious but so expensive. Definately had my five a day.

Our food guide in Canada recommends 7-10 servings a day.
So far today for me:
orange juice at breakfast
mixed fruit cocktail with my yogurt at lunch

Dinner will include 2 different veg, so I will be short of the goal. I like the idea of 30 a week target.

As for the mandoline; my mum took off the top of her thumb years ago, so while I do have one, I have used it only a very few times.

But, we do have a fruit and veg prep on Sundays. I wash, cut and prep as much as I can so it is easy to prep a salad, stir-fry or throw berries on yoghurt.