Almost all fruit and vegetables count towards your 5 A DAY, making it easier than you may think to have a balanced diet each day. Here are some examples of what is advised from the NHS.
- Fresh fruit and vegetables.
- Frozen fruit and vegetables.
- Tinned or canned fruit and vegetables.
- Dried fruit, such as currants, dates, sultanas and figs.
- Fruit and vegetables cooked in dishes such as soups, stews or pasta dishes.
- A glass of 100% fruit or vegetable juice counts as one portion a day.
- Smoothies made from fruit and/or vegetable may count as more than one portion but this depends on how they are prepared.
- Beans only count as one portion a day, no matter how many you eat.
- Fruit and vegetables in convenience foods, such as ready meals, pasta sauces, soups and puddings.
However a word of caution in regard to ready-made foods: they can be high in salt, sugar and fat, so you should only consume them them occasionally or in small amounts. You can find the salt, sugar and fat content of ready-made foods on the label.
Remember 80 grams of fresh fruit and vegetables constitutes a single portion, so 400 grams (nearly a pound) is required each day. It is best that these are a mixture of fruit and vegetables and that we also have a variety of different colours of different fruit and vegetables each day as it is the various pigments that make up the colours that act as powerful antioxidants.
Phoenix Restaurant, NUI Maynooth 