five a day (again)

[bednobs]

Hi, i am trying to increase my fruit and vegetable intake, and find the 5 a day a good target to work towards. I've had many q's about this in the past (mainly about fruit juice and smoothies, but now my question is - can you count vegetables that are in things? For example, tonight i made a chicken chasseur with 2 onions and 3 big mushrooms in it and we had 1/2 each - can i count the onions and mush as part of 5 a day? what about soup and stuff? Pizza toppings?

[ummmm]

Daisya....Not in my opinion, but you carry on.

[bednobs]

in America it's 9 a day

[DTCwordfan]

except in Texas where it's two, the portions being so huge!


(just joking)

[ummmm]

You'd have to be grazing all day to get 9 a day.

So far today I've had zero...

[espookid]

I think it was meant to INCREASE YOUR INTAKE not increase your mathematical ability to fiddle with the number ,you must eat fruit and veg for the benefit not just the score and it is a guide not a test

[mikey4444]

I can't understand this fuss about 5 a day. When did common sense go out of fashion ?Surely if you eat an apple and perhaps a banana each day, and then have some potatos for your lunch or dinner, you are well on the way to the target. Add some orange juice and you are nearly there !

I have ieices and nephews that don't eat any fruit ! Why ? When did fruit start to taste horrible ? When I was growing up in the 50's and 60's, we didn't have much money to spare but we would sometimes have strawberries for tea on a Sunday. If one of my brothers were to start whining and say " I don't like strawberries" his portion would have grabbed from in front of him and scoffed by whoever was the fastest around the table !

Lets stop spoiling our kids. Put food down in front of them and tell them to just get on with it ! Let common sense rule !

[ummmm]

mikey, I don't think the 5 a day is aimed so much at people that eat a varied diet. It's for the people who happily eat sausage and chips and a daily basis.

There are loads of people out there, adults included, that don't eat vegetables, fruit or salad...

[mikey4444]

ummmmmm.....I fear you may be right but why ? That is the question I am trying to get an answer for.

When did fruit suddenly taste bad ?

Was it at the same time that McDonalds opened their first British "restaurant" perhaps ?

They have been very clever in re-writing the English language. Before McDonalds, a "meal" was something with meat and two, perhaps three veg, normally with gravy, followed by a pudding, sometimes served with custard.

Now a "meal" is happy and consists of a small, tastless burger, served with chips that are mostly air, accompanied by a small plastic toy, all for £1.99.

I'm sorry if this is sounding like a rant but it just isn't possible that people don't like every fruit and vegetable in existence ! The only thing that bananas, apples, strawberrries, grapes, cherries and oranges have in common is that they are classed as fruit in the Oxford English Dictionary. It just doesn't make sense that anybody could dislike such a wide range of tastes and textures.

Too many silly spoilt kids have grown up into stupid spoilt parents !

[bednobs]

ps mikey, potatoes don't count :)